The National Hockey League will have a change in their NHL Draft format beginning in 2025. All 32 NHL teams will not have their hockey operations personnel such as executives, general managers, scouts and coaching staffs attend in person on the arena floor for the two-day event.
All selections will be made by clubs from their home headquarters. It is a similar setup done by the NFL and NBA for their annual drafts.
There were several reasons for the eventual change. It would save teams expenses for travel, hotels and other social outings. In addition, there would be more privacy for conversations, interactions and making deals among hockey operations departments instead of doing it on site on the arena floor. There was also a short time span between the NHL Draft and free agency to make future decisions.
Eligible players would still be in attendance at future NHL Draft events. Players selected in the first round would be brought down from assigned seating to the arena floor to meet National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman for a photo opportunity.
Teams have attended the NHL Draft with all their hockey operations departments at an NHL venue for over the last 35 years. The Florida Panthers have hosted the annual NHL Draft on two separate occasions at the arena in Sunrise. It happened in 2001 and 2015.
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