NHL: 5 takeaways from a busy week of coronavirus news
By Paul Taylor
3) Changing the playoff format
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said he hopes/expects to finish the 2019-20 campaign in some form and award the Stanley Cup. As per Sportnet‘s Elliotte Friedman, this would likely mean a change in how teams qualify for the playoffs, but which idea is best?
The most talked-about suggestion is basing qualification on points percentage rather than actual points. For example, this would mean the New York Islanders replacing the Columbus Blue Jackets in the playoffs despite currently sitting one point behind them in the standings.
Friedman notes that another possibility is getting every team to 72 games. While fairer than points percentage, this would only become viable if there was enough time to fit in any more regular-season action.
In respect of time limitations, each playoff series could be reduced from seven games to five, three or even just one. For anyone who doesn’t like this idea — and one game is certainly not enough — time restraints could instead lead to having just four teams qualify from each conference rather than eight.
No matter what direction the NHL takes, there will be players, organizations, and fans who won’t be happy. However, each of the suggestions above will be impacted by how much time the league has to finish this season, if at all.