I also think that tanking for a better draft pick ruins hockey for the fans. However in order to keep the parity in the league, a tournament would not be a great idea. So the draft lottery stays as it is but...
I think we could use a financial deterrent of finishing lower in the standings.
I was thinking of two possible solutions:
1. During the season collect a percent of the revenue to be redistributed at the end of the season based on accomplishments(prize money if you will).
2. The standing would determine which percent of your revenues would you need to pay the following year. Where a last place team has to pay the most. I use it as a percentage because a team with lower revenues could really be crippled by a fixed sum.
This way an out of market team could get rewarded with substantial money for next season for winning, making the league even more competitive. In contrast a richer team that is tanking would be forced to pay higher fines.
Let me know what you think. I doubt it is plausible because I doubt the GMs would agree to something like this, but it would sure make things more exciting!
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