The NHL is back, kinda…sorta.
HOCKEY IS COMING BACK, YAHOO!!!
Ok, now with that our of my system, Gary Bettman revealed on Tuesday afternoon, a plan for the NHL to return to play. Now before we get started with all of this oh, this is the first step forward, there is still the NHL players approving this, local and national government restrictions, travel restrictions and the whole Global pandemic thing.
So first things first, the 2019-2020 season is officially over regardless of what happens going forward. Wherever you were in the standings as of March 12th, that is where you finished.
So, for the capitals, that means they win their fifth straight Metro division title, and Alexander Ovechkin and David pastrnak are the Maurice Rocket Richard scoring champions. Oh and Leon D won the Art Ross Trophy.
Gary Bettman revealed his plan for the modified Stanley Cup playoffs. The top 12 teams in each conference based on points percentage are in this tournament. The top four teams based on points percentage will receive a first-round bye and are officially, recognized as Stanley Cup playoff participants.
There will be a separate set of play in rounds consisting of seeds 5 through 12, they will play a best-of-five series to determine who plays the top four teams. Also these teams are not recognized as officially Stanley Cup playoff participant, confused, oh there’s more.
The top four teams will play a click round robin tournament to determine the 1 through 4 seeding, why not go off a point, well that would make too much sense to Gary Bettman.
Play in Matchups, Penguins vs Habs, Blue Jackets vs Maple Leafs, Islanders vs. Panthers, Hurricanes vs. Rangers in the East.
Out West, Flames vs Jets, Oilers vs Blackhawks, Canucks vs Wild, Predators vs Coyotes.
After the play-in round, they would play the top seeds in a best-of-five, and then round two would be a best of 5 with the conference championships in the Stanley Cup finals a best-of-seven.
As for the teams that didn’t qualify, Red Wings, Senators, Kings, Sharks, Ducks, Devil’s, Sabres. Their seasons are officially over and they will be slotted into the draft as they will go by pre-2016 rules for determining the number one pick in this year’s draft, which will take place on June 26th. Now there is a completely different scenario where they want the bottom eight teams in this ping pong ball Lottery which means the lowest team that gets eliminated from the store will be factored into the draft lottery. I could go through how this will match up but that’s another show.
Once again, the still need player approval and government approval, but it’s safe to say that hockey has a plan to return, and already seems ahead of Major League Baseball.
For me as someone who is a George hockey fan this is a welcome return, and I hope is able to happen. At the earliest this would start at the end of July and this could play into the fall forcing the NHL to start The Following season possibly near the holidays.
And there is the Dilemma for the NHL, they want their cake and eat it too. They want to do have a full Stanley Cup playoffs this year, and still do an 82-game season next year. There are many who just want the season to end and start over in October oh, there is a case to do that cuz it seems like we are trying to delay the inevitable.
But for now with the US of a slowly opening up and trying to get back to the way things were, this was a welcome sight. It’s a step forward, even if it’s a small and cautious one.
That’s my Opinion
Follow me on Twitter @Rbloss64, for hockey talk, some anime stuff and some really weird stuff too.
