As the Edmonton Oilers prepare to play the Los Angeles Kings for the… *checks notes*… fourth consecutive season, the league appears to have no desire to change the current playoff format.
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly joined The Nation Network’s Leafs Morning Take show on Friday morning, where he backed the league’s playoff structure.
Its current format was brought in for the 2014 playoffs, seeing the first, second and third-placed teams in each of the NHL’s four divisions qualify for the playoffs, while two teams in each conference — division notwithstanding — vie for a pair of Wild Card spots to enter post-season play.
While some may not be a fan of it, Daly said the format was exciting for fans, and good for their shareholders. His comments echo that of Commissioner Gary Bettman, who said similar in late March.
LMT host Jay Rosehill: This playoff format, I remember when it came in. I was playing and we thought it would lead to a lot of rivalries. As we just discussed on the flip side of that, it lends to the potential for 100-plus-point teams to face each other and inevitably one’s going home. Is there any discussion about tweaking the playoff format, or are you guys pretty satisfied with how it is?Bill Daly: Pretty satisfied with how it is. I mean, obviously that comes up from time to time, it’s talked about is kicked around. I think the result has been that we haven’t changed it, right? So it means I think we’re satisfied with what we’ve got. We feel like, first of all, it’s not bad to have really good matchups in the first two rounds of the playoffs if you can have them. I think it’s exciting for the fans. It’s good for the rightsholders, it’s good from that perspective. So, then when it’s competitively, you know, as a practical matter, you’re gonna have to go through those teams anyway, to win a Stanley Cup championship and so I think our clubs have come to accept that there are pros and cons to it, but we think the pros outweigh the cons.
Other news and notes…
- The St. Louis Blues will be without forward Dylan Holloway on a week-to-week basis after the winger was injured Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury and didn’t return. Holloway has appeared in 77 games for the Blues this season, scoring 26 goals and 63 points, smashing career highs in all three categories. Since St. Louis hired Jim Montgomery behind the bench in November, Holloway has been a point-per-game player with 22 of his goals and 55 points coming in 55 games.
- The Washington Capitals will also be without one of their top players, goaltender Logan Thompson, for “a little bit of time,” head coach Spencer Carbery said Friday. Thompson was shaken up Wednesday in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes after suffering an upper-body injury. He’s had a great season for the Caps, who look poised for a playoff run, posting a stunning 31-6-6 record, two shutouts, a 2.49 goals against average and a .910 save percentage.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
