The NHL determines draft order from a lottery that favors teams that are lowest in the standings. Losing can help a franchise acquire a coveted prospect, which encourages fans to cheer against their favorite teams. Draft order based on mathematical elimination would force the teams that performed poorest into a highly competitive atmosphere. The teams that are eliminated earliest would instead have more games to earn the top picks. If substandard teams are to survive in mediocre markets, the injustice of incentives for losing must be eradicated.
© Copyright 2010 Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports. de Gruyter. All rights reserved.