NHL Rumors: Will Conditional Pick Terms Be Made Available More Moving Forward

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet recently joined Gord Stellick and Scott Laughlin on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio to discuss the diminishing perceived value of draft picks in trades. A key question raised during the conversation was whether the conditions attached to these picks should be made public immediately.

Gord Stellick initiated the discussion by observing a trend among teams to devalue late first-round picks, readily including them in trade deadline deals. He noted this practice is reminiscent of how the NFL began valuing picks years ago. Stellick pondered if the NHL would reconsider its rules, potentially reintroducing top-five or top-ten protections for draft picks, especially in light of recent trade complexities where expected playoff appearances did not materialize. He questioned if such "schmozzles" would prompt general managers to exercise more caution in future trades.

Friedman believes that general managers will increasingly advocate for greater protection in trades involving draft picks. He drew a parallel to the NBA, where extreme "tanking" has led to discussions, albeit conceptual, about potential limits on how frequently teams can trade first-rounders. Friedman suggested that much of the current oversight comes from managers "self-policing," making individual decisions based on their comfort level with risk, as seen in instances where teams took chances to finalize deals.

However, Friedman emphasized a critical point: while he doesn't think the league needs to heavily regulate every aspect of conditional picks, he strongly believes that if a trade involves conditional picks, their terms must be explicitly clear from the outset. He highlighted the Florida and Chicago trade as a prime example, where it took a full year for the public to learn about Florida's top-10 protection on a significant pick. Friedman expressed frustration over this lack of immediate disclosure, noting that the original trade releases from both the Blackhawks and Panthers contained no mention of such conditions. He firmly stated that all conditions on draft picks should be transparent at the time a trade is announced.