The KHL has arrived at an interesting way of determining their final standings for the 2019-20 season. After canceling the playoffs in late-March and announcing that they would not award the Gagarin Cup this season, the league has progressed normally into their free agent period this month. Today, they have released the final standings with a unique twist.
The eight teams that had clinched the second round of the playoffs before the cancelation have all been awarded an equal “1-8 place” at the top of the standings. The other 16 teams fall into place behind them.
Notably, the “1-8” group includes Jokerit even though the Finnish squad actually pulled out of the playoffs before a decision was made by the league.
The NHL is surely watching how other leagues determine their standings, as they would have to make a similar decision should the resumption of play never actually take place. This kind of a playoff group at the top may not seem prudent for a league that relies so heavily on draft ranking, though given that the draft seems destined to happen next month regardless of whether the season is canceled or not, perhaps that wouldn’t be an issue.