It goes without saying, that the draft is the most important resource for NHL teams. The draft gives the 31 teams access to young talent that can be held under team control for at minimum seven years or until the player is 27. On any given night, an NHL team dressed 18 skaters and two goaltenders, 20 players is far too many to depend on free agency and trades to acquire.
With the league’s salary cap going up pretty much every season now, the crunch is not as serious, but every dollar counts. Across all of the salary cap sports, there is a clear formula for success that is being replicated at every level of competition.