Photo: NHL via Getty Images

According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the NHL Board of Governors were not ready to announce anything regarding the 2020 NHL Draft, which will be held virtually and could occur before the 2019-20 season resumes, during their call on Monday afternoon.

The board does not need to vote in favor of having the NHL Draft in June but commissioner Gary Bettman wanted to hear from teams before making a final decision, which will likely be made by the end of this week.

Good discussion on Board of Governors call re: NHL draft. No decision yet. Decision either this week or potentially now dip into next week.
“We think it’s more important to get the right decision than to get a quick decision,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said via email.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) May 4, 2020

A vote may not be the best way to pass the idea of having the NHL Draft then as most of the governors are against holding it before finding out the results of this season. However, Bettman feels having it early is necessary for business reasons. In fact, only six teams were for the idea and 15 were against it, LeBrun said. The others either did not respond or have an opinion.

A few teams are concerned that one in the mix for a lottery pick could sneak into the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs when play resumes and ultimately win the tournament.

Bettman and NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly will discuss this matter with the NHLPA before making a final decision.

By Harrison Brown