UPDATE: NHLPA votes for further negotiations on 24-team return to play format

[dino7c]

Montreal/Chicago being three wins away from playing the 4th seed in the first round is ridiculous

[Jiggy_12]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Montreal/Chicago being two wins away from playing the 4th seed in the first round is ridiculous

They’re not. If they only win twice, they’ll lose their series 3 games to 2

[chummer]

So 16 teams will have to win 19 games to win the Cup.

Fitting I guess.

[FlamesAddiction]

With so much time off already, seeding isn't going to be a huge factor IMO.

Some teams are going to come in fresh and will have a running start. Others are going to have players that let themselves go a little during the time off.

Think of it like how it is at the beginning of the season when some upstart teams capitalize on their energy while other teams are still getting their legs. The standings were much different after the first 20 games of the season until the ~60th game when some teams were clearly heading up and some going in the other direction.

With the time off, it is going to be like a re-set in a lot of ways and jumping into a playoff tournament has a high potential for an upset.

[calgaryred]

Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction

With so much time off already, seeding isn't going to be a huge factor IMO.



Some teams are going to come in fresh and will have a running start. Others are going to have players that let themselves go a little during the time off.



Think of it like how it is at the beginning of the season when some upstart teams capitalize on their energy while other teams are still getting their legs. The standings were much different after the first 20 games of the season until the ~60th game when some teams were clearly heading up and some going in the other direction.



With the time off, it is going to be like a re-set in a lot of ways and jumping into a playoff tournament has a high potential for an upset.

Watch for Toronto and Edmonton to make some noise

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[bubbsy]

So if this vote passes tomorrow, what's the earliest (and latest) start date?

[colbym72]

I am so excited for hockey to come back in a pretty regular format after the first best of 5 round. Weird how many people seem to be actively rooting against it

[direwolf]

Originally Posted by calgaryred

Watch for Toronto and Edmonton to make some noise

[Dragomir]

Originally Posted by colbym72

I am so excited for hockey to come back in a pretty regular format after the first best of 5 round. Weird how many people seem to be actively rooting against it

Other leagues have restarted with the same format as before. Like others have said it’s obvious the NHL is doing this as a cash grab at the expense of their integrity. I want hockey back as well but the argument against the 16 team playoff format being “unique circumstances” holds a lot less water when other leagues haven’t altered anything in order to maintain their integrity.

[colbym72]

Originally Posted by Dragomir

Other leagues have restarted with the same format as before. Like others have said it’s obvious the NHL is doing this as a cash grab at the expense of their integrity. I want hockey back as well but the argument against the 16 team playoff format being “unique circumstances” holds a lot less water when other leagues haven’t altered anything in order to maintain their integrity.

Were the other leagues close to ending their season? Soccer leagues don't do playoff formats like the NHL does so you can just resume play easier. They also don't play as physical of sport that requires skating. There isn't a 100% perfect solution. Just a doable fair solution which this is. All sports are a cash grab. But the product is worth my cash. Do we have to bitch about everything? We get a bonus round of play in and then regular playoffs

[monkeyman]

Originally Posted by Rejean31

As much as it pains me to say it, I most definitely think that if this goes ahead, Edmonton will be named a hub city.

As cool as I think it'd be for the province, I don't see the players, NHLPA or NHL agreeing to spend weeks/months in Edmonton when there are other, more attractive options available.
It's not attractive from a players or a marketing standpoint.

Of course, how many other cities can tempt the NHL and players with two bootlegger and two the source locations in the same mall? Or banners commemorating 9 sold out concerts? so maybe?

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

They’re not. If they only win twice, they’ll lose their series 3 games to 2

My mistake...still I would choose Chicago's spot over Calgary right now. They have to reseed after the play in, it's way too easy for a 12th place team to get a decent first round matchup

[chummer]

Originally Posted by dino7c

My mistake...still I would choose Chicago's spot over Calgary right now. They have to reseed after the play in, it's way too easy for a 12th place team to get a decent first round matchup

There's no re-seeding, it's a bracket.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by chummer

There's no re-seeding, it's a bracket.

They should for the start of the 16 team playoff

Dead and buried Chicago wins 3 games and is suddenly playing a four seed in the first round while legit playoff teams get tougher matchups

[Jiggy_12]

Originally Posted by dino7c

They should for the start of the 16 team playoff

Dead and buried Chicago wins 3 games and is suddenly playing a four seed in the first round while legit playoff teams get tougher matchups

I sort of see it, but Calgary was pretty far from a legit playoff team. We were right on the bubble.

Very good chance if we snuck in to playoffs we were playing a 1 seed like STL anyhow.

[dino7c]

And Chicago had zero chance

Arizona
Chicago
Minny

Would all have easier potential first round matchups...to me that is a joke. It's not even a homer thing I feel the same way in the East look at Montreal.

From what is being reported GMs are also raising these concerns

[getbak]

Originally Posted by chummer

There's no re-seeding, it's a bracket.

There's no good reason for it to be a bracket though.

The only reason to use a bracketed structure is if it's something like the NCAA tournaments where teams are located in various host cities and travel isn't possible between rounds. In this situation, all of the teams will be in the same city.

Originally Posted by Jiggy_12

I sort of see it, but Calgary was pretty far from a legit playoff team. We were right on the bubble.

Very good chance if we snuck in to playoffs we were playing a 1 seed like STL anyhow.

The Flames were on the bubble. Chicago wasn't anywhere near the bubble.

The Flames were closer to second place in their Division than Chicago was to second-last place in theirs.

[Manhattanboy]

Am ok with including bubble teams but going from 16 to 24 is too much.

20 was the number kicked around a couple weeks ago and makes sense.

[sureLoss]

Look like the NHLPA will vote yes on the 24 team plan:

Darren Dreger
@DarrenDreger
NHLPA Exec Board is voting on return to play proposal. (24 teams, top 4 teams per conference play each other, 16 teams have a play in round). If vote passes additional details to be negotiated with the NHL. Voting process likely completed by tomorrow night.

Bob McKenzie @TSNBobMcKenzie
It’s my understanding NHLPA conference call tonight was spirited if not raucous. While exec committee voting won’t be finalized until Friday, some believe Don Fehr may already have or will get the mandate to accept NHL RTP plan but not overwhelmingly so.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by Manhattanboy

Am ok with including bubble teams but going from 16 to 24 is too much.

20 was the number kicked around a couple weeks ago and makes sense.

The thing is, there’s a nice break after 11 teams in the east and after 10 or 12 teams in the west.

If you just have 10 teams per conference, who’s going to tell one of either NYR or Florida that they are out when the other is in?