The hockey writers misses one valuable element to hockey: viability. A team that bottoms out becomes in financial jeopardy almost immediately because hockey revenue is largely gate driven.
Parity and winning is nice, but having a 30-team league is important too. Having a quick turnover of rebuilds, less dynasties, and more frequent cycles between teams is probably a large factor in the draft.
Plus nobody feels bad for LA because they have to pick 30th, even though they should be (apparently) rewarded for their success.
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