No Toy, No Choice: Why the NHL Draft Isn’t Always a “Happy Meal”

So, You’ve been Drafted. Congratulations?

Let me set the scene…

You’ve just graduated from Le Cordon Bleu and you’re dreaming of opening your own fine-dining restaurant in Paris. Instead, you get a letter informing you that you’ve been assigned - without input - to work at a McDonald’s in rural Alaska.

Congratulations, chef. You’ve been drafted.

This scenario may sound absurd in most industries, but in professional sports, it’s the norm. The NHL Entry Draft, like drafts in other North American pro leagues, is a system that restricts a player’s autonomy from the moment they’re eligible to turn professional. While fans celebrate it as a rite of passage, the draft is built on a complex legal framework that raises real questions about fairness, consent, and competition law.

What Is the NHL Draft — and Why Does It Exist?

At its core, the NHL Entry Draft is a mechanism for distributing talent among teams in a way that promotes competitive balance. Rather than allow players to freely choose their employer - like almost every other industry - leagues use the draft to assign exclusive negotiating rights to one team.

The legal authority for this system comes from the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the NHL and the NHL Players' Association (NHLPA). The draft itself is collectively bargained - meaning it’s not imposed unilaterally by the league, but rather negotiated with the union representing current players - emphasis on current. (Players who do not yet belong to the league, and who are not yet represented by the Players’ Association, have no voice in this process.) This agreement provides the system with a legal shield against antitrust or restraint of trade claims.

What is an antitrust or restraint of trade claim? Good question.

They are legal actions taken against businesses or individuals engaging in anti-competitive practices. This is contrary to the intent of antitrust or restraint of trade laws, which aim to promote fair competition, prevent monopolies, and protect consumers from practices like price-fixing or collusion.

Still not clear? Think of all the options you have for cable television or mobile phone services in Canada - like Rogers, Bell, and… well, you get the idea.

How the NHL Draft Works

After the completion of the NHL playoffs, teams turn their minds to divvying up the new crop of upcoming players. Typically, the worst-performing team selects first, with the best-performing team selecting last, in each round, with the rationale being that the basement-dwelling teams are most in need of an injection of talent.

So, which players are subject to the draft? And how long are they beholden to their teams?

Eligibility Requirements (as of the revised CBA)

• Players must be 18 years old by September 15 of the draft year and not older than 20 by December 31.

• Players not selected in their initial draft year can be re-entered or become free agents, subject to CBA rules.

Draft Rights (as of the revised CBA)
Once a team selects a player, they hold that player's exclusive NHL signing rights for a defined period:

• If a player is drafted at age 18 - the team retains their rights through and including the fourth June 1 following their selection in the draft.

• If a player is drafted at age 19 - the team retains their rights through and including the third June 1 following their selection in the draft.

During this period, the player cannot negotiate with any other NHL team, even if the player has no interest in playing for the team, or if it plays in a location that the player finds undesirable. Their NHL rights are essentially frozen.

The Legal Questions Surrounding the Draft

While the draft system is legally protected under U.S. and Canadian labour law frameworks, it has not gone unchallenged. Across sports leagues, legal scholars and some player advocates have criticized drafts as:

• Restraints of Trade
  In any other context, denying a worker the right to freely negotiate with potential employers would raise serious antitrust concerns. The draft limits this economic freedom, though its protection under the labour exemption generally insulates it from challenge.

• Limitations on Player Autonomy
  Drafted players, many of whom are teenagers, are forced to accept the terms of their drafting club or sit out their prime development years. While this is often framed as “paying your dues,” it starkly contrasts with principles of informed consent and freedom of contract.

• Power Imbalances
  Prospective players have little or no bargaining power when it comes to where they go or how they are treated. Entry-level contracts are standardized, and many draftees end up assigned to minor-league affiliates far from the NHL spotlight.

Despite these concerns, courts in both the U.S. and Canada have been reluctant to interfere with collectively bargained sports league arrangements. In Clarett v. NFL, for example, Maurice Clarett challenged the NFL’s rule requiring players to be three years removed from high school graduation before entering the draft. A federal court upheld the NFL’s draft eligibility rules, citing the labour exemption even though they excluded a willing worker from entering the league.

To date, the draft process has survived legal scrutiny.

Can a Player Just Say No?

Technically, yes - but the consequences can be significant.

If a player refuses to sign with the team that drafted them:

• The team may retain their rights for the duration allowed under the CBA.

• The player may be forced to re-enter the draft (if eligible).

• First-round picks who remain unsigned may trigger compensatory picks for the team that drafted them.

There are rare cases where players have declined to sign. Eric Lindros famously refused to play for the Quebec Nordiques in 1991. As “the Next One,” Lindros had the leverage to compel the Nordiques to trade him to the New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers, but he is the exception, rather than the rule.

For decades, rejecting the team that drafts you has meant risking years of career stagnation, lost development, and diminished earnings, but the pendulum may be swinging in the other direction now. New NIL laws have come into force, enabling players to explore additional avenues to develop and earn compensation commensurate with that of an NHL entry-level contract.

(Did I just provide a link to my own article? Yes. Yes, I did.)

The Draft vs. Free Market Principles

There’s no question that the draft provides a functional benefit for leagues: it prevents wealthy teams from hoarding talent, and it ensures parity, in theory. Hope is a valuable commodity, and the league thrives when all fanbases (not you, Buffalo Sabres) believe that they have a chance at winning the Cup. But it’s also a system that values the league’s interests over the players’ freedom to choose their employer.

Because we grew up with the North American professional sports draft model, we think this is normal, but in many cases, we are the outlier. Contrast the NHL’s draft model with other professional soccer football (?) leagues in Europe, where players sign directly with clubs from youth academies, and you see just how exceptional the North American model really is.

Conclusion: Legal, But Not Always Fair

The NHL Entry Draft is legal - but legality doesn’t always equal fairness. While it's legitimized through collective bargaining, it reflects a broader trend in pro sports: balancing commercial interests, team competitiveness, and player rights.

It’s easy to romanticize the draft as the start of a dream, but for many young players, it’s a stark reminder that their professional futures - and financial livelihoods - can be determined by the random bounce of a few lottery balls. The draft isn’t always about talent alone; it’s about timing, organizational need, and a fair bit of luck. A player’s development, support system, and long-term trajectory can all hinge on which logo calls their name - not whether it’s the best fit.

So yes, the system may (attempt to) keep the league balanced, but let’s not pretend it always serves the player.

Having said that, if we’re going to send young athletes to hockey’s version of an Alaskan McDonald’s, the least we can do is make sure the McFlurry machine works.

(I know you guys just don’t want to clean it!)