Gary Bettman stands by NHL Draft Lottery

Gary Bettman says ‘nobody tanks’ because of NHL Draft lottery system

With major buzz around tanking for future No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said “nobody tanks” because of the NHL Draft Lottery system, according to theScore.

In the past few years, Bedard has been lighting the lamp on all levels of hockey, whether in the World Juniors, WHL or the Swedish-Junior League. Bedard doesn’t quit scoring goals or getting assists.

It’s not even a question anymore that he is the first overall pick in the upcoming draft. The real question is who is gonna get him? But Bettman is trying to crack down on this problem.

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This is where Bettman combats tanking by implementing the draft lottery.

For anyone who doesn’t know, tanking is sort of an art for average to below average teams in any sport. It is a way for teams to exploit their hopes at a championship to better their future with a great pick. If there is an enticing prospect on the board like Bedard, any team will want him, no matter how good or bad they are.

But, with the draft lottery installed, you could waste your season and not even get Bedard or a complete stud.

The NHL draft lottery is sort of Bettman’s puppet show. He and the league kind of control the odds for who gets that superstar that they’ve been wanting.

The draft lottery is comprised of 16 teams who don’t make the playoffs and is sorted from worst point percentage to the highest. Basically, whoever has the worst point percentage or record has the best chance to get the first overall pick.

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In a recent interview, Bettman gave his opinion on tanking.

“Nobody tanks because we have a weighted lottery,” Bettman said Tuesday, per The Athletic’s Arpon Basu. “You’re not going to lose games to increase your odds by a couple of percentage points. That’s silly.”

Bettman reasserted his opinions, too.

“Nobody tanks,” Bettman said, via theScore. “Our players and coaches do their best to win. And again, just because you may finish with the worst record in the league, you’ve got something like a 75% chance that you’re not going to get the first pick.”

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