Well this is certainly interesting…The NHL looks to be moving the date of the NHL entry draft to July. Usually the NHL Draft takes place at the end of June after the Stanley Cup Final. Obviously with COVID the last two off-seasons have been pushed back but this year the season is starting normally.
Another interesting tidbit here is that the league is looking to move day one of the draft to Thursday. Again, typically the NHL Draft is a Friday and Saturday thing. With the first round taking place on the Friday night and rounds 2-7 taking place on Saturday afternoon.
This could be a product of the new TV deals with Turner and ESPN as they may have asked the NHL to move the dates of the draft to get more exposure/coverage from the networks. This has not been confirmed yet, but it looks to be all but done.
Could this mean we see the start of the NHL Free Agency period pushed back? Who knows, only time will tell.
-Walsh