Report: NHL Draft being moved up to October 6 and 7

Good news, everybody! Multiple sources are reporting that the 2020 NHL Draft, originally scheduled for October 9 and 10, has been bumped up by a couple days to October 6 and 7.

So rather than being conducted on a Friday (Round 1) and Saturday (Rounds 2 through 7), the NHL Draft will take place on a Tuesday (Round 1) and Wednesday (Rounds 2 through 7). The move was likely facilitated by the NHL saving a couple days on their playoff schedule over the past couple months.

Conveniently, this also means that free agency no longer opens up on the first day of the draft, but rather two days afterwards. That sound you’re hearing is 31 hockey operations departments – and the NHL’s Central Registry – breathing a collective sigh of relief.