Evan’s Daily: Changes To NHL Draft, Trade Market Clogged

The NHL has decided to make some changes to the draft, meaning the draft as you’ve always known it is scheduled to change in 2025. I’m a little disappointed in the decision, to be honest, and I’m not sure I’m the only one.

Around the league, there are players that teams are really eager to move (decent players, too), but the trade market is clogged up at the moment.

With the Colorado Avalanche, we took a look back at the record breaking win over the Islanders.

All that and more in this Thursday edition of Evan’s Daily.

Colorado Hockey Now

He may have scored the most ridiculous goal possible, but Tuesday night was still Ross Colton‘s best performance in an Avalanche uniform.

We got a glimpse into the Bowen Byram we’ve all come to expect, and to no one’s surprise, it came when he was playing his strong side. (+)

On Thursday, the Avalanche look to win their 16th straight road game, as they take on the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins.

NHL Draft Changes

In 2025, the NHL Draft as we know it as going to change, and that makes me a little sad.

The vast majority of teams voted to decentralize the NHL Draft, meaning that teams will no longer travel to the draft itself, and will make the picks from home. This last draft in 2024 will actually be the first one I cover in person, so hopefully they go out with a bang.

Yes, it’s a little annoying when every team goes up on stage and says the same thing, thanking their fans, congratulating the Stanley Cup winner, and finally making their pick, but I loved it. It’s also the only time of the year where every team is together, so there’s a lot more action. The players also won’t get to hear their name called in person anymore, which kind of stinks.

I get why they’re changing it. This year, the draft and free agency happened back-to-back, and teams didn’t like that, but I will miss the old format.

NHL Trade Market

There are players out there available for trade, but no one has the cap room to make any moves. Conor Garland, Andrew Peeke, Anthony Mantha (who scored last night), and Joel Armia are some of the names out there.

Garland is a good player who has scored 39+ points each of the last four seasons, but probably makes a little too much money. I’ve mentioned before that I would love Peeke on the Avalanche, as he’d really round out the defense nicely, but that seems borderline impossible with their current cap situation. I’m guessing a lot of NHL teams feel the same about their cap situation, which means things will likely stay quiet for a bit here.

National Hockey Now

Are the Pittsburgh Penguins going to sit Jeff Carter tonight?

With no Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, get used to low-scoring games for the Boston Bruins.

The New Jersey Devils can score goals, but will they get the goaltending they need to go far this year?