Playoff formats that would and wouldn’t work for the Vegas Golden Knights
It has been nearly four weeks since the Vegas Golden Knights saw their season come to an abrupt halt due to the coronavirus crisis.
With our country and the rest of the world still grappling with COVID-19, the sporting world has rightly taken a backseat, including the Vegas Golden Knights.
There is a hope, however, that hockey could return this year with the NHL desperate to crown a Stanley Cup Champion.
That is understandable for a number of reasons, including the fact that sports is a welcome distraction and a source of hope for many people.
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Furthermore, a cancelled season including no playoffs would severely hurt the NHL’s bottom line and could impact future seasons, starting with 2020-21.
And days like today hammer home the fact that the NHL is on lockdown with the Stanley Cup Playoffs slated to start tonight.
It should have been Christmas today but, instead, Commissioner Gary Bettman will continue to try and come up with a number of contingency plans.
Speaking to NBCSN’s Mike Tirico, Bettman stressed again that the NHL hopes to complete the regular season, a plan many a high-profile player is in support of, although he did admit that it may not be possible due to the ongoing nature of COVID-19.
One other option that has been discussed has been the possibility of jumping straight into the postseason, although that would of course throw up a few logistical nightmares.
The NHL has to be fair to a number of teams and, as a result, a bevy of potential formats have been proposed, although some are sheer madness.
However, due to the fact that we are in uncharted territory right now, everything has to be on the table.
As a result, we are going to take a close look at a few and assess whether they would or wouldn’t work from a Vegas Golden Knights perspective.
Let’s delve in…
Tradition
As mentioned in the previous slide, the NHL would love nothing better than to finish the regular season and then commence with the Stanley Cup Playoffs in its traditional format.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that this would be the best-case scenario but, given everything that is going on right now, you don’t need to be top of your class either to grasp that this is probably a long shot.
But let’s consider it for a brief moment anyway.
Should by some kind of miracle the Golden Knights get the opportunity to finish the regular season before the playoffs begin, then they would likely enter the postseason as the winner of the Pacific Division.
As a result, they would have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs and that in itself is a huge advantage, especially at T-Mobile Arena.
Obviously, this would be the best-case scenario for the Golden Knights and finishing the regular season first would allow them to shake off some rust before getting down to business.
24-Team Playoff Field
One of the most popular suggestions thrown about in regards to the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been to expand the field to 24-teams.
The thinking behind that idea is, if the regular season is cancelled, then an expanded playoff format would allow those teams currently on the bubble the chance to extend their season.
For the likes of the New York Rangers, the New York Islanders and the Vancouver Canucks, they would benefit from the NHL expanding the field.
Each Conference would have 12 teams and it would certainly make for a wild battle for the Stanley Cup, especially when hockey is likely to run through the summer if hockey does return.
Hot weather, cold beers and playoff hockey, what could be better?!
From an entertainment and fairness point of view, expanding the field to 24-teams would probably be the best option.
However, there is a negative for the Golden Knights at play here and that is the fact that, as a top seed, they would get a First Round bye with those teams on the bubble having to contest a play-in game.
Now, in normal circumstances, having the luxury of a bye in the wake of a gruelling regular season would be ideal.
But, in this situation the Golden Knights will already be coming off a prolonged hiatus and they will have enough rust to shake off in the first place, let alone having to wait another week or two before getting back on the ice.
That is a sentiment that has been echoed by Golden Knights Head Coach Peter DeBoer in separate interviews with The Athletic and ESPN On Ice.
It is a tough one because jumping straight into the traditional playoff format wouldn’t be fair on those bubble teams, but the NHL needs to ensure that they protect the integrity of the Stanley Cup at the same time.
For the Golden Knights, they would still be a top seed and have home-ice advantage in a 24-team playoff format, although they would have have to wait for their opponent with the Nashville Predators, the Winnipeg Jets and the Minnesota Wild all possibilities.
It wouldn’t be ideal for the Golden Knights in the aspect that they would have to wait even longer before they actually hit a puck in competitive anger, but 24 teams would certainly make for crazy viewing.
Keep Dreaming, P.K.
Of all the crazy ideas thought up when it comes to discussing how hockey should look like if it returns this year, one boneheaded suggestion stands out on its own.
If you missed it, New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban spoke with ESPN’s First Take last month, where he revealed his desire for the NHL to introduce a 31-team format for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Yes, that does include every single team.
So, in a world where that becomes reality, the Detroit Red Wings, who put together one of the most historically bad seasons of all time, would get a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup along with the Golden Knights who have earned their right to be in the playoffs.
Ridiculous.
But, given that it is something he mentioned before, Subban didn’t appear to be trolling hockey fans and it seems that this is an idea he generally thinks would work.
What was more baffling was the fact that Subban suggested his Devils team were making a push down the stretch.
Okay, so they went 6-2-2 over their previous 10 games prior to the break but, sitting 26th in the NHL with 68 points and 13 behind the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, the Devils were hardly a Wild Card contender.
You do have to admire P.K. for shooting his shot but, again, the NHL has to protect the integrity of the Stanley Cup and this isn’t the way to do it.
It is an absolute grind and an attrition of war to slog your way to the Stanley Cup Final and then to win the greatest prize in all of sports, so having teams like the Red Wings and the Ottawa Senators in the postseason would make a mockery of all those teams who have worked so hard in order to lift Lord Stanley in years past.
Plus, and as already mentioned, it is hardly fair on teams like the Golden Knights who have battled all season long to emerge as one of the top teams in the NHL.
I’m sorry P.K. Subban but this idea just doesn’t work for me.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the NHL face a near-impossible task to keep everyone happy should hockey return at some point this year.
If they are able to finish the regular season and then jump into the normal 16-team playoffs, those teams on the bubble won’t be happy.
Then, if you expand the field to 24-teams and play with the idea of shortening the opening rounds, you not only risk upsetting the top seeds by forcing them to have a bigger break, but you also damage the integrity of the Stanley Cup which is a huge no.
The Vegas Golden Knights will be in regardless and will have home-ice advantage, but not all the suggested playoff formats will work for them.
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Of course, at this stage we all just want hockey back in our lives but the NHL needs to ensure that the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs remain true to the rich history of this beloved game of ours.