The 2024 NHL Draft will be held at the Las Vegas Sphere on June 28 and 29, according to a report from TSN’s Darren Dreger. The decision came after a vote for the NHL Board of Governors.
This will also be the final NHL draft to be held in a singular location. After the 2024 season, the draft will be moved to a decentralized format, where players all meet in a single venue while teams’ front offices remain in their respective cities.
The NHL sent a memo to all 32 NHL teams in October announcing that the vast majority of NHL teams voted to decentralize the draft. Teams previously voiced concern about the cost of sending team employees and scouts to a singular location and the potential for information leaks with so many teams in close proximity. The league also has an extremely tight turnaround between draft and free agency. The 2023 draft ended on June 29 and had free agency begin July 1.
The NHL is the first professional sports league to make use of the $2.3 billion venue, owned by New York Rangers owner Jim Dolan.
