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Playoff Notes: Player Concerns, Round Robin, Tampa Bay

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It certainly seems like an NHL postseason is on the way, as the NHLPA approved continued talks of a 24-team playoff format on Friday. However, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun echoed the sentiment of the NHLPA’s statement when he reported that there are still concerns among the players. This initial vote was merely to continue making progress on the rough format of a 24-team structure, but there are details that still need to be hammered out. Specifically, LeBrun states that the players would prefer re-seeding after each round rather than the proposed bracket format. Further, the players were told that there is still indecision over whether that initial round of teams 5-12 in each conference would be a best-of-five or a best-of-seven series. The NHLPA will need to re-evaluate a final proposal before the league can make any official announcement.

  • The idea of re-seeding does seem to be a more balanced and fair system for implementing this playoff structure. As currently proposed, the top seed in each conference would play the No. 8 or No. 9 team in the second round, while any of the other three bye seeds could wind up with an easier match-up following a bye in the first round. Especially if the first round is a best-of-five series, which would be more prone to upsets, the bracket format creates equity concerns. As Sportsnet’s Luke Fox describes, it also de-values the proposed round robin games between the top-four bye teams in each conference. This format is also still to be finalized, but the proposal was that the results of this round robin tournament would determine the seeding of those four bye teams. As Fox notes, if there is no real advantage to having the top seed in the bracket structure then there is not much to fight for in the round robin.
  • One of the two teams who voted against the proposed 24-team playoff format was the Tampa Bay Lightning. Alex Killorn, the team’s NHLPA rep, spoke with The Athletic’s Joe Smith about the reasons why the team did not support the decision. Killorn stated that his team did not feel that it was fair for teams that likely would not have made the playoffs under the normal circumstances to not only have a shot in this expanded field, but also to have a better chance of moving on with a limited five-game series. Tampa also took issue with the preparedness of the teams who had earned byes, a point that would be emphasized further if – as LeBrun and Fox warn – the bracket system leads to a round robin for the first-round bye teams that lacks real meaning. These are fair points made by Killorn and the Lightning, but it seems that without the details of the playoff structure formalized yet, these concerns could be quelled by seven-game series in the first-round and re-seeding after the round rather than a bracket structure.

NHLPA Votes To Proceed With Discussions On 24-Team Playoff Format

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There is now some momentum towards the NHL resuming play at some point over the next couple of months.  Late Friday night, the NHLPA announced that they voted to proceed with discussions on the 24-team playoff format that was proposed by the league.  Their full statement was as follows:

The Executive Board of the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) has authorized further negotiations with the NHL on a 24-team return to play format to determine the winner of the 2020 Stanley Cup. Several details remain to be negotiated and an agreement on the format would still be subject to the parties reaching agreement on all issues relevant to resuming play.​

TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie notes (Twitter link) that the vote wound up being quite close to unanimous with only two of the 31 player reps voting no.

Under this format, the top four seeds in each conference would each get a bye through the play-in round which would see the other 16 teams play a best-of-five series to whittle the field down to a usual 16.  However, as Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston notes, the exact format hasn’t been ratified.  The league would like to use a bracketed system while the players seem to prefer a system with re-seeding after each round.  A decision also has to be made on whether or not the round robin games that the top four teams will play to stay in shape will determine seeding or if they will just be to get them in playing shape.  After such a long layoff, that will be an interesting call to make to see if they’re just glorified exhibition games or if they’ll have a lot of importance.

The vote to move ahead from the NHLPA doesn’t come as much of a surprise as there had been some momentum in these talks in recent days.  While the 24-team format isn’t the most popular with all players or teams, it does allow them to recoup some extra lost revenue as well as solve any concerns about bubble teams not getting a chance to wrap up the regular season and push for a spot in a standard 16-team format.

While this is an important and notable step towards games resuming, there is a lot that still has to be resolved.  The NHL has to determine which hub cities will be used, secure COVID-19 testing capability as well as design other health and safety protocols, figure out how to ease the concerns of players potentially being separated from their families for an extended period of time, and likely make some sort of amendment to their health care plans to add in coverage for long-term effects if a player gets infected with the disease.

And, of course, a decision has to be made on when this could all happen.  The league is hopeful that players will soon be able to return to their club cities to resume training but there is a lot of red tape to get through there in terms of international travel, self-quarantine guidelines, and the fact that the various states and provinces are currently at different levels of what is and isn’t permissible in terms of gatherings.

There is still a rather large mountain to climb before the puck can drop on the 2020 postseason but with a basic agreement now in place on the number of teams that will be playing, this is at least a big step in that direction.

Latest On NHL’s Hub City Plan

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The NHL still doesn’t have a concrete idea of when or how the season will resume, but continue to work on potential options for a restart. One of those is a “hub city” proposal, where teams would gather in one location to play games in front of empty arenas. Gary Bettman spoke this morning, and Nick Cotsonika of NHL.com relayed his most important points. Among them is the idea that the league continues to look at “eight or nine different places” that would be able to host up to a dozen teams in one location. That would need ample hotel and practice facilities, obviously ruling out some markets in North America.

On Sportsnet radio today, Chris Johnston explained that he has heard the two leading candidate cities are Las Vegas and Columbus, though there is still work to do on both fronts. Johnston does explain that the league and NHLPA are “getting closer to having the actual format essentially nailed down.”

The two-city hub idea would have each conference split to complete some play-in games before a regular playoffs and would allow the league to operate without dealing with multiple state, provincial or federal governments. Remember, as Cotsonika writes, 17 percent of the league’s players are currently outside of North America and will likely need a quarantine period following their return.

Both Johnston and Bettman focus on testing as the biggest question the league has to solve before anything can come back. The commissioner explained that the amount of tests is a “fundamental question” though he did sound optimistic about the increased capacity.

To be clear, nothing has been announced officially from the league at this point on which cities would be used as hubs. As with anything related to coronavirus contingencies, a new outbreak or wave could immediately change (or scrap) any plans.

NHL, NHLPA Making Progress On 24-Team Playoff Format

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With plenty of options available to the NHL when it comes to resuming play, progress is being made towards a possible playoff format. According to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the Return to Play Committee is leaning towards a 24-team playoff format to wrap up the 2019-20 season.

LeBrun reports, however, that there is quite a bit of work still to be done if a 24-team playoff is to become a reality, but there has been significant progress made this weekend. Talks are expected to continue over the next couple of days with the potential that a plan will officially be outlined next week as both sides are much closer on what a return to action might look like. Of course, once the Return to Play Committee does come to an agreement, it must pass through the NHL Executive Board and be approved.

On top of that, there is a Board on Governors meeting on Monday. Whether NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will have a deal ready to pass on by then is unknown unless the Return to Play Committee can come to an agreement in the next 24 hours.

The still-developing plan would not be a straight-to-the-playoffs format, however. According to LeBrun, the league will likely have some games before the playoffs would begin, likely to ease teams into playing shape after the significant break due to COVID-19. There is also the issue on whether all players will be on board to returning to action later this year as it is believed some are seriously concerned about the health and safety issues that surround a return to play.

While there are a number of 24-team format options, LeBrun writes in a separate story that there has been some opposition to a 24-team tournament, especially with teams like Chicago (32-30-8 for 72 points) and Montreal (31-31-9 for 71 points) being the last two teams to enter into the playoffs when they don’t deserve it and the concerns that a hot start after a long break could create some significant upsets in this format.

Washington Capitals Terminate Contract Of Brendan Leipsic

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Saturday: Leipsic has cleared waivers, reports Samantha Pell of the Washington Post (Twitter link).  That paves the way for the Capitals to officially terminate the contract.

Friday, 10:00am: Just minutes later, the Capitals have announced that they have placed Leipsic on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination.

9:55am: Earlier this week, private messages of a group chat that included Washington Capitals forward Brendan Leipsic and Florida Panthers minor league forward Jack Rodewald were leaked. In the messages, the participants were using misogynistic language that the league immediately condemned, releasing the following statement:

The National Hockey League strongly condemns the misogynistic and reprehensible remarks made by players Brendan Leipsic and Jack Rodewald in a private group chat that has surfaced on social media. There is no place in our League for such statements, attitudes and behavior, no matter the forum. We will address this inexcusable conduct with the clubs and players involved. 

Yesterday, Leipsic’s younger brother Jeremy Leipsic–who also took part in the chat– was removed from the University of Manitoba hockey team. Today, it seems as though the Capitals will come to the same decision.

Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic is reporting that the Capitals will terminate the remainder of Leipsic’s contract today. The 25-year old forward is on a one-year, $700K contract for the 2019-20 season. After it is terminated, he will become an unrestricted free agent.

Though the Capitals must obviously believe a termination like this is within the rules given Leipsic’s behavior, it wouldn’t be surprising if the transaction is met with a grievance from the NHLPA.

It is not clear what will happen to Rodewald, who is also on a one-year contract but earns just $100K in the Panthers minor league system.

NHL And NHLPA Issue Joint Update On Plans To Return To Play

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The NHL and NHL Players’ Association have been cooperating of late in an effort to determine when and how the league may be able resume play and complete the 2019-20 season. After the joint Return to Play Committee met earlier today, the two side released the following statement:

Despite numerous reports and speculation over the last several days, the NHL and the NHLPA have not made any decisions or set a timeline for possible return to play scenarios.

Given recent developments in some NHL Clubs’ local communities, we are now looking ahead to a Phase 2 of the transition period that would follow the currently recommended Phase 1 period of “self-quarantine” by Players and Hockey Staff.

The precise date of transition to Phase 2, during which Players might return to small group activities in NHL Club training facilities, remains undetermined. However, provided that conditions continue to trend favorably – and, subject to potential competitive concerns as between disparately situated markets – we believe we may be able to move to Phase 2 at some point in the mid-to-later portion of May. Specific guidelines governing Player and Hockey Staff activity would be provided at that time. In the meantime, we expect Players and Hockey Staff to continue to adhere to the recommended guidelines put in place when the season was paused on March 12.

While the statement does not provide any material update to the status of the season, the tone is a hopeful one as the two sides detail a rough plan to get players back to their cities and working out in the coming month. This aligns with many of the recent rumors that foreign players had been informed that they would soon need to return to North America and their respective teams, all pointing toward a presumptive continuation of team workouts in May and perhaps training camp (Phase 3) and game action (Phase 4) later in June. As Frank Seravalli of TSN points out, releasing this information now gives players more time to figure out the logistics of a return, with most commercial airlines closed to international travel.

What the league and players’ union also must still decide is how exactly they will continue the season if it gets to that point. The latest speculation from Sportsnet’s Mark Spector details a number of NHL cities bidding for the right to host games by outlining the safest, simplest, and most cost-effective ways to house teams while minimizing the risk of Coronavirus exposure. Local government health policies will also weigh heavily into where these neutral locations might be. Beyond where the games take place, a decision will also need be made on who will take part and in what format. Spector notes that the hope of completing an 82-game season is dwindling but that 76 or 78 games may still be possible. If finishing the regular season proves too difficult, he states that a playoff tournament that includes the top six teams in each division is currently the most probable postseason format.

Again, it is difficult to put too much stock in any conjecture at this point when the NHL and NHLPA clearly state that they do not yet even have a timeline for players returning to their teams nevertheless returning to game action. However, this formal announcement is a step in the right direction and if things continue to “trend favorably”, this won’t be the last update on the 2019-20 continuation.

NHL Willing To Delay 2020-21 Start In Order To Finish 2019-20

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The longer that the NHL remains out of action while continuing to maintain that they want to complete the 2019-20 regular season and have a full postseason, the more likely it becomes that next season will be affected. Boston Bruins president Cam Neely tells NBC Sports that not only is it possible that 2020-21 could be delayed, it’s a widely accepted outcome across the NHL in order to properly finish the current season. Neely states that both players and owners alike feel that it is important to complete the 2019-20 campaign if at all possible:

The feeling is there’s an opportunity to be able to push next season back and still get an 82-game schedule in next year. Everything is on the table to try and get the season completed.

Neely’s stress that a full season next year remains an important part of any plan to continue the current season aligns with what the NHL has already said. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly has already confirmed that the NHL would not entertain shortening the 2020-21 season just to accommodate the end of the 2019-20 season. However, that doesn’t seem like it will be necessary. The league is currently exploring using “hub cities” from each of the four divisions to play a condensed schedule that can be more easily safeguarded from the threats of Coronavirus by limiting travel and controlling facilities. Such a plan could allow for the season to re-start sooner rather than later. In fact, there have been whispers that training camps could open within a month with games starting as early as June. What remains to be seen is how much time would be needed one play does resume to wrap up the regular season and play the entire postseason.

Neely’s Bruins are one club especially invested in a continuation of the season. Boston was in first place in the league standings by a fairly wide margin when the season was suspended and many of their core players are in the twilight of their careers and want another shot at the Stanley Cup, especially after missing out on the title by one game last year. In fact, the Bruins may even be in favor of jumping straight to the postseason, though Neely does not believe that the NHLPA would approve of that plan. It seems Boston will have to earn the President’s Trophy with a few more regular season wins before getting their shot a potential delayed playoffs.

NHL Moving On From Neutral Site Plan

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The NHL’s potential “neutral site” plan to resume the NHL in places like North Dakota or New Hampshire is dead, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Greg Wyshynski of ESPN. Instead, the league is considering a way to play games in a small number of NHL cities, with Friedman suggesting one from each division. Emily Kaplan of ESPN tweets that the favorites are Raleigh (Metropolitan), Edmonton (Pacific), Minnesota (Central), and a to-be-determined city for the Atlantic Division.

Obviously any plan of this nature still has plenty of hurdles before implementation. Wyshynski notes that it currently has no timetable and that the NHLPA would have to sign off on anything.

Friedman suggests that one idea is playing a triple-header per day in each location, giving the league a chance to finish the remaining regular season in three weeks. The focus is still on playing some games before the playoffs would begin.

As with any of the NHL’s plans at this point, it is important to note that these are just discussions. Nothing has been finalized or put into action, and things are still changing rapidly. For now, all that is certain is that the league’s self-isolation recommendation is in place through April 30th.

Snapshots: Player’s Last Paycheck, Hyman, Yzerman

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NHL players and have deferred their decision on their last paycheck until May 15, which they hope will give both the NHL and NHLPA extra time to figure out if there will be games played this season, according to TVA’s Renaud Lavoie. Players have been debating on how much of their final paycheck should go back to owners via escrow.

TSN’s Pierre LeBrun notes that players are already getting their 2018-19 escrow return next week, which should alleviate some of the pain in delaying their final paycheck. The NHLPA must decide what to do with their last paycheck, which is estimated at $140MM, but the players also owe escrow money to the system for this year, which could require giving up some of that final paycheck.

  • With the recent admission that forward Zach Hyman hopes to remain with the Toronto Maple Leafs, The Athletic’s James Mirtle (subscription required) looks at what a contract with the Maple Leafs might look at, especially considering the importance of the salary cap to the team. However, the importance of a bang-and-crash winger is an important element to the team. Mirtle’s best comparable is Colorado winger Joonas Donskoi, who signed a four-year, $3.9MM AAV deal last summer. However, Hyman produces a little more than Donskoi, suggesting he is likely to make more than Donskoi’s $3.9MM cap number. A number closer to $4.5MM per season is more likely, but Mirtle wonders if Hyman’s camp would be willing to take a lower number for more term, such as maybe a six-year deal?
  • With his one-year anniversary hitting Sunday, Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman made it clear to Detroit News’ Ted Kulfan that everything is going according to plan despite a dismal season that has the Red Wings at the bottom of the standings in the NHL with a 17-45-9 record. “I knew what I was getting into, and I think I had a general idea what it takes to build a team,” said Yzerman. “(Patience) is very difficult to sell, and we gotta show progress. I’m hoping the progress shows next year in wins and losses, but it will show in prospects and their development.” Yzerman, along with former GM Ken Holland, have been stockpiling picks. Yzerman acquired two second-rounders and a fourth for Andreas Athanasiou and Mike Green (all from Edmonton) and have 10 total picks in the upcoming draft. Considering quite a bit of prospect depth already in the system, the team’s long-term future looks bright so far.

North Dakota Could Be Option For Continuation Of NHL Season

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Just about every NHL fan would agree to whatever plan gets hockey back on their TV the soonest, can best make up for the original regular season and postseason schedule, and will produce a fair and valid playoffs and champion. However, it’s doubtful that anyone figured that the best way to resume the season could be to send teams to Grand Forks, North Dakota. Yet, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes that the college hockey hotbed has been discussed as a possible ideal location for a neutral site continuation of the NHL season.

Friedman stresses that any plan for re-starting the season is only speculation at this point, but that non-NHL locations for neutral sit games seems like a possible outcome. Whether the regular season resumes as scheduled or if there is some sort of abbreviated schedule or play-in tournament, travel time could be cut back by having teams in just a few locations and neutrality removes any undue benefit to a home team. If games proceed without any fans, another distinct possibility, a location like Grand Forks also makes sense given it houses a world-class facility minus the capacity of an NHL rink. Friedman also notes that the low population density of North Dakota could make it one of safer places to continue play without an increased risk of Coronavirus exposure, while the cold climate could mitigate the ice quality risks of summer play.

Again, nothing is imminent in terms of when and how the NHL will resume play, if they do at all, and that is not expected to change for at least another month or two. Once the league comes up with a suitable plan, the players will have to agree to the terms as well. So, for now the NHL and NHLPA are exploring their options, both in format and locale, for the day we all hope arrives when hockey can return.

 

 

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