The biggest bonus for NHL teams who don’t make the playoffs is that they’ll get the chance to draft a better player in the NHL lottery. This coming season, non-playoff teams will be granted another consideration and given a second bonus.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun has noted that the NHL is prepared to give extra practice time to teams that have been forced to take a longer break thanks to the pandemic pause. What that means, for the seven teams that didn’t qualify for the playoffs last season if they want extra training camp time, it has been granted.
LeBrun noted:
“One last note, the seven teams that did not participate in the Return to Play this past summer? They’re going to get some good news. They’ve asked for some extra training camp time and I’m told that the NHL and NHLPA have tentatively agreed that those teams could have extra training camp time ahead of the normal training camps, whenever that is next season.”
Is This a Fair or Unfair Advantage?
Obviously, a date of January 1 to return is tentative and just a ballpark. The season could be pushed back and who knows when training camps will begin. All that seems clear is that the longer the wait, the longer team who didn’t make the play-ins will have to wait to get back on the ice and get up to speed.
But, is this really necessary? For a lot of teams, their play-ins last a week. For most teams, they didn’t go as far as Dallas and Tampa Bay so the extra time they to play could be seen as marginal.
There’s another argument that teams who didn’t make the play-ins might not be deserving of the extra ice time and their increased lottery chances (even though the draw didn’t benefit them at all) would have been enough.
Then again, this entire season and the start of next is unprecedented. Who knows what’s fair and what isn’t?
Next: NHL Free Agency Feature: 2020 Division Review – Pacific
