The Detroit Red Wings and their fans suffered through the worst season in over three decades in 2019-20, amassing only 39 points prior to the COVID-19 pandemic forced the shutdown of the season on March 12.
The hope all year was that Detroit would at least be able to reap the benefits of the top overall draft selection, which was ultimately used to select QMJHL forward Alexis Lafreniere.
The only problem was that Detroit never got the change to land Lafreniere – or the next two top draft positions.
The NHL Draft Lottery drawing in late June saw the Red Wings land the No. 4 overall pick behind the Senators and Kings, who both were ahead of Detroit in the standings – with the New York Rangers, who lost in the qualifying round of the 2020 playoffs, landing the first pick.
Now, that all might be changing.
According to Sportsnet, the NHL is considering changing several aspects of the Draft Lottery, which will need to be voted on by the Board of Governors.
Per Chris Johnston, the changes will include:
* teams limited to no more than two lottery wins in a five-year period
* teams only allowed to jump 10 spots with a lottery win
* a reduction in the number of picks decided by lottery from three to two
Under these proposed changes, intentional “tanking” would be prevented, as well as preventing a near-playoff team from landing the top pick.
Unfortunately, these things came a little too late for Detroit, who absolutely should have had the first overall draft selection after the season they endured last year.
