NHL proposes new Draft Lottery; top pick open to ‘all non-playoff’ teams

The news came out Friday morning that the NHL had sent the NHLPA a new CBA proposal and that has sparked the latest round of optimism in the hockey world that the 2012-13 season could be saved.

Donald Fehr will have a conference call with the players Friday afternoon to discuss the intricacies of the proposal, so we won't get an idea how truly optimistic we should be until the union-related leaks make it to the media.

ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun obtained the proposal sent to the union and among the highlights include: six-year term limits on contracts (seven if a team is re-signing their own player); a joint NHL/NHLPA health and safety committee featuring an equal number of representatives from both sides; the "Formation of new 'Owner-Player Relations Committee,' with broad-based participation from Owners and Players intended to foster and establish better understanding and stronger working relationships"; and added days off for players during training camp and the regular season.

One part at the very end of the proposal would bring a change to the NHL Draft Lottery as we know it:

No one tell Steve Tambellini!

So instead of the five worst teams in the league having the chance to move down as many as four spots to get to No. 1 overall, it's opened to the other nine teams that fail to make the Stanley Cup playoffs.

It's weighted, so a team like the Columbus Blue Jackets would have had the best percentage to pick No. 1 this past June, but the Buffalo Sabres, who missed the playoffs last season by three points, could still dream of NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly opening a giant envelope with their logo on a placard inside announcing who will make the first overall selection.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy