The NHL could be reshaping the way it goes about its early off-season schedule, with Major League Baseball potentially providing an idea.
This summer, fans will watch as the NHL conducts the first decentralized draft from Los Angeles, where teams will operate from their home bases rather than all gathering in one location to welcome young talent into the league.
However, it's a decision that might only stick for one year.
"There's already been a bit of buyer's remorse, maybe a little bit of regret and this may only be a one-time thing," Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman said of the decentralized draft during this week's Saturday Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. "One of the smaller groups from the NHL's GM Meetings, there was a suggestion brought up.
"Major League Baseball has its Winter Meetings every December, and everyone gets together for four days. The teams, there's players that are free agents there, the agents do it."
Last December, the baseball world gathered at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas. There, managers and general managers addressed the media, and MLB held its draft lottery and Rule 5 Draft.
Having all decision makers in one spot also naturally sets the stage for transactions to be completed. For MLB, a few examples of the moves made in Dallas include the Boston Red Sox landing ace Garrett Crochet, Max Fried signing a $218-million contract with the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays trading for Andrés Giménez.
"One of the suggestions was, 'look, why doesn't the NHL, at the end of June beginning of July, so a similar thing. The awards, the draft and free agency. All in one city," Friedman said of the discussion at the GM Meetings. "It wasn't discounted. I think there were some people who want to ... see (if they) can make that work."
The 2025 NHL Draft is scheduled for June 27 and 28, which, of course, comes right before the opening of free agency on July 1. While the league has also been looking for a way to change how it reveals awards, last year's show was held the day before the draft, so there is a window that could work to fit in all of the NHL off-season events.
Friedman did say that nothing was set in stone, but added that "it's on the radar."
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