2020 NHL Entry Draft: Discussion thread

The Colorado Avalanche go into the 2020 NHL Entry draft with only six picks but a clear desire to improve the lineup. As many teams will be looking to shed salary over the next two days, the Avs have the financial flexibility to take advantage of the cap hell other teams find themselves in. Joe Sakic has put his team in a very advantageous position when it comes to the salary cap and it could pay off in a big way with the cap remaining flat for the next two seasons.

Teams will be looking to shed some money before free agency opens on Friday so starting today, we should see a lot of roster movement - and the Avalanche could be right in the middle of it.

As of now, the Avalanche are sitting with the 25th selection in the draft. We will see if Sakic decides to hold on to it or if he uses the pick as an asset in a trade to acquire a player who can have an immediate impact in the lineup.

Thanks to a very deep first round, reduced budgets around the league and uncertainty as to when the next season is even going to begin, the next few days could be the craziest in terms of player movement that we’ve ever seen in the NHL.

How to watch the draft

Round 1

Date: Tuesday, October 6

Start time: 5:00 PM MDT

TV Channel: Sportsnet, TVA Sports (Canada), NBCSN (USA)

Rounds 2-7

Date: Wednesday, October 7

Start time: 9:30 AM MDT

TV Channel: Sportsnet One (Canada), NHL Network (USA)

First round order

1. New York Rangers - Alexis Lafreniere
2. Los Angeles Kings - Quinton Byfield
3. Ottawa Senators (via San Jose Sharks) - Tim Stutzle
4. Detroit Red Wings - Lucas Raymond
5. Ottawa Senators - Jake Sanderson
6. Anaheim Ducks - Jamie Drysdale
7. New Jersey Devils - Alexander Holtz
8. Buffalo Sabres - Jack Quinn
9. Minnesota Wild - Marco Rossi
10. Winnipeg Jets - Cole Perfetti
11. Nashville Predators - Yaroslav Askarov
12. Florida Panthers - Anton Lundell
13. Carolina Hurricanes (via Toronto Maple Leafs) - Seth Jarvis
14. Edmonton Oilers - Dylan Holloway
15. Toronto Maple Leafs (via Pittsburgh Penguins) - Rodion Amirov
16. Montreal Canadiens - Kaiden Guhle
17. Chicago Blackhawks - Lukas Reichel
18. New Jersey Devils (via Arizona Coyotes) - Dawson Mercer
19. New York Rangers (via Calgary Flames) - Braden Schneider
20. New Jersey Devils (via Vancouver Canucks by way of Tampa Bay Lightning) - Shakir Mukhamadullin
21. Columbus Blue Jackets - Yegor Chinakhov
22. Washington Capitals (via Carolina Hurricanes) - Hendrix Lapierre
23. Philadelphia Flyers - Tyson Foerster
24. Calgary Flames (via Washington Capitals) - Connor Zary
25. Colorado Avalanche - Justin Barron
26. St. Louis Blues - Jake Neighbours
27. Anaheim Ducks (via Boston Bruins) - Jacob Perreault
28. Ottawa Senators (via New York Islanders) - Ridly Greig
29. Vegas Golden Knights - Brendan Brisson
30. Dallas Stars - Mavrik Bourque
31. San Jose Sharks (via Tampa Bay Lightning) - Ozzy Wiesblatt

Transactions

One big-ish trade in the afternoon leading up to the draft:

Matt Murray traded to the Ottawa Senators

The Nashville Predators have decided to buy out Kyle Turris. He will cost them $2m against the cap for the next eight (8!) years.