Time to update my anti-Gold Plan text file.
Every year on the main boards, somebody suggests the Gold Plan as a solution for tanking but they don't really do a deep dive. Essentially the Gold Plan would assign draft spots based on the number of points accrued after a team was eliminated from playoff contention. On the surface, it seems like a decent idea, except it ends up being random since there aren't that many games left.
Last year's order if determined by the Gold Plan:
1. Chicago (actual #2)
2. Arizona (#6)
3. Anaheim (#3)
4. Calgary (#9)
5. Columbus (#4)
6. San Jose (#1)
7. Ottawa (#7)
8. Seattle (#8)
9. Montreal (#5)
10. Buffalo (#11)
11. Minnesota (#13)
12. St. Louis (#16)
13. New Jersey (#10)
14. Philadelphia (#12)
15. Pittsburgh (#14)
16. Detroit (#15)
Some inherent problems: Teams in different conferences could be eliminated on the same day late in the season but have a differing number of games remaining. Minnesota and New Jersey were both eliminated April 10th last season, but the Wild had four games remaining and we only had three. So we'd drop three spots due to the randomness of 3-4 games.
If you're a selling team, do you hang onto a veteran if he doesn't command a premium return at the trade deadline? Like if you were Ottawa, do you trade Vladimir Tarasenko for a couple 3rd round picks or keep him to try to improve your draft slot? Obviously Tarasenko would prefer a chance at a Cup versus helping Ottawa get a prospect that he'd never play with.
If I'm counting on my fingers correctly, only 9 of the 20 guys the Blackhawks used in last year's season finale are still with the team. A higher draft pick isn't exactly a huge incentive for guys like Seth Jones or Taylor Hall. [/rant]