The Athletic’s Sean McIndoe discusses the long-forgotten “Supplemental Draft” this morning. The NHL once doled out the rights of NCAA-playing players aged 21 or older via this draft, and McIndoe blames the Red Wings for its abuse and misuse…Sort of…
As with most things in life, the problem starts with the Detroit Red Wings.
Specifically, the Red Wings were upsetting everyone in the mid-80s by actually trying to win — and worse, by spending money to do it. They’d just been purchased by pizza magnate Mike Ilitch, and he got the crazy idea in his head that he could build a better team by spending money. This did two things: Annoyed his fellow owners, who were all cheapskates, and led to every article about the situation making a joke about the pizza guy and his dough. (As one example, enjoy this archived Sports Illustrated piece from 1985 that repeatedly refers to the new guy as “Mike Hitch”.)
Spending money on standard-issue UFAs like Warren Young and Harold Snepsts was bad enough. But Ilitch went a step further in 1985, handing GM Jimmy Devellano a blank check to sign a group of college free agents. All five players were too old to be eligible for the entry draft but had caught the attention of scouts late in their college careers. The Wings signed all of them to multiyear deals paying them six figures, unheard-of sums for unproven prospects.
Continued (paywall) with a bit about the Wings’ misses and one hit (Adam Oates) in the Supplemental Draft…
And no, you could never call Mike Ilitch a hockey cheapskate.
