The two-city Return To Play plan got a public boost on Wednesday when Elliotte Friedman reported that the structure that's now gaining favour with the decision-makers is a 24-team, conference-based format:
Friedman gets pretty specific, reporting that the top four seeds in each conference, based on points percentage, would get a bye through the play-in round — but would still get a chance to play games so that they have as much opportunity to get up to speed as the lower-ranked teams.
Then, the teams ranked 5-12 would square off in a bracket format, similar to what we normally see.
As Friedman lays it out, that plan would put the Canucks seventh in the Western Conference and earn them a date with the Minnesota Wild — a team that went 2-1-0 against Vancouver this season, including an emotional 4-3 shootout victory at Rogers Arena on February 19 that marked Dean Evason's first career win as an NHL head coach.
All told, the Wild went 8-4-0 after Evason took over from Bruce Boudreau on Valentine's Day. They held steady at 21st in the overall league standings, but saw their win percentage increase from .535 to .558 and moved up from 11th to 10th in the Western Conference, leapfrogging the Arizona Coyotes.
During that same span, of course, the Canucks went 4-6-1 and slipped down three spots in the West, getting passed by Vegas, Edmonton and Nashville.
So — not a matchup to take lightly.
As usual, Wednesday's report from Sportsnet was filled with caveats that nothing has been carved in stone yet. And given the players' desire to have some warm-up games to get up to speed before things really start to count, my guess is that those games will have some kind of points attached them. I would think that a hot or cold team might still move up or down the standings before the play-in begins.
Greg Wyshynski of ESPN is reporting that the play-in will be a best-of-five, to narrow the field to 16 and set a regular four-round, best-of-seven affair. So we'd see a third of the teams eliminated and sent home from the quarantine bubble in the blink of an eye — barely a week for series that go the distance.
It'd be intense and exciting, but all the talk about how it would be good for ratings to have teams with big fanbases like Chicago, Montreal and the Rangers join the party could quickly be rendered irrelevant if they get eliminated early.
Or, to put it another way:
If the playoffs do happen before the draft, which is looking more and more like it'll be the case, I'd assume that if the Canucks did lose the play-in round they'd be classified as a non-playoff, lottery team? And that first-round pick that now belongs to the New Jersey Devils would bump back to 2021?
This issue is, of course, just one of many that'll need to be ironed out before any sort of game structure is finalized. The NHLPA executive board, including the Canucks' Bo Horvat, is scheduled to hash out some of these issues in a call on Thursday.
I wonder how loudly the players will use their voices when it comes to where games will be held? We've heard B.C. Premier John Horgan loudly trumpeting how Vancouver has everything necessary to be a great host city with a good arena, sufficient practice facilities not far away, five-star hotels in close proximity, low COVID-19 infection rates and terrific quality of life.
Sounds like Edmonton has now stepped up its pitch:
And now that the NBA seems to be looking to set up their hub in Orlando, Florida, Vegas also keeps popping up as an NHL possibility. Certainly, they've got all the accommodation that could ever be needed — as well as a practice facility. But that facility, City National Arena, has just two ice sheets — and I'm not sure there'd be much additional ice available in the area.
Also — have you ever been to Vegas in the summer? The temperature rarely falls below 100 degrees fahrenheit. I know ice-making technology has come a long way, but I'd be more concerned that is virtually impossible to be outdoors for more than a few minutes at a time.
In that respect, the Oilers might be onto something with their talk of golf courses and outdoor big screens inside the quarantine bubble. Maybe the Canucks could set up a recreation area inside the not-currently-being used B.C. Place? That would offer plenty of space for social distancing, with options to have the roof open or closed as needed.
The other advantage for the Canadian teams, of course, is the exchange rate. I would think that paying expenses to make this all happen at a 1.39 exchange rate would be a massive advantage for the league. And I don't think the border closure is an issue at all. People with work visas are allowed to cross, but the 14-day quarantine period would still be in effect.
So — as usual these days, we'll see where we go from here.
A couple of other notes to close out today:
First, congratulations to Reid Boucher and Brogan Rafferty, who were both named to the AHL's All-Star Teams this week.
Boucher acknowledged that he could have a chance to be one of Vancouver's Black Aces if the NHL does play out the season.
And finally — the Canucks are facing the Golden Knights on Thursday.
Thatcher Demko and Adam Gaudette will be battling Ryan Reaves and Alex Tuch in NHL 20 for the right to advance in the NHL Player Gaming Challenge.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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