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How a 24-team Stanley Cup Playoffs would go for the Montreal Canadiens

By Omar L |
PITTSBURGH - MAY 12: Kris Letang #56 of the Pittsburgh Penguins shakes hands with Jaroslav Halak #41 of the Montreal Canadiens in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Mellon Arena on May 12, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.(Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH - MAY 12: Kris Letang #56 of the Pittsburgh Penguins shakes hands with Jaroslav Halak #41 of the Montreal Canadiens in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Mellon Arena on May 12, 2010 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.(Photo By Dave Sandford/Getty Images)
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MONTREAL, QC – MARCH 16: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – MARCH 16: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

Having 24 teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs seems to be the likely route for the NHL, which could see the Montreal Canadiens in a tough battle for the trophy.

On Sunday, we learned of a possible circus-like alteration to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The NHL may hope to have enough time to finish out a portion of the 2019-20 regular season, but it seems as if a hockey return would mean the end of the regular season. If the league decides to go right into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the idea of a 24-team tournament is up in the air, which would have the Montreal Canadiens make it as the final seed.

It’ll be pretty chaotic with an extra eight teams involved. As much as it is about being fair to those teams who were on the cusp of making it, there are also financial benefits of increasing the pool of teams that make the playoffs.

Before the league went on pause, the New York Rangers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Florida Panthers were battling for spots in the East while the Vancouver Canucks, Minnesota Wild and Arizona Coyotes were doing the same in the West. The final seeds would’ve definitely gone down to the final week of the regular season, especially in the Western Conference.

Would it be fair to start the playoffs and say those 16 teams are deserving of those spots? Yes and no. Some of the teams have earned their way there, such as the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues. On the other hand, some teams decided to pick up steam down the stretch like the Rangers and the Wild.

Then there is the reality of the decision. The NHL has lost a lot of money by shutting down amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. The projected salary cap ceiling for next year is definitely out the window, and the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs will be a way to add some revenue for the remainder of the season.

The Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks, especially in the playoffs, generate revenue for the NHL. That’s it, plain and simple. The league benefits from having them there, so it would make sense for the suits to want to move the goalposts a bit so they can be included. At the same time, you’re not going to see too many owners complain that the team they thought would miss will actually have an opportunity to play.

And now, thanks to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, we have an idea of what a 24-team Stanley Cup Playoffs will look like.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 03: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 03: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Johnston put out an article Monday afternoon, sharing details on how things would play out. Let’s separate them into steps.

Step 1: Seeding

Not every team went into the NHL pause with the same amount of games played. Of the 16 teams currently in a playoff spot, four have played 71 games, six have played 70 games, while the rest have played 69. Because of that, playoff teams will have to be ranked and seeded based on their points percentage instead of overall points.

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This is calculated by taking the total points a team has divided by the total possible amount of points they could’ve had based on their games played. Let’s take the Montreal Canadiens, for example.

The Habs have 71 points on the season via their 31 wins and 9 overtime/shootout losses. That is 71 out of a possible 142 points (as they’ve played 71 games). Divide those two numbers, and you get a points percentage of .500.

The same procedure would be used to rank those other 23 teams which would have an East Conference that looks like this:

  1. Boston Bruins – .714
  2. Tampa Bay Lightning – .657
  3. Washington Capitals – .652
  4. Philadelphia Flyers – .645
  5. Pittsburgh Penguins – .623
  6. Toronto Maple Leafs – .579
  7. Carolina Hurricanes – .596
  8. New York Islanders – .588
  9. Columbus Blue Jackets – .579
  10. Florida Panthers – .565
  11. New York Rangers – .546
  12. Montreal Canadiens – .500

According to Johnston, there would have to be some sort of advantage for teams in divisional spots. The Leafs would be tied with the Blue Jackets but likely get the 9th spot as they have more overall wins if we ignored the fact that they are third in the Atlantic Division.

Something similar is seen in the West Conference rankings:

  1. St. Louis Blues – .662
  2. Colorado Avalanche – .657
  3. Vegas Golden Knights – .606
  4. Edmonton Oilers – .585
  5. Dallas Stars – .594
  6. Vancouver Canucks – .565
  7. Nashville Predators – .565
  8. Calgary Flames – .564
  9. Winnipeg Jets – .563
  10. Minnesota Wild – .558
  11. Arizona Coyotes – .529
  12. Chicago Blackhawks – .514

The Oilers should really be the sixth seed, but they get the privilege of the bump up as they’re second in the Pacific Division.

Now we move on to the games.

MONTREAL, QC – OCTOBER 13: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC – OCTOBER 13: Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

Step 2: Proto-First Round

The first portion of the playoffs in this scenario would only include 16 teams. The first four teams in each conference, based on points percentage, would sit this one out while the remaining take part in a best of three playoff series that lasts across four days. The AHL does this in their Calder Cup Playoff format as the first round is a best of three while the remaining are the usual best of seven.

The matchups would then be set in best vs. worst in each conference. The NHL playoffs used to sort their series like this before the change to this division-focused format took place.

Eastern Conference

  1. Penguins
  2. Leafs
  3. Hurricanes
  4. Islanders
  5. Blue Jackets
  6. Panthers
  7. Rangers
  8. Canadiens

Western Conference

  1. Stars
  2. Canucks
  3. Predators
  4. Flames
  5. Jets
  6. Wild
  7. Coyotes
  8. Blackhawks

That would have the Montreal Canadiens face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. The last time the Habs and Pens matched up in a playoff series was in 2010 after upsetting the Washington Capitals in the first round. Montreal was down 3-2 in the series but managed to win games six and seven and a ticket to the Eastern Conference Final.

After the proto-first round is finished, the playoffs would continue as usual, with only 16 teams remaining. It will be a tougher ride for the lower teams to fight to the top as they would’ve played an extra series over the higher-seeded teams, but it’s not the hardest trophy to win for nothing.

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The format suggested by Johnston isn’t set in stone. There are other ideas in play and executives are still fielding ideas. However, if this ends up with the Montreal Canadiens playing playoff hockey, then there will be a serious degree of interest in the tournament this year from French Canada.

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