News Article: NHL to announce a 2 hub 24 team playoff, Edmonton & Toronto?

[IU Hawks fan]

70 games have been played. More than 16 teams is the dumbest idea since segregation. If either the NHL or the NBA do this I'm done. There are plenty of other sports to watch plus all time drafts and sports history.

LOL. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

 

[SimpleJack]

Once again I’m perplexed by the amount of people complaining and being miserable about the proposed format. This is a once in a lifetime situation. Extraneous circumstances. Can’t we just be grateful that it’s happening at all?

I mean it’s gonna be odd regardless. No fans, random venues, no home ice advantage...so who cares what the format is? 8 teams, 16 teams, 24 teams, etc...it’s hockey. It’s something. Let’s look forward to it, whatever it may be...

 

[Malagahawks]

Changing title to reflect newest information

 

[bwana63]

There's no home advantage. No fans.

Exactly. I honestly think that's good for us.

 

[bwana63]

70 games have been played. More than 16 teams is the dumbest idea since segregation. If either the NHL or the NBA do this I'm done. There are plenty of other sports to watch plus all time drafts and sports history.

It's all about money.

 

[Rick C137]

Totally forgot until I checked my account today. But one night in January after the hawks won and I had a few too many beers, I remember joking around and telling my buddy I was gonna throw money on the hawks to win the cup.

turns out I actually have a 15 dollar bet for the hawks to win the cup at 150/1.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Totally forgot until I checked my account today. But one night in January after the hawks won and I had a few too many beers, I remember joking around and telling my buddy I was gonna throw money on the hawks to win the cup.

turns out I actually have a 15 dollar bet for the hawks to win the cup at 150/1.

Interesting dilemma, are bets going to still be valid because of COVID?

 

[Rick C137]

Interesting dilemma, are bets going to still be valid because of COVID?

I would imagine they would have to honor it unless the NHL is calling these playoffs something different. My ticket clearly says for the Blackhawks to win 2019-20 Stanley Cup. Still shows as an open ticket in my account too.

 

[Kevin Musto]

Totally forgot until I checked my account today. But one night in January after the hawks won and I had a few too many beers, I remember joking around and telling my buddy I was gonna throw money on the hawks to win the cup.

turns out I actually have a 15 dollar bet for the hawks to win the cup at 150/1.

You're getting paid

 

[sepHF]

OK, honestly the Oilers fans seem to think playing the Hawks would be a cakewalk. No respect.

Not really... It's a scary match up

And the hawks kicked the Oilers ass this year

 

[snipes]

Edmonton also is reputed to have the best ice in the league, which could be a factor in the summer months.

That northern climate.

 

[ChaoticOrange]

OK, honestly the Oilers fans seem to think playing the Hawks would be a cakewalk. No respect.

It's exactly the opposite. We're terrified of playing a rested Hawks team, especially in a best of 5 with the playoff experience you guys have, and we're pissed off about it because we were having our second best season in a decade, sat 9th in the league in overall standings, and had a pretty damn good shot of locking down home ice. To go from that to a play-in series against an aging but still dangerous Hawks team seems bush-league.

Anyone thinking the Hawks would be a cakewalk is an idiot. Kane can win games by himself.

 

[bwana63]

Let's go!!!

 

[bwana63]

Oil bringing Mad Dog back?

 

[Hattrick Kane]

I don’t think this playoff is quite a guarantee like people think it is. I know the NHLPA has agreed to it, but here in Ontario, they started easing off the quarantine and saw a bit of a spike again.

I don’t know how long it’s going to be like that, easing off and then locking it back up, but it’s going to cause issues and the weather is clearly not killing it off since it’s hot as hell right now.

 

[crazyhawk]

It's exactly the opposite. We're terrified of playing a rested Hawks team, especially in a best of 5 with the playoff experience you guys have, and we're pissed off about it because we were having our second best season in a decade, sat 9th in the league in overall standings, and had a pretty damn good shot of locking down home ice. To go from that to a play-in series against an aging but still dangerous Hawks team seems bush-league.

Anyone thinking the Hawks would be a cakewalk is an idiot. Kane can win games by himself.

I guess the majority of posters on the Edmonton site are idiots then cause I read through the 4 or 5 pages and the majority felt the Oil matched up fine against the Hawks and were looking towards Dallas. I agree though there is no clear cut favourite here or really anywhere in this unusual playoff format.
Looking sooo forward to some meaningful hockey!

 

[HeisenBaez]

Once again I’m perplexed by the amount of people complaining and being miserable about the proposed format. This is a once in a lifetime situation. Extraneous circumstances. Can’t we just be grateful that it’s happening at all?

I mean it’s gonna be odd regardless. No fans, random venues, no home ice advantage...so who cares what the format is? 8 teams, 16 teams, 24 teams, etc...it’s hockey. It’s something. Let’s look forward to it, whatever it may be...

I'm not ok with a 24 team playoffs. It feels.........unnatural but I get it. If it means live sports again, then fine. I just don't like the idea of 24 teams, when the playoffs usually fields 16. Those 8 additional teams giving playoffs without earning the spot just feels dirty to me. I'd rather them have stuck to 16 team playoffs.

With that said, I rather have live hockey back instead of no live hockey, so I'll live with it.

 

[HawksBeerFan]

I'm not ok with a 24 team playoffs. It feels.........unnatural but I get it. If it means live sports again, then fine. I just don't like the idea of 24 teams, when the playoffs usually fields 16. Those 8 additional teams giving playoffs without earning the spot just feels dirty to me. I'd rather them have stuck to 16 team playoffs.

With that said, I rather have live hockey back instead of no live hockey, so I'll live with it.

No matter what this season will have an asterisk next to it, I'm glad they're just trying to do something fun and interesting. WIth this season, I could care less about the integrity.

I'd have even loved to see them do a March Madness style knockout tournament with every single team in the league. Why not? Sure it may not be fair but it is what it is, let's just have fun with it.

 

[IU Hawks fan]

No matter what this season will have an asterisk next to it, I'm glad they're just trying to do something fun and interesting. WIth this season, I could care less about the integrity.

I'd have even loved to see them do a March Madness style knockout tournament with every single team in the league. Why not? Sure it may not be fair but it is what it is, let's just have fun with it.

The why not is that would defeat the purpose of returning. They're trying to make up inventory they owe the networks, lots of it. 1 game rounds wouldn't do that.

 

[Blackhawks]

I'm not ok with a 24 team playoffs. It feels.........unnatural but I get it. If it means live sports again, then fine. I just don't like the idea of 24 teams, when the playoffs usually fields 16. Those 8 additional teams giving playoffs without earning the spot just feels dirty to me. I'd rather them have stuck to 16 team playoffs.

With that said, I rather have live hockey back instead of no live hockey, so I'll live with it.

 

[Malagahawks]

 

[Malagahawks]

From Bettman:

Following are details of the Return To Play Plan:
Regular Season
* The 2019-20 regular season is declared concluded through games of March 11. The 189 games originally scheduled from March 12 – April 4 will not be played.
* 24 teams will resume play: the top 12 in each Conference on the basis of points percentage at the pause (through games of March 11).
Timeline
* Since the League’s pause on March 12, the League has been in Phase 1 with teams having been instructed to self-isolate as much as possible.
Phase 2 – Early June
* In early June, it is expected that teams will be permitted to return to home facilities for small group, voluntary, and on- and off-ice training.
Phase 3 – Not Earlier than First Half of July
* Not earlier than first half of July, formal training camps will begin after guidance from medical and civil authorities.
Phase 4 – Timing TBD
* 24 teams in 2 “hub” cities will compete in Seeding Round Robins, a Qualifying Round and Conference-based Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* The 2 “hub” cities will be selected from among the following:
- Chicago, IL
- Columbus, OH
- Dallas, TX
- Edmonton, AB
- Las Vegas, NV
- Los Angeles, CA
- Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Toronto, ON
- Vancouver, BC
* Each Conference is assigned a “hub” city with secure hotels, arena, practice facilities and in-market transportation.
* Teams will be limited to 50 personnel in the “hub” city with only a small number of support staff permitted to enter the event areas.
* Timing and sites will be determined at a future date and will be dependent on COVID-19 conditions, testing ability and government regulations.
Competitive Format
* In each Conference, teams seeded by points percentage.
Round Robin: The top 4 teams play for First Round seeding (regular-season overtime rules in effect)
Qualifying Round: The remaining 8 teams play best-of-5 series to advance to the First Round (playoff overtime rules in effect)
First Round and Second Round: Format (seeding vs. bracket) and series lengths to be determined
Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final: Best-of-7 series
* The winners from the Qualifying Round play the top 4 seeds in the First Round. Individual First Round series matchups remain to be determined.
City 1

Team	Conf. Rank	P%
Boston Bruins	1	.714
Tampa Bay Lightning	2	.657
Washington Capitals	3	.652
Philadelphia Flyers	4	.645
Pittsburgh Penguins	5	.623
Carolina Hurricanes	6	.596
New York Islanders	7	.588
Toronto Maple Leafs	8	.579
Columbus Blue Jackets	9	.579
Florida Panthers	10	.565
New York Rangers	11	.564
Montreal Canadiens	12	.500

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

City 1 – Round Robin for Seeding in First Round
1. Boston Bruins
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Washington Capitals
4. Philadelphia Flyers
City 1 – Best-of-5 Qualifying Round
#5 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #12 Montreal Canadiens
#6 Carolina Hurricanes vs. #11 New York Rangers
#7 New York Islanders vs. #10 Florida Panthers
#8 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. #9 Columbus Blue Jackets
City 2

Team	Conf. Rank	P%
St. Louis Blues	1	.662
Colorado Avalanche	2	.657
Vegas Golden Knights	3	.606
Dallas Stars	4	.594
Edmonton Oilers	5	.585
Nashville Predators	6	.565
Vancouver Canucks	7	.565
Calgary Flames	8	.564
Winnipeg Jets	9	.563
Minnesota Wild	10	.558
Arizona Coyotes	11	.529
Chicago Blackhawks	12	.514

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

City 2 – Round Robin for Seeding in First Round
1. St. Louis Blues
2. Colorado Avalanche
3. Vegas Golden Knights
4. Dallas Stars
City 2 – Best-of-5 Qualifying Round
#5 Edmonton Oilers vs. #12 Chicago Blackhawks
#6 Nashville Predators vs. #11 Arizona Coyotes
#7 Vancouver Canucks vs. #10 Minnesota Wild
#8 Calgary Flames vs. #9 Winnipeg Jets

 

[Seattle Totems]

These are humans at the ultimate health and immunity level, no player is gonna have any real problems fighting Covid. I doubt you see many positives if any positives to begin with especially with the measures that will be put in place.

The President of Brasil said the same thing about his people.

 

[Blackhawks]

The President of Brasil said the same thing about his people.

All Brazilians are athletes?

 

[Naster Okan]

All Brazilians are athletes?

Do all athletes have immunity to disease? Ask Max Domi or Jay Bouwmeester.