The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused an indefinite delay in the NHL’s schedule and today, it caused the postponement of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft which was scheduled to be held in Montreal in June.
The move doesn’t come as much surprise as the way the landscape is looking, it may not be until June or later before games actually resume. Considering the results of the regular season and playoffs shape the draft order, it was only a matter of time before this occurred.
The question now will be the rescheduling and where (and/or how) it will be held. While it’s possible that the draft could be moved to later in the summer in Montreal, an abbreviated offseason or continued concern over this pandemic could cause the draft to be held exclusively online.
Among the other cancellations today were the draft lottery, the combine in Buffalo for the beginning of June, and the NHL Awards in Las Vegas. In the announcement from the league, they indicated that they were looking forward to returning to Las Vegas for the awards down the road but didn’t make any indication about whether or not the draft would return to Montreal at some point.