Connor McDavid was chosen by the Oilers with their fourth first-overall pick in the last six NHL drafts this summer. Almost universally viewed as a generational player, McDavid is the kind of talent that should, presumably, finally help the perennially moribund Oilers finally find their way out of the NHL basement. He joins a list of recent Oilers first round, first-overall picks that include Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov. And while, other than McDavid, the Oilers seem to have done better with the picks later in the first-round over that span - Darnell Nurse in 2013, Leon Draisaitl in 2014 - it sounds like the league may be considering altering the draft format to ensure that the Oilers don't end up with the first overall pick again - at least in 2017.
"Well, they've talked about draft protection in the past, and obviously it's specific to the Edmonton Oilers," TSN NHL insider Darren Dreger said Thursday, while appearing on TSN's Insider Trading, via Today's Slap Shot's transcription. "If you look back to 2010, 2011, 2012, when the Edmonton Oilers drafted first overall in those three consecutive years, there were general managers out there who suggested that, 'You know what? Maybe we need to put something in place whereby you cannot draft more than once first overall, and you certainly cannot do it in back-to-back years.'
"They didn't discuss policy at that point, but it's expected - especially if the Oilers do win the lottery again, five out of seven - that it'll be discussed again."
The current NHL draft format sees the 14 teams that don't qualify for the postseason entered into a "weighted lottery." The worse the record, the better a team's chances to land a top pick. The team with the worst-overall record has a 20 percent chance of winning the lottery.
Since 2010, when they began their streak of first round, first-overall picks, the Oilers have finished last in the league and, thus, with the highest percentage chance at landing the top selection in the draft two times, in 2009-10 and 2010-11.
In the 2011-12 season, they finished second-to-last in the league and still landed the top pick over the Columbus Blue Jackets. This past season, they finished ahead of both the Arizona Coyotes and Buffalo Sabres, but still managed to land the right to select McDavid.
The NHL draft is set up in such a manner so as to increase parity, helping the worst teams climb out of the hole they've presumably dug for themselves, at the same time as it keeps the process fair. Over time, things should even out and the Oilers should regress to the mean when it comes to lottery results.
But there's no denying that it's odd that the Oilers have landed the top pick four times in the last six years, even though they had the greatest chance at it only twice. And there's also no denying that it looks bad for the league, as much as its embarrassing for the Oilers, that they keep landing the first pick.
While this whole discussion will prove moot if they don't select first-overall in 2016, the way the season is shaping up for the Oilers - they're currently tied with the Flames, Hurricanes and Blue Jackets for worst record in the league - it really wouldn't be surprising to see them first to the podium in Buffalo come June. At that point, the NHL may have no choice but to start a dialogue on possible draft protection.
