If a Team Loses the Play-In Round, is it Fair to Say they Missed the Playoffs?

[HyPnOtiK]

Play-in round is not the playoffs, therefore they clearly missed the playoffs.

 

[garbageteam]

I think the NHL has to come out and define this for the record books, most prominently perhaps for a team like the Penguins if they don't prevail. They absolutely would have made the Playoffs and continued the streak pre-Covid, so it wouldn't really be fair to officially mark them as "missed".

 

[LeafsNation75]

I think the NHL has to come out and define this for the record books, most prominently perhaps for a team like the Penguins if they don't prevail. They absolutely would have made the Playoffs and continued the streak pre-Covid, so it wouldn't really be fair to officially mark them as "missed".

I realize it would be not fair if a team like the Penguins missed the playoffs given that they would have made them in a regular 82 game season and the fact they have the longest streak in the NHL of qualifying for them.

However the NHL will not come out and say the Penguins missed the playoffs due to special circumstances because they lost to Montreal in a play in series to officially qualify. If they did than the same thing would have to be said for every team who loses in the play round.

I know the Maple Leafs current streak of making the playoffs for 3 straight years is not as long compared to the Penguins 13 year streak. However the NHL can not say the Penguins streak is any different compared to the Leafs streak should they both lose their play in round series.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

yes, it's basically just a way to speed up the end of the regular season and to bubble teams. The NHL is very clear these are not playoff games.

Is this the case? I had heard the NHL basically confirmed that these are playoff games and would count for player’s playoff stats.

 

[LeafsNation75]

yes, it's basically just a way to speed up the end of the regular season and to bubble teams. The NHL is very clear these are not playoff games. Granted, I don't think I would harshly criticize a team for losing a best 3 of 5 series. Nor would I consider it the same as missing the playoffs in a normal season

Is this the case? I had heard the NHL basically confirmed that these are playoff games and would count for player’s playoff stats.

According to this tweet from Greg Wyshynski the stats from the play in round will count as playoff stats.

 

[TheNeutralPresident]

On one hand I say yes as they would not be considered a team in the playoff rounds, but otherwise if a very likely playoff team (Pittsburgh Edmonton etc) got upset by the gifted spots (Chicago Montreal etc) I'd be pretty hard pressed to not call the loser a playoff team due to their standing and playoff likelihood in a normal year.

 

[BlueDream]

Easily, yes. If you don’t even make it to the 1st round, you didn’t make it.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Would be weird to call Pittsburgh a non playoff team when they were 7th overall in the nhl. But it would also be weird to call them a playoff team if they weren't even in the first round.

 

[Bounces R Way]

I don't even think it's fair to call this whole farce the playoffs to begin with.

The National Hockey League's Post-seasonish Tournament Extravaganza has a better ring to it.

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

I don't even think it's fair to call this whole farce the playoffs to begin with.

The National Hockey League's Post-seasonish Tournament Extravaganza has a better ring to it.

Exactly

especially after:

 

[garbageteam]

Thought about it and changed my mind. While I don't believe any of the teams that loses the Play-in round deserves to be called playoff teams, especially against the context of all the other seasons before and after where teams had to earn that right down the stretch to be part of the 16, I predict the NHL will officially categorize it as a Playoff game, the stats will be Playoff stats and the victories will be counted towards the number of games a team needed to win to get the Cup.

I think when publications, news articles etc. talk about streaks, droughts, last playoff performance of X team or X player it will include all of the teams and players that have played in these rounds. So, while in casual conversation at a bar or a forum we'd all say certain teams that lost the Play-in didn't really count as making the playoffs, it's likely all documentation would support that they did, fairly or not.

 

[North Cole]

According to this tweet from Greg Wyshynski the stats from the play in round will count as playoff stats.

Then surely this will also apply to team based play-off stats? So the streak shouldn't end if either team lose? Makes it a little harder to say a team didn't make the playoffs if the stats are playoff stats, so I guess my answer to the poll is no.

 

[Regal]

Then surely this will also apply to team based play-off stats? So the streak shouldn't end if either team lose? Makes it a little harder to say a team didn't make the playoffs if the stats are playoff stats, so I guess my answer to the poll is no.

But at the same time, teams that lose the play-in will not be considered as having made the playoffs when it comes to trade stipulations (like the Miller deal to Vancouver) and those teams will also be in the draft lottery. So it's a bit of a clusterf@ck

 

[North Cole]

But at the same time, teams that lose the play-in will not be considered as having made the playoffs when it comes to trade stipulations (like the Miller deal to Vancouver) and those teams will also be in the draft lottery. So it's a bit of a clusterf@ck

True, but I think we are safer to consider teams as having made the playoffs as part of the 24 team ordeal.

Per the article I saw - "the league wrote, according to LeBrun. 'We believe this interpretation will best reflect the intentions of the parties at the time of the trade.'"

When they say intentions, I take that as a separate judgement to honour the spirit of the contracts rather than the reality of situation. Like voiding contract because someone signed under duress. In that case they didnt agree to what they intended because of coercion, force, or trickery. I think theres a distinction between teams making the playoffs in a casual-observatory view versus a legal-contract view

 

[MartinS82]

Regular season was played to determine seeding, 8 teams were eliminated, remaining teams play a series of games vs a single opponent to determine who advances to the next round. Sounds like playoffs to me.

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

I have a question for you hab fans. Do you even want them to win ? If I was a hab fan I’d want to be in the lottery way more than winning a stupid play in round only to get bounced early in the playoffs and miss the lottery. They need high end players.

Montreal and Chicago ought to mail in their performances on principle.

Both are only part of this sham playoff format to be milked as cash cows to benefit the rest of the League.

 

[Fisticuffer]

They’re postseason games so no it’s not.