24 team playoff, with the first round being a best-of-five. Here are the seeds:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Bruins
Lightning
Capitals
Flyers
PLAY-IN
Penguins (5) vs. Canadiens (12)
Hurricanes (6) vs. Rangers (11)
Islanders (7) vs. Panthers (10)
Maple Leafs (8) vs. Blue Jackets (9)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Blues
Avalanche
Golden Knights
Stars
PLAY-IN
Oilers (5) vs. (Blackhawks (12)
Predators (6) vs. Coyotes (11)
Canucks (7) vs. Wild (10)
Flames (8) vs. Jets (9)
The play-in teams do a best-of-five, then you end up with the regular 16 team format for the rest of it. The top seeds will play a mini tournament to determine their seeding and to warm up.
I can’t believe the Isles have to play the Panthers – we always lose to the Panthers! Maybe not this time.
Maybe I’ll get excited when it starts. It’s already late May and I haven’t had playoff rounds to keep me interested. Stanley Cup finals in June were really pushing it.
The more I think about, the less any of this makes sense. Hockey already has the shortest off season of the big 4 team sports in the USA with the cup finals ending mid June and then the season beginning early October.
No one knows what October will bring, but there’s a better chance of having fans at least.
As others have noted, this is still all tentative and it hasn’t even been established if, when, or where these playoffs will be held. The article above mentions four potential hub cities; other versions talk about maybe just two. It hardly matters since no fans will be in attendance. It probably also doesn’t matter much if the schedule runs into the normal start of the 2020-21 season, as it would be better IMHO to delay the regular season until normal fan attendance can be allowed. It has to happen sometime!
And that could be a workable plan. Have a 2021 half season with fan attendance, interest in hockey starts to pick up in January anyway. I simply don’t believe that the new normal is going to consist of arenas at 25% forever.
Although the NBA has traditionally had Christmas Day as their big day. The NHL has had January 1 for the Winter Classic. I highly doubt they’ll be a Winter Classic, but I could see Dec 25 as NBA tip-off and January 1 NHL face off for next year’s seasons.
I’d have to agree. Baseball might be able to have a shortened 2020, and the NFL will probably be able to start on time although maybe not with full stadia, but hockey and basketball are rapidly reaching the point that this season would impinge upon the next.
It occurs to me, that at this point it’s possible that no fans is preferable. A lot of playoff series had issues with trying to keep the ice healthy in Spring temperatures, I’m was curious how many places were really prepared to deal with mid summer temps. But no Fans to add body heat, is probably a big help.
Actually my biggest concern is the Draft, and how the lottery goes. The Wings were clearly going to end with worst record, and a guaranteed top 4 pick at least. But if they just declare the Shitty Seven equal at this point that would be bullshit.
I’m not a hockey fan but I’m posting because I follow basketball and the NBA will probably be in a similar position.
I think the idea of trying to have a normal postseason makes little since for either NBA or NHL, but even less for the hockey pros considering how physical the sport is.
I’d think that they need to have one-game play-ins and shorten the series to 5 games each. Maybe save the best of seven format for the conference finals and the championship round. But having the NBA and NHL season possibly compete with the World Series and NFL regular season would be a monumentally bad idea, I’d think.
It will be interesting to see if I and other hockey fans can mentally flip the switch to hockey mood in the middle of summer. I kinda doubt it, I just have such a mental association with sports and the seasons. If I was king of the NHL, there’s no way a season would stretch into June in a normal year. Memorial Day is when I start to really pay attention to the baseball standings as well as my fantasy teams.
But, I know the allure of that sweet sweet playoff $$$ is too much to resist for the NHL and the NBA
I suspect it’ll have a lot to do with what else you’re allowed to do. If there are no bars, restaurants, or movies, people will be delighted to be able to watch live sports.
I mean, I don’t really care about the NHL, but a Raptors playoff series right now is just what the doctor ordered. Literally none of my other favourite diversions are possible right now.
This is the feeling among we regulars at the local sports bar. Hockey is fine in, say, January; it’s not so fine in May or June. If one of our favourite teams is not in the Stanley Cup playoffs, we’ve lost interest in the sport, and will ask the barman to switch the TV over to a baseball game, which seems more appropriate for this time of year. If we feel that baseball is more appropriate in May and June, you can imagine how we’d feel about hockey in July and August.
One article indicated that “the to be negotiated” are details like reseeding Vs bracket and possible best of five in the first round after three play-in.