ESPN has come across an email that NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly sent to the clubs. It is proposed that the draft should take place virtually in early June, where players should be connected via social media in their own living rooms, this to avoid contact.

Originally, it was intended that the ceremony would take place during solemn forms in Montreal June 26-27.

It is hoped to get started with the interrupted NHL season in the summer, perhaps in August. This means that the next season is likely to move forward in time, may move for several months. This makes it difficult to keep a draft between seasons as is usual.

- We don't want a situation where we should squeeze it with shoe horns. We will also have the draft lottery (for 15 clubs) and do not want to run the draft with a window of time too short, Daly said in a radio interview during Friday, Reuters reports.

The season was halted because of the corona pandemic on March 12, and the team had played between 68 and 71 games (of 82).

American football, the NFL, completed its draft last weekend, attracting record audiences via television and social media. 55 million viewers followed the broadcast.

ARCHIVE: Audience record for digital NFL draft (April 27, 2020)

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