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But What About the Seven Loser Teams

May 24, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.
#1
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The NHL has suggested that it will resume and conclude the 2019-2020 season by abandoning the rest of the regular season (thereby setting up an interesting issue regarding the Lucic-Neal trade, among other conditional transactions) and go straight to a 24-team playoff after a three-week or longer training camp: the top 4 teams in each Conference will play a round-robin for seeding into round 2, while the middle 16 teams play an elimination round. This leaves 7 crummy teams on the outside looking in: the three California teams in the West, and Detroit, Ottawa, New Jersey and Buffalo in the East. I have two questions:

(1) What are the 7 outsiders going to do during the tournament? Doing nothing would result in a much longer-than-usual off-season for the players. How about a losers' bracket tourney, where the winner gets the 32nd pick in the draft in between the first and second rounds? How about a California Derby in the West, where the winners get to have burgers and hot dogs at the Governor's residence in Sacramento? Or how about a non-hockey competition like white-water rafting down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, winners get two weeks in Cabo San Lucas?

(2) Doesn't this suggest that the draft lottery/lotteries should be limited to the bottom 7 teams?
May 24, 2020 at 5:16 p.m.
#2
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1. I don’t know what they’ll do. Probably not anything official, but they’ll do whatever they’re able to do to keep in shape.

2. I hope not. I’d assume that the teams that don’t make it past the best of 5 round into the playoffs are ordered by points percentage, and then they just do a normal lottery with the 15 teams that miss the playoffs.
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May 24, 2020 at 5:20 p.m.
#3
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Quoting: Kotkaniemi15
2. I hope not. I’d assume that the teams that don’t make it past the best of 5 round into the playoffs are ordered by points percentage, and then they just do a normal lottery with the 15 teams that miss the playoffs.


Spoken like a true Montreal fan.
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May 24, 2020 at 5:22 p.m.
#4
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Quoting: Kotkaniemi15
2. I hope not. I’d assume that the teams that don’t make it past the best of 5 round into the playoffs are ordered by points percentage, and then they just do a normal lottery with the 15 teams that miss the playoffs.


Actually, now that I think about it, that would give Carolina the potential for two lottery chances where they didn't have one before. (The Hurricanes and Toronto both lose their first-round play-in.)
May 24, 2020 at 7:50 p.m.
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Quoting: OldNYIfan
Actually, now that I think about it, that would give Carolina the potential for two lottery chances where they didn't have one before. (The Hurricanes and Toronto both lose their first-round play-in.)


Except the Toronto pick is top 10 protected.
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May 24, 2020 at 7:58 p.m.
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Quoting: OldNYIfan
(2) Doesn't this suggest that the draft lottery/lotteries should be limited to the bottom 7 teams?


absolutely not. why should teams like MTL and CHI be forced to do a play in round against a higher tier opponent (that they are likely to lose) and be told that they forfeit their chance at the lottery?

The play-in round should be viewed as an extension of the regular season to determine who gets to compete for the cup and who gets a chance at the lottery. After the play-in round there will be 16 playoff teams and 15 non-playoff teams, just like usual. No team will have a chance at both (unless the lottery pick was acquired via trade) so I dont see the problem with doing a normal lottery system with the 15 non playoff teams
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May 24, 2020 at 8:02 p.m.
#7
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Quoting: OldNYIfan
Actually, now that I think about it, that would give Carolina the potential for two lottery chances where they didn't have one before. (The Hurricanes and Toronto both lose their first-round play-in.)


They always had the potential for two lottery chances (if you ignore the condition on TORs pick), there was a possibility that TOR and CAR couldve both missed the playoffs if the regular season was finished (although unlikely). Neither team had a playoff spot clinched
 
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