Tournament of Losers

[saillias]

Just do draft order alphabetically and shift the order down one team every year. Completely fair.

Oh, you're the Winnipeg Jets and you're the worst team in the league the first year of this system? You're in for a long wait, losers.

[Joborule]

You know if a team sucks so bad that they need a 1st overall pick, what makes people think that they'll win enough points after being mathematically eliminated to get the 1st? They were eliminated first because THEY CAN'T WIN GAMES!

If a team went 0-82, they wouldn't be able to get the first pick because some other team maybe went 1-81. If that doesn't show how dumb the logic is in rewarding teams that can yield more success than others giving them the best player in the draft, nothing will.

It's honestly a non-issue. Funny how it becomes a topic when Flames aren't a team that suck enough to get the first overall. Never heard this talked about so much in years past when Flames were winning games yet still missing playoffs.

If a team wants to suck so much that they get the first pick year in and year out, let them. Which they do not. They can't keep those players forever anyway, and if they wanted to do that, they'll hurt their bottom line since fans will get fed up with that crap. Look at the teams that constantly draft in the top 5, and see ask if they would prefer to be drafting later on or not.

[Rifleman]

I've said it once and I'll say it again.

Give the team with the most points and DIDN'T make the playoffs the first selection in the draft. If your team just barely misses the playoffs, congratulations, you might now have a superstar to help you become a contender. Last overall gets 14th pick, then the playoff teams get to pick.

Yes, this makes it so teams at the bottom don't improve as much but they need to suck it up and try to do better the next year. The draft system is the only thing I know of that rewards failure in life. I don't know of anything else which gives you something better the worse you perform. It doesn't happen in life, why should it happen with the draft lottery?

The thing I don't like about the current draft system is it puts currently winning and a long term winning strategy at odds with one another. If your team sucks, and you win more than the other losers, it's not a good long term winning strategy because you lose out on a high draft pick. A team adopting a long term winning strategy by losing now and drafting high means they don't want to win while rebuilding.

This gives the teams who try to make the playoffs a consolation prize if they don't make it, and teams who are chronically bad a reason to try and improve. The worst team one year, if they go from 30th overall to 26th overall, still move up the draft order. (From 14th pick to 10th pick, which isn't that bad.) The team that barely missed the playoffs, having a good pick, if the pick contributes right away, should improve enough that the team won't miss the playoffs the following year, so you also eliminate teams have two or three first overall picks in a row. (Though if a team barely missed the playoffs two years in a row, it could still happen.)

I'd rather reward teams that try and fall short than perpetual losers who tank and call that a "rebuilding plan".

I am also sick of some fans cheering for a loss so the team gets a better draft pick. At no point should and hockey team or the NHL EVER encourage fans to hope their team loses. It's counter to what sports is about.

[TheGrimm]

Originally Posted by Joborule

You know if a team sucks so bad that they need a 1st overall pick, what makes people think that they'll win enough points after being mathematically eliminated to get the 1st? They were eliminated first because THEY CAN'T WIN GAMES!

If a team went 0-82, they wouldn't be able to get the first pick because some other team maybe went 1-81. If that doesn't show how dumb the logic is in rewarding teams that can yield more success than others giving them the best player in the draft, nothing will.

It's honestly a non-issue. Funny how it becomes a topic when Flames aren't a team that suck enough to get the first overall. Never heard this talked about so much in years past when Flames were winning games yet still missing playoffs.

If a team wants to suck so much that they get the first pick year in and year out, let them. Which they do not. They can't keep those players forever anyway, and if they wanted to do that, they'll hurt their bottom line since fans will get fed up with that crap. Look at the teams that constantly draft in the top 5, and see ask if they would prefer to be drafting later on or not.

I have no problem whatsoever with the WORST team in the NHL having the best odds at a top pick, that's how it should be. The issue is that rather than promote competition among the non-playoff teams, the league has went one step further and actually implemented a system that serves the exact opposite function. The argument that this is the way other leagues such as the NBA do it is not an argument at all, the NHL can set an example and find creative ways to help the bottom teams while not hindering the competitive atmosphere at the end of the season.

The "pts after elimination" is intriguing as it does just that. It gives a distinct advantage to the teams that are terrible, while promoting teams to try to grab each and every point available right up to the last minute of that last game. How can you not want to watch that as a fan?

[Enoch Root]

the tournament of losers idea has two major flaws:

1) if you believe that teams tank, then you have to also believe that teams would simply tank earlier, in order to get into the 'tournament' as quickly as possible, and

2) the whole purpose of reverse drafting is that you are helping the teams that need it. Imagine a team where everything has gone poorly, injuries have devastated them, etc. They aren't tanking, they simply can't compete. Then, other teams tank to get into the tournament - those teams are then able to get points (because they were never really bad), but the bad team is unable to generate points.

Awesome system.

[cral12]

Many of these options were discussed preceding last year's draft lottery:

Fixing the NHL Entry Draft Lottery System: Playoff For Number One (+ 3 Other Options)

[Corral]

lets hope the flames make the playoffs next year so this forum doesn't have to talk about the "tournament of losers" - surely a topic only reserved for fans of losing teams.

[TurnedTheCorner]

This sounds like excellent online discussion fodder surrounding an idea that has absolutely zero chance of ever happening.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Who were the stars of "No hotlinking please" again? They're on the tip of my tongue.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Originally Posted by gvitaly

Let me know what you think.

OK.

Originally Posted by gvitaly

I doubt it is plausible

There it is.

[Sgrath]

Originally Posted by trumpethead

Why would teams who have already secured a playoff spot be required to play in a tournament where the prize is a playoff spot??

I did say there were some big holes in the crazy proposal lol

(Still think I am showing more hockey sense than KLowe )

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

Who were the stars of "No hotlinking please" again? They're on the tip of my tongue.