NHL Fans Were Fuming Over League's Expected Decision on Future of Draft

Karl Rasmussen | Jul 10, 2025

Matthew Schaefer was selected by the New York Islanders as the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL draft. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The 2025 NHL draft was the first time the league held a decentralized draft, and it didn't receive a warm reception from fans, many of whom felt the changes made the event feel lackluster and at times awkward.

It seems that despite the negative feedback on the decentralized draft, the NHL is not planning on reverting back to its previous format. While not yet finalized, a vote was held on Thursday among league owners and reports indicate that it's overwhelmingly likely the draft remains in its current decentralized format going forward, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

With teams making their draft selections remotely and then holding video (often uncomfortable) interviews with their newly-drafted prospects, there wasn't the usual atmosphere in the building that typically accompanies a draft. The draft also felt as if it dragged on, with the first round alone taking roughly four hours to get through.

There's certainly room for improvement, so hopefully the NHL has a better picture of how they want to run things in 2026, considering they're set to lock in this decentralized format.

News about the vote in favor of the decentralized format was not popular among hockey fans, and they took to social media to voice their displeasure.

NHL GMs have now voted on re-centralizing the Draft.

While the league has yet to alert teams to the final results, it appears the majority have voted to keep it decentralized.

If that holds, what a miss.

— Cam Robinson (@Hockey_Robinson) July 10, 2025

So dumb. https://t.co/Tvk7iMpIQk

— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) July 10, 2025

If the NHL GMs insist on keeping the draft decentralized, at least put the physical draft somewhere fun next year.

Not a theater, not an arena.

Let's do it on a cruise ship. Or on the moon. Or on a cruise ship on the moon.

— Steven Ellis (@SEllisHockey) July 10, 2025

Thoughts on continuing the decentralized draft: pic.twitter.com/dwvK4v3mUE

— Anthony Mingioni (@AnthonyMingioni) July 10, 2025

This decentralized draft was one of the worst draft I’ve ever seen. They told us it would take less time, yet it almost took 5 hours for one round. They also said we’d see more trades, which didn’t really happen.

Obviously some owners don’t want to put the extra money to send a… https://t.co/CQuRosQ7sP

— Alex (@ivandemigoal) July 10, 2025

The decentralized NHL draft was an absolute joke. A bad process, a terrible TV show. For these GMs and ostensibly owners to favor it again is insane. A centralized draft is a league convention. A top show. If their cell phones were so damn important, where were all the trades?

— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) July 10, 2025

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