With the 2019-20 season on pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, the NHL on Wednesday postponed three upcoming events: the scouting combine in Buffalo, the NHL Awards in Las Vegas and the NHL draft in Montreal.
The draft was scheduled for June 26-27 at Bell Centre, making its way to Montreal for the first time since 2009.
“The location, timing and format of the 2020 NHL Draft (and Draft Lottery) will be announced when details are finalized,” the league said in a news release.
This sets up the possibility that the NHL could hold the 2020 draft in private and with teams picking from remote locations, something the league hasn’t seen since the 1970s in a non-lockout season.
The scouting combine, set for June 1-6, has traditionally been the last chance for draft prospects to make impressions on team executives.
The NHL Awards were held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center last year, but a venue for 2020 was not yet announced. The Awards had been scheduled for June 18.
The NHL said it “looks forward to returning to Las Vegas in the future.” Las Vegas has hosted the Bridgestone NHL Awards since 2009.
The NHL halted its season on March 12.