NHL executive on battle for 1st overall pick at 2015 Draft: 'It's embarrassing'

With exceptional talents like Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel available at this year's NHL Draft, there's been no shortage of "tank talk" as teams not-so-subtly jockey for the best shot at selecting first overall.

The situation recently came to a head when Buffalo Sabres' fans cheered over a loss to the Arizona Coyotes, thereby keeping their last-place rivals further at bay.

While the NHL is moving towards leveling out the odds of landing the top pick over the next couple of years, the notion of actively tanking is bothersome and could lead to further change, one league executive told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun:

It's embarrassing. 

You can't blame the teams involved because there is a reward for failure and that’s the highest odds in the lottery. Maybe you need to change the lottery to give all the teams that miss the playoffs an even chance at the No. 1 pick, or not weight it so much. Who knows?

This year, the last place team will have only a 20 percent chance of winning the Draft lottery. They're also guaranteed to select no lower than second, making a player of Eichel's talent hockey's great consolation prize.

But whenever the next generational talent comes along, tanking may be a thing of the past.