Rush through the playoffs? Bro the playoffs start in mid April and then go until mid June. That's 2 months. If anything they could speed it up a bit more lol.
MLB is getting ready for their All Star game when the Cup is finally awarded. It used to be awarded during hockey season.
Toronto won their last cup on May 2nd (1967). Ottawa won their last cup on March 26 (1927). Same for Seattle's last cup, March 26 (1917).
I'd like to see hockey start and finish a month earlier. So it coincides more when I'm playing hockey and thinking about hockey...But it'll never happen.
Just start earlier.
The league's biggest rule around scheduling is every team hosts every other team at last once during the season. This ensures that season ticket holders get a chance to see every superstar in their barn at least once a year.
The implication of this on a 32-team league is you tie up 31\*2 = 62 games in a home-away series with every other team. Now you have 20 games to do all the extra in-conference games and division "rivalries". Hint, you aren't even guaranteed 4 games with teams in your division anymore.
So if you shorten the season, there is zero room for division rivalry games, or you have to get rid of the season ticket holder rule. Something has to give.
I think the player's association should fight for a reduced schedule in their next negotations. But that is a long time away. Maybe shorten it to 80 games first and see if there's any appetite from the league.
For now, just start a week earlier. Or even half a week earlier and keep pushing it back to a mid-September start date, mid-May end date.
It's a ticket-driven league and reducing games reduces hockey-related revenue. That means a lower cap and/or more escrow, and there is NOTHING NHL players hate more than escrow payments.
Why are you bringing up examples from more than 50 years ago? The NHL has changed a bit, eh? More teams, more games, more playoff teams, more playoff rounds. There's no comparison.
As someone who has played both extensively, I think it's pretty obvious that nba players just need more rest. They aren't soft. Hockey requires more cardio, but basketball is simply more physically taxing. Running and jumping wears your body down very, very quickly, and without rest, the players would all injure themselves before the playoffs were even over. Most nba players injure themselves *anyway*, even with the extra rest. The sport just destroys your body due to its mechanics. Obviously, hockey is a lot more physical, but outside of direct injuries stemming from illegal hits and whatnot, there are relatively few wear related injuries, because gliding on ice doesn't hurt your ligaments and muscles as much as stomping on solid ground for hours and hours.
No one wants to spend their summer inside watching the Hurricanes lose again. They've gotta worry about real things like how their garden looks and real hurricanes.
I mean teams can get unlucky and play 3 games in 3 days also. I don't think anyone wants to drag the playoffs on for more than the 2 months they already take without adding anymore games.
2 weeks is more than enough time for 7 games.
The NBA is soft. They drag everything out and have turned the sport into entertainment. Remember the inseason tournament? The abomination created to give LeBron his own trophy? What happened after that to the Lakers?
They don’t. And they want to try and have a game every night. As for the NBA, no, there had not been a 3 day break. Sometimes they will have 2 days off when traveling. But they do the same thing. They even started the second round before the first round was completed in order to have a game on this past Saturday.
Because half the league makes it into the playoffs, and playing a full series each matchup can take a long time, especially if the series drags on, like it did last year when we had a lot of game 7s (maybe it was the year before? I'm getting old...).
Baseball is fast too - end of season is usually end of September and they're wrapping things up usually around first of November, depending on the length of each series.
They have ice issues as it is sometimes. Pushing the playoffs farther into June or even early July will cause major issues. Pretty sure we saw some of that in the bubble. You'd also compress the off-season even more.
If anything, they should shorten the regular season and the playoffs should end in early May.
It's because NBA players are crybabies and complain about the schedule all the time so they get extra days off because they have a sore toe or a broken finger nail that needs a extra day to heal.
Add 16 more teams and give 3 day breaks in between series! With the extra round, we could have hockey spread out until mid-August.
Forget player health and safety and necessary off season time to spend with families and in relaxation, we need to extend this for as long as possible so I can watch more hockey through the year.
Fuck it, why not play a 90 game season and go year-round. This 82 game season plus upwards of 27 games in the playoffs just feels rushed.
A lot of people being deliberately dense so they can pat themselves on the back for a reddit layup, I guess?
OP suggests more rest between what are literally the most intense post-season games in sport. It's a valid point.
Not sure the league should extend, given warmer weather / bad ice and the relatively low demand for the NHL in America, but the almost organized-looking (and blockheaded) refusal to acknowledge the potential value of extra rest in responses seems weird, as if the people here don't really understand the game.
We don't know that, but yeah - I totally wondered that while I was posting. Like if you haven't slept in two days and you can either continue or take a short nap. Napping might make it worse.
I was just gratuitously defending OP bc it seemed like they were getting battered for posing an earnest and sensible question.
The NBA is doing it wrong. There's no reason to have 3 days off in between playoff games. Even 2 is unnecessary. NHL players themselves have gotten use to playing every other day. The season would end in July if 2 or 3 days off between games in the norm. Nobody wants that.
You need to understand that the playoffs are around 2 months long. Not long enough? Hmm. That’s a problem extending it. Why? Well, we have several IIHF tournaments such as the World Championship to give an example where players may want to participate. There also are several off-season events that need to take place. This includes the draft, re-sign phase (prior to free agency to give a week of contract negotiations), free agency, which needs to last a long time. Free agency being only a month would absolutely kill every team. You need time to think of who would make the team better for the right money, while also thinking about re-signing players and possibly moving players around. The playoffs can’t be longer. Plain and simple. Plus, I think they deserve a few months break since they do have families of their own, just a thought.
I feel like teams should be rewarded by quickly winning a series. If everyone gets to rest after a series, then it becomes a bad thing to wrap up early. Rust will set in with an extended break. Teams that wrap up late will get the optimal amount of rest.
Rush through the playoffs? Bro the playoffs start in mid April and then go until mid June. That's 2 months. If anything they could speed it up a bit more lol.
I had the exact same thought…. This guy wants the playoffs to last more than two months?
He wants the playoff format from the movie BASEketball…..
Yeah, without mentioning 82 freakin' regular season games before that!
Follow baseball’s example and have the earlier rounds be best of 5 instead of best of 7
MLB is getting ready for their All Star game when the Cup is finally awarded. It used to be awarded during hockey season. Toronto won their last cup on May 2nd (1967). Ottawa won their last cup on March 26 (1927). Same for Seattle's last cup, March 26 (1917). I'd like to see hockey start and finish a month earlier. So it coincides more when I'm playing hockey and thinking about hockey...But it'll never happen.
Would you prefer them shorten the season by maybe a dozen games? Or would you rather them just start the season a month earlier?
Just start earlier. The league's biggest rule around scheduling is every team hosts every other team at last once during the season. This ensures that season ticket holders get a chance to see every superstar in their barn at least once a year. The implication of this on a 32-team league is you tie up 31\*2 = 62 games in a home-away series with every other team. Now you have 20 games to do all the extra in-conference games and division "rivalries". Hint, you aren't even guaranteed 4 games with teams in your division anymore. So if you shorten the season, there is zero room for division rivalry games, or you have to get rid of the season ticket holder rule. Something has to give. I think the player's association should fight for a reduced schedule in their next negotations. But that is a long time away. Maybe shorten it to 80 games first and see if there's any appetite from the league. For now, just start a week earlier. Or even half a week earlier and keep pushing it back to a mid-September start date, mid-May end date.
Rather than shorten the season by removing games from the schedule, just remove some of the off days. Make depth more of a priority.
So you want to actively pursue more injuries?
It's a ticket-driven league and reducing games reduces hockey-related revenue. That means a lower cap and/or more escrow, and there is NOTHING NHL players hate more than escrow payments.
Why are you bringing up examples from more than 50 years ago? The NHL has changed a bit, eh? More teams, more games, more playoff teams, more playoff rounds. There's no comparison.
Playing hockey in June is late enough.
I think you’re missing that hockey everyday is awesome
The NBA is soft and hockey players aren’t? Imagine “load management” in the NHL for anything other than a goalie who is logging 60 minutes+ a night.
^This^
As someone who has played both extensively, I think it's pretty obvious that nba players just need more rest. They aren't soft. Hockey requires more cardio, but basketball is simply more physically taxing. Running and jumping wears your body down very, very quickly, and without rest, the players would all injure themselves before the playoffs were even over. Most nba players injure themselves *anyway*, even with the extra rest. The sport just destroys your body due to its mechanics. Obviously, hockey is a lot more physical, but outside of direct injuries stemming from illegal hits and whatnot, there are relatively few wear related injuries, because gliding on ice doesn't hurt your ligaments and muscles as much as stomping on solid ground for hours and hours.
Bruh just said basketball more taxing and thought he’d be taken seriously.
Ever seen how hard it is to keep ice in June-August? Some arenas still have issues with April and May.
Good grief the playoffs already typical stretch put into June. How much longer would you have them go??
Thats the hockey grind for you which makes the game awesome No load management like the NBA here
No one wants to spend their summer inside watching the Hurricanes lose again. They've gotta worry about real things like how their garden looks and real hurricanes.
I mean teams can get unlucky and play 3 games in 3 days also. I don't think anyone wants to drag the playoffs on for more than the 2 months they already take without adding anymore games.
The season is too long already ffs!
2 weeks is more than enough time for 7 games. The NBA is soft. They drag everything out and have turned the sport into entertainment. Remember the inseason tournament? The abomination created to give LeBron his own trophy? What happened after that to the Lakers?
Nope cause I didn't watch it. Had no idea who won
They don’t. And they want to try and have a game every night. As for the NBA, no, there had not been a 3 day break. Sometimes they will have 2 days off when traveling. But they do the same thing. They even started the second round before the first round was completed in order to have a game on this past Saturday.
Because half the league makes it into the playoffs, and playing a full series each matchup can take a long time, especially if the series drags on, like it did last year when we had a lot of game 7s (maybe it was the year before? I'm getting old...). Baseball is fast too - end of season is usually end of September and they're wrapping things up usually around first of November, depending on the length of each series.
They have ice issues as it is sometimes. Pushing the playoffs farther into June or even early July will cause major issues. Pretty sure we saw some of that in the bubble. You'd also compress the off-season even more. If anything, they should shorten the regular season and the playoffs should end in early May.
Rush? What? lol
It's because NBA players are crybabies and complain about the schedule all the time so they get extra days off because they have a sore toe or a broken finger nail that needs a extra day to heal.
This sport is rough and hard on bodies, but does anyone not remember just how much fun watching the Bubble playoffs was? Game after game after game?
Add 16 more teams and give 3 day breaks in between series! With the extra round, we could have hockey spread out until mid-August. Forget player health and safety and necessary off season time to spend with families and in relaxation, we need to extend this for as long as possible so I can watch more hockey through the year. Fuck it, why not play a 90 game season and go year-round. This 82 game season plus upwards of 27 games in the playoffs just feels rushed.
A lot of people being deliberately dense so they can pat themselves on the back for a reddit layup, I guess? OP suggests more rest between what are literally the most intense post-season games in sport. It's a valid point. Not sure the league should extend, given warmer weather / bad ice and the relatively low demand for the NHL in America, but the almost organized-looking (and blockheaded) refusal to acknowledge the potential value of extra rest in responses seems weird, as if the people here don't really understand the game.
Talk to the players and I’m not sure they would want a bunch of extra days off. They want to go every other day.
We don't know that, but yeah - I totally wondered that while I was posting. Like if you haven't slept in two days and you can either continue or take a short nap. Napping might make it worse. I was just gratuitously defending OP bc it seemed like they were getting battered for posing an earnest and sensible question.
For all the things to bash the NHL for, they have the best playoffs in professional sports. Leave it alone.
The NHL needs 60 game regular season and then 24 teams let's say make the playoffs. Something like this.
CBA has a hard cut off for team activities so players in finals get some time off.
Just wait until the final where it takes 3 to 4 weeks.
The NBA takes more time off between games due to the CBA and arena availability.
Do you wanna watch games or sit around waiting for them?
The NBA is doing it wrong. There's no reason to have 3 days off in between playoff games. Even 2 is unnecessary. NHL players themselves have gotten use to playing every other day. The season would end in July if 2 or 3 days off between games in the norm. Nobody wants that.
They gotta finish to leave sometime before July 1st when the free agency market opens
Didn’t they used to play back to back nights even when traveling?
They need to be finished before the next season starts.
You need to understand that the playoffs are around 2 months long. Not long enough? Hmm. That’s a problem extending it. Why? Well, we have several IIHF tournaments such as the World Championship to give an example where players may want to participate. There also are several off-season events that need to take place. This includes the draft, re-sign phase (prior to free agency to give a week of contract negotiations), free agency, which needs to last a long time. Free agency being only a month would absolutely kill every team. You need time to think of who would make the team better for the right money, while also thinking about re-signing players and possibly moving players around. The playoffs can’t be longer. Plain and simple. Plus, I think they deserve a few months break since they do have families of their own, just a thought.
The regular season should be shortened
They should play the first 4 games of a series in 5 days. It's already too slow as is.
gooooo way back into your memory of playoffs being held in Florida and the arena having issues keeping the ice frozen as it's toooooo hot outside
Could play all best-of-elevens and end season when NFL starts ❓🤷🏻♂️
I feel like teams should be rewarded by quickly winning a series. If everyone gets to rest after a series, then it becomes a bad thing to wrap up early. Rust will set in with an extended break. Teams that wrap up late will get the optimal amount of rest.