The NHL had previously released most of the details regarding the upcoming playoff format including qualifying round matchups, but there were still some points being negotiated with the NHLPA. Today, reports emerged all at once from several reporters including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic on several other points of interest.
First, the two sides have agreed that the four playoff rounds that follow the qualification round will be best-of-seven. The qualification round, played between seeds 5-12, will still be a best-of-five series.
Second, the playoffs will be re-seeded after each round instead of using a bracket format. That will allow the top four teams in each conference to retain their advantage, though it also puts more importance on the round-robin they will play to determine final seeding. Those teams will play three games each, with the winner of the round-robin receiving the top seed. Ties will be resolved by regular season points percentage.
This means a team will still need 16 wins for a Stanley Cup, even if those playing qualification games will need a few extra just to actually join the official playoff tournament. The hope from both sides is to maintain as much “integrity” as possible in this unique season.
LeBrun does caution that these are just format agreements. The two sides still need to negotiate Phase 3 and 4, and there have only been preliminary talks so far.
There is a tax law that states the New York Rangers CAN NOT play a home game anywhere other than Madison Square, Garden. And if they do they will be subject to tax penalties by the city of New York and the State of New York. That is why all Winter classics the Rangers were the visiting team
But in 2008 the rangers opened the season in Prague with 2 games against Tampa one with each team being designated the home team.
@Al Hirschen – It took a little digging, but that 1982 tax law does, indeed state that. It’ll be interesting finagling by the NHL vs NY State/City to see if it would be enforced, or ignored. I was a little surprised about a thread discussing the possibility of evicting the Rangers & Knicks from MSG in 2023. (link: link to fieldofschemes.com) There was another talking about MSG’s tax exempt status with regards to their outdoor game with the Sabres a couple of years ago: “In what I suppose is a tax dodge but is actually kind of hilarious, the New York Rangers are going to be playing a game in New York City as the road team against the Buffalo Sabres, all because they don’t want to spoil the eternal property tax break they were accidentally gifted 35 years ago” (link: link to fieldofschemes.com) (Thanks to author Neil deMause for the contributions).
For instance, in 1950, the Rangers played the Red Wings in the finals but couldn’t use MSG so they played 5 games in Detroit, and two in Toronto as psuedo home games.
When the Rangers threaten to move to the Meadowlands before the Devils came to New Jersey New York City cut them a tax break and part of the tax break was that the Rangers could never play any home games outside of Madison Square Garden for regular season or playoffs
Doesn’t matter. With Texas loosening their sports crowd capacity to 50% NHL will announce all games to be played in Dallas as a Nuetral site with 0 home team designations.
There has to be a home team for faceoff purposes. Visitor puts his stick down first.
Please let this be the end of the brackets. They failed to bring in casual fans and they bore the real ones.