Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet: Teams may not like the early June draft, but the governors are more likely to accept the NHL’s proposal for business reasons.
Pierre LeBrun: There is some confusion with regards to the NHL’s memo with the draft proposal that they sent out on Friday. Some teams could be looking for clarification on the alter or fixing the conditional trades for the 2020 draft. The Board of Governors have a call today. There is no GM call scheduled for this week.
J.D. Burke: Spoke with an executive yesterday who thinks the draft will be going forward in early June with an announcement coming as early as today or Tuesday.
Pierre LeBrun: The Vancouver Canucks may be one of the teams that are warming up the idea of a June draft. They may rather give the New Jersey Devils (via Tampa Bay) a non-lottery first-round pick this year and not an unprotected pick next year.
Pierre LeBrun: If a draft is held under Friday’s memo details, the Carolina Hurricanes will be selecting with the Toronto Maple Leafs pick and the New York Rangers will be drafting in the Hurricanes slot.
Joshua Clipperton of CP on TSN: Some GMs commenting on the scouting process for the draft this year and what they may miss out on.
Vancouver Canucks GM Jim Benning:
“It’s nice to see how players perform in the playoffs,” Benning said. “That’s a big part, I think, of finding players that are winners … when it gets hard in the playoffs, if they step up. We’re going to miss out on all that.
“We’re trying to do the best we can under the circumstances to get to know the players and try to figure out what they’re going to be in three or four years time.”
Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen:
“Probably not as complete as it would be had it been a normal ending to the season. You’re running around trying to (watch) the top guys one last time or guys that you had missed earlier in the year. Now we’re watching tape instead.
“It will be different coverage, not as good coverage … that’s the reason why we have the amateur scouts on the road. It’ll be a little bit different. It’ll be interesting and we’ll see how it goes.”
Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff:
“The interesting thing is we’re all in this same boat together. We all don’t have to pick or choose which game you’re going to, even though you’d love to be picking or choosing which game you’re going to.”
Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving
“The biggest thing losing the combine is physical testing. They all need to get stronger, but you get a sense of their frames and who needs what in terms of physical maturation.”
