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The Decentralized NHL Draft Reminds Us Of The Event's True Purpose
The Decentralized NHL Draft Reminds Us Of The Event's True Purpose

Yahoo

time11-07-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

The Decentralized NHL Draft Reminds Us Of The Event's True Purpose

On the surface, the decentralized NHL draft seems to defy logic. One year after holding the glitziest and most spectacular NHL draft ever at The Sphere in Vegas, it turned in a tedious, clunky, awkward and loooooong affair with its decentralized draft in 2025. Advertisement And after watching what transpired in Los Angeles, the NHL will likely do it again? Well, not the league, exactly. As was the case this year, the GMs wanted this because it was a less expensive and more efficient way to do business. That's the crux of the matter here. The NHL draft is not for us. It's not to entertain the fans or keep members of the media happy. It's the most important day of the year for a hockey operations department. They are procuring young talent that will dictate the future direction of their franchises. That's the purpose of the draft. Everything else is just window dressing. Advertisement If the NHL can clean up the process, then there's no reason why a decentralized draft can't work. The 2025 NHL draft took place at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images) Watch today's video column, and share your thoughts. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on

The NHL's busy season is here, and we've got oddly specific predictions
The NHL's busy season is here, and we've got oddly specific predictions

New York Times

time23-06-2025

  • Sport
  • New York Times

The NHL's busy season is here, and we've got oddly specific predictions

Red Light newsletter 🏒 | This is The Athletic's hockey newsletter. Sign up here to receive Red Light directly in your inbox. Good morning to everyone except GMs who say they're listening but not shopping. We're well and truly into the offseason now, which means your favorite team has a chance to make the moves that will set them on the track toward the Stanley Cup. Spoiler alert: They won't, but it's fun to pretend. The NHL regular season is a six-month grind. That's followed by the playoffs, a two-month sprint toward the Stanley Cup. Now it's the offseason. So … 10 days? Ten days should about cover it. The NHL doesn't like to wait around at this time of year. While other leagues have sprawling offseasons that offer up news in drips and drops, the NHL likes to cram it all into a week and a bit. And that week has arrived, so let's grab the popcorn bags and see where all this goes. Advertisement Here are the key steps along the way, and when they happen: • Buyouts: The buyout window is open right now, although so far T.J. Brodie is the only one. Remember that anyone who doesn't have a full no-movement clause has to go on waivers first. Here are nine players who could be candidates. • Trades: The window is open (and if we want to get technical, it never actually closes, even after the deadline). We usually see a few major moves in the days leading up to the draft, and then a few more at the draft itself. Our trade board is here, and we've had specific looks at names such as Jason Robertson and Bowen Byram. • The draft: Round 1 goes Friday night, with Rounds 2 through 7 on Saturday. Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler have been working overtime to get you everything you need, from mock drafts to prospect profiles. • Last call for eight-year extensions: Any team looking to re-sign a pending UFA to the maximum eight-year term has to get it done by midnight on June 30, which is one week from today. That means it's also the deadline for any Matthew Tkachuk-style sign-and-trade deals, although those are exceedingly rare. The key thing to remember is that if, say, Sam Bennett hits the open market, he can't get that eighth year anymore, even if he ultimately decides to return to Florida. • Free agency: It officially opens at noon ET on July 1. In theory, this is the first day that teams can have contact with free agents. In reality, well, we've all kind of agreed not to worry too much about that. All eyes will be on Mitch Marner, how quickly he's looking to make a decision, and how many teams will be willing to wait for him. Our big board is here. • After that: The UFA frenzy usually lasts a few days, at which point the flood of news turns to a trickle. There are some decisions to be made around arbitration, and usually a decent trade or two as teams that missed out on key free agents look for a Plan B. But by mid-July, half the hockey world has gone fishing. It's a good time to check in on friends and family you haven't spoken to in 10 months. Three oddly specific offseason predictions We all love an oddly specific prediction. Well, I love making them — I'm not as big a fan when it's time to look back and realize I got almost all of them wrong. Still, if you're going to swing, you might as well swing for the fences, with predictions so detailed that they have no hope of actually coming true — unless they do, in which case I'll never shut up about it. Advertisement Let's try three that could play out over the next few weeks. 1. Mitch Marner goes short-term. I think your second-favorite newsletter author is right, and we're about to enter an era where star players finally realize they have more leverage with short-term deals. Signing for seven or eight years makes plenty of sense if you're old and on the downside of your career, or if you're a middle-of-the-lineup player who's happy to trade a few dollars for security. But if you're a superstar, it's madness. And Marner feels like the guy who might crack that code, as Pierre LeBrun has reported. Remember, a big part of the reason Marner is hitting the market at all is that he hasn't felt appreciated in Toronto. Does he really want to commit essentially the rest of his career to one team, sight unseen? Maybe — lots of guys do. But I think Marner breaks the pattern and ends up signing a three-year deal worth $41.2 million that sets him up to make even more in 2028 when he comes home to Toronto hits the market once again. 2. The biggest trade of the next 10 days comes out of Buffalo. Maybe this isn't going all that far out on a limb, since the Sabres have a few guys on the trade board. Kevyn Adams hasn't been a GM who makes big trades, at least when he isn't forced into it like he was with Jack Eichel. But I'm not sure he has much of a choice. With his reputation suffering, a furious fan base and his job potentially on the line, it's time for him to show us what he can do. Mix in the recent hire of Jarmo Kekäläinen, who was an aggressive trader in Columbus, and the signs are all there. I think the Sabres make one deal involving at least five players, and maybe even a high pick or two. 3. The Islanders trade up to take James Hagens. Call this one wishful thinking, because it is. Draft floor trades involving high picks are rare in the NHL, where GMs love to talk a good game about making aggressive moves but then inevitably default to the path of least resistance. But with the opportunity to draft a local prospect who grew up as an Islanders fan, you'd think rookie GM Mathieu Darche would at least think about it, right? Advertisement Originally, I thought the Islanders might trade down from the first pick, getting Hagens and extra draft capital. But it sounds like they're locked in on Matthew Schaefer with that top pick. Fine — take Schaefer, then trade back into the first round to get Hagens, too, especially if (as seems possible) he slips out of the top five. My guess is the teams at four (Utah), five (Nashville), eight (Seattle) and nine (Buffalo) would all be willing to at least listen to an offer. It would be a surprise if Hagens dropped to those last two teams, but weird stuff happens. And if it does, I'm predicting Darche drops a bombshell that his new fan base would probably love. Of all the players who were traded during the 2024 offseason, which one produced the most goals and points? Hint: They were acquired for the reasonable cost of a third-round pick. The Class of 2025 is 1 day away As if there wasn't enough going on, tomorrow is a big day for the Hockey Hall of Fame. The mysterious and secretive committee will get together and decide which names will make up the Class of 2025. Will we ever know what the votes looked like, or even who was nominated? We will not, and that's a shame, but it's a debate for another day. For now, let's focus on who's getting the call. On the men's side, it's a crowded class of first-year candidates. Zdeno Chara and Joe Thornton should be sure things, meaning that two of the four spots should already be spoken for. You could absolutely fill those spots with two more first-time candidates, with Duncan Keith and Carey Price both having strong cases. It wouldn't be a shock if those were the four names, and when you factor in a solid case for Ryan Getzlaf and Tuukka Rask, an all-first-year class feels plausible. Then again, the committee may decide to make a few of the rookies wait their turn and focus on the backlog of worthy candidates who are still waiting. The obvious name there is Alexander Mogilny, who should have been in years ago; we're at the point where 'What's the committee's problem with Mogilny' is one of the great hockey mysteries. Keith Tkachuk and Curtis Joseph have strong cases, too, and Rod Brind'Amour certainly has his supporters. On the women's side, the backlog is even more pronounced, partly because the committee so rarely uses both spots available to it. (To its credit, it did last year.) Jennifer Botterill is the biggest name to watch here. Advertisement And on the builder's side, well, who knows? That category is so broad that you really never know who the committee will land on. My predictions: I say the Class of 2025 features Chara, Thornton, Keith and a surprise men's name that we haven't mentioned, plus Botterill. I won't bother trying to predict the builders, other than to say I'll have my phone ready for any incoming calls. More: What does your ideal Hall of Fame look like? I dove into the Peak versus Longevity debate, with five examples of players who may or may not make it in. 🚨 Prospects on prospects: In a trio of player polls, upcoming NHL Draft picks dish on where their peers will be selected, the most underrated prospects and their NHL comparables. Some answers are anonymous, others are not. All are fascinating. ✈️ We love it when a veteran heads home to chase a Cup on his childhood team, but that Jonathan Toews deal with the Jets carries more risk than it first seemed. 💰 Harman Dayal on nine overpriced contracts that could be traded this summer. 🔥 Remembering each team's best and worst draft pick from the past decade. 🎯 Before Friday's NHL Draft, the PWHL will kick off its own draft tomorrow. Hailey Salvian and Scott Wheeler rank the top 40 players available, led by Wisconsin center Casey O'Brien. Why can't you kick the puck into the net? We believe that in hockey, as in life, there are no dumb questions. So if you have something you've always wondered about the sport, ask away by emailing us at redlight@ Why does hockey have the rule preventing a player from kicking a puck into the goal? I get the what, I do not get the why. Is it a safety issue? — Matt V. You're halfway there. Yes, the rule is partly about safety, although that's not the primary reason. There's a bigger part here that a lot of fans miss. Advertisement Basically, the NHL rulebook says you can score only with your stick. That's it. Your stick is all that you can use to intentionally propel the puck into the net. That's why you can't throw the puck into the net, unless you're Nelson Emerson. You can't bat the puck with your glove or arm. And as we learned a few years ago, you can't even head-butt the puck into the goal, soccer-style. Accidental deflections are fine, but you can't intentionally use any body part to propel the puck into the net. So that's the main reason for the kicking rule. It's consistent with the rest of the rulebook and the overall philosophy — sticks are for scoring. Nothing else is. The problem we run into is that most of that other stuff is easy enough to call. There's not a ton of gray area on head-butting the puck into the net. But with skates, it gets tricker. The puck spends most of the game along the ice surface where all the skates are, and eventually you're going to get some tough calls when it comes to intentionality, or the infamous 'distinctive kicking motion.' That occasionally leads to someone asking why we don't just scrap the distinction entirely and allow players to kick the puck into the net if they want to. Hey, more scoring is good, right? And maybe it is, but this is where the safety issues come into play. Those skate blades are very sharp, and a goalie reaching for a puck along the ice is taking a non-zero risk. We don't want to make it worse by encouraging players to be swinging their skates around near loose pucks. So the rule exists because it fits with the rest of the rulebook, and we haven't changed it because of safety concerns. If that leads to the occasional confusing call — and it will — then the league seems willing to live with it. Hey, a trade is a trade: I'll confess to a little misdirection on this one, but it's Jake Guentzel. Yes, he was traded last summer, with the Hurricanes sending his rights to Tampa on June 30. The Lightning used that window to get him locked in a long-term deal, but while you might think of him as a free-agency acquisition, he was technically traded. His 41 goals and 80 points put him comfortably ahead of the field. 📫 Love Red Light? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters. (Top photo of Mitch Marner: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)

Get In, Losers—China's Driving the Car-Biz Bus
Get In, Losers—China's Driving the Car-Biz Bus

Motor Trend

time21-05-2025

  • Automotive
  • Motor Trend

Get In, Losers—China's Driving the Car-Biz Bus

I first traveled to China in 2000 as a tourist, and as luck would have it, my arrival hotel was across the street from the hall where doors were opening on the first media day of the Beijing Motor Show. Tempting as it was to try to talk my way in there with my business card, tourist visa, and old-school camera, I stuck to the tour-group itinerary—Great Wall, Forbidden City, and a Chinese opera (an ear-splitting agony I vowed never to endure again). But the fact that a hotel that close to an auto show was billeting tour groups speaks volumes to the turn-of-the-millennium state of the Chinese car biz. 0:00 / 0:00 See All 9 Photos Front-end photo comparison shows uncanny resemblance between China's Chery QQ3 and South Korea's Daewoo Matiz (aka Chevy Sprint). I embarked on that trip knowing next to nothing about the car scene in China. Japanese cars had spent a few decades morphing from junk to state-of-the-art in the U.S. market, and Korean-made ones were making that transition way faster. The Chinese-made vehicles our tour buses were dicing with on the roads seemed decades behind the Koreans, and it appeared the masses were mostly getting around on two wheels. In those days the joke was, 'R&D in China means receive and duplicate,' and indeed China's Chery QQ had just launched as a complete knockoff of the Daewoo Matiz. See All 9 Photos The Markus family visits the Forbidden City in 2000. That's Frank on the left, next to his mom. 25 Years' Worth of Massive Change The political climate then versus now certainly couldn't have been more different. The Chinese people we encountered back then seemed genuinely thankful for America's help in freeing them from Japan's ugly occupation of their country prior to and during WWII, for which they were darned grateful. (Buick's popularity as a brand in China partly stems from imagery of our army generals riding around in them.) Today, the average person on the street is confused by (and pretty pissed off about) our tariff policy, as it stands to make their lives difficult, too. See All 9 Photos The Markus family tours the Great Wall in 2000. Now as then, I'm neither a political nor a business reporter, so I don't keep religious tabs on every nuance of international trade, but I've been aware of the disadvantageous (to the U.S.) and one-sided automotive tech transfer that's occurred with China over the past quarter century. China enjoys a planned economy, and the automotive plan around the time of my 2000 visit was this: Foreign automakers that desire access to our billions of buyers must build cars here in a 50/50 joint venture with a Chinese automaker that is granted access to all your technology and intellectual property. Basically, 'to sell cars here, you must show us how you design and build them.' Had America had a central planning commission, we might have nixed that plan, but the GMs and Fords of the world couldn't resist the access to China's burgeoning market. Even outside of these arrangements, it seems fair to say that international patent law enforcement has been a little lax, to put it mildly. And, of course, one-party rule prevents China's grand plan from drastically changing every few years. See All 9 Photos Man moves his car from blocking tour bus in 2000. By everything I was able to determine during this most recent visit, the Chinese were quick studies and have zoomed past us in the car development game. The present and future is software-defined vehicles, and China is long-suited in the software, firmware, and hardware engineering talent needed to develop them—with many engineers having been schooled in the U.S.A. Can you name an American or European automaker that has designed and developed its own silicon chip capable of outperforming Nvidia's offerings while using less power? I can't, but I came across two Chinese automakers on the floor at Auto Shanghai 2025 (Nio and Xpeng) that have, and I may have missed others. See All 9 Photos Bikes seemed to outnumber cars in 2000. Now, most of the bikes you see are ride-share rentals. A stereotype/misimpression many Americans have of the Chinese is that they are less creative and individualistic, but individualism is now revered here, which is why the roadways are jammed with so many bright, pastel, and otherwise vibrantly colored cars. Well, that and the fact that people generally order their cars, because delivery often takes just a few weeks. And car styling in China has advanced rapidly in recent years, if the Shanghai show floor is any indication. See All 9 Photos The Porsche Taycan influenced the design of many Chinese cars including the Xiaomi SU7. Sure, there's still plenty of copycatting. China has fallen hard for the look of the Porsche Taycan and Panamera, because most automakers offer a reasonable facsimile of those designs, in both their fastback and turismo/wagon guises. (I was told the actual Taycan itself has fallen out of favor, as folks view its electrical architecture as outdated.) The Ora Ballet Cat is a pure VW Beetle knockoff (upsized and given four doors), and many would-be rivals to the global bestselling Tesla Model Y bear more than a passing resemblance to that ubiquitous original. See All 9 Photos To keep the proportions looking right, the four-door Ora Ballet Cat is way bigger than any VW Beetle, New or vintage. Government Planning Advantages Come with Less (and More) Cost The European Union devoted quite a bit of time and energy to studying the Chinese auto industry and the degree to which the government subsidizes it, to determine a reasonable and commensurate tariff to levy. I'm not at all sure how they managed that task, arriving at 35 percent on top of an existing 10 percent tariff. How many dollars/Euros is it worth when the government bears all the capital expense of providing land and building a gigantic factory that it then leases back to the automaker? How do you put a tariff value on monetary policy that ensures export-friendly exchange rates? What's the worker wage subsidy of nobody having to pay for healthcare or social security insurance? Any cursory glance at the feature content versus price of some Chinese cars makes it difficult to imagine free labor screwing together the bill of materials for the price being asked, if all said parts had been made by companies that pay their employees reasonable wages and benefits and while returning shareholder value. Chinese streets seem to be filled by happy citizens enjoying consumerism about on par with our own. Shopping malls are filled with designer brands and dining out on amazing food is crazy cheap. Chinese citizens and residents don't dream of owning a home and the land under it, because the government essentially owns all the real estate. Most people rent, but folks who are able to buy an apartment, house, or building enter a 70-year lease on the land it sits on. This keeps the economy planners' options open, drastically reducing 'eminent domain' red tape. Of course, America's younger generations find themselves tempering their own homeownership dreams for entirely different reasons. See All 9 Photos Beijing was never as bad as Xian, and they're both much cleaner now, but the air quality is not up to North American standards. The pace at which stuff can happen in a planned economy is utterly mind-blowing. An auto factory's groundbreaking to Job One rolling off a line can take as little as two years. Giant apartment blocks go up in a heartbeat. Planned economies certainly are efficient. Of course, a pristine environment has yet to top the planners' priority list, so while air quality has improved since my 2000 visit (my lungs never ached this time), it's still way behind our own. I was aware of the curtailed speech freedom. China is like one big corporation, with everybody toeing the company line. Global leadership in autonomous driving has been part of 'The Plan' for quite some time, but a few days before my arrival there was a nasty wreck involving a vehicle navigating on its ADAS systems. As a result, the government announced new regulations on the development and marketing of autonomous driving technology. The feature content versus price of some Chinese cars makes it difficult to imagine free labor screwing together the bill of materials for the price being asked. Can the U.S. Get Back in Gear? So what were my big takeaways? America (like Europe) seems to have become a passenger on the automobility bus, which China is now driving. Our government (including presidents from both parties) has effectively barred Chinese EVs from our market. And although there has been some talk of turning the tables—making U.S. market access contingent upon 50/50 JVs with tech transfer—I sense it's way too late for that to help. In hindsight, we probably should have also offered every Chinese engineering graduate of a U.S. institution a sweetheart deal to stay here in the land of the free instead of hassling them with anti-immigrant visa and green-card hurdles, essentially forcing them to return home. This toothpaste is all out of the tube for good, I'm afraid, and our continuing lack of investment in education seems sure to force us ever farther toward the back of the line. Instead, our current leadership seems intent on trying to emulate Chinese planned-market efficiency by removing as much of the red tape as possible so the industry can blaze ahead unfettered. Can this really work, absent a China-level plan? Is there a political playbook that could pull us out of our auto-industry nosedive? What if these efforts simply leave us with a dirty environment and end up compromising free speech, while driving our best and brightest to emigrate? Maybe I'm just unable to see the big picture. Maybe the globe's biggest, most fractious democracy will somehow come together and grab the stick, pulling hard enough in the same direction to arrest our current nosedive and regain some altitude. Maybe today's efforts will fix America's auto industry (and others), restoring the classic American dream for our young people. Whatever ends up happening, hopefully it won't take another 25 years for us to figure out how we start driving the bus again.

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