How balanced is the NHL and does it help the New York Rangers?

The NHL is two seasons away from adding a franchise in Seattle to the fold. One of the major justifications is just how competitive the league is and the parity amongst teams. Is that just owner talk to line pockets?

For all of the headaches Gary Bettman has caused during his tenure as league commissioner, including two lockouts, the man is a shrewd businessman. Realizing that the world’s hyper-rich only have a finite number of franchises to buy, Bettman has expanded his league and lined the pockets of the owners many times over.

With the league about to add the 32nd franchise, it raises the obvious question: Can the league sustain another franchise when it has several teams already in the league struggling to hold their footing? The Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers and even the Tampa Bay Lightning all struggle to draw at their respective arenas.

Sure, Seattle as a sports town is itching for a team to join the Seahawks, especially since the Supersonics left for Oklahoma City more than a decade ago. But, the league as a whole has several issues that need further addressing.

Does the league actually have parity? Or is a misleading playoff format coupled with a diluted talent pool keeping all teams relatively close in terms of talent? Throw in the fact that the salary cap has risen every single season since the lockout of 2012 and everyone realizes the elephant in the room.

Every single time the player salaries get too high in a particular sport, the owners will lockout the players and set the sport back several years. Every time the NHL begins to make progress in catching up to MLB in spite of its own internal mistakes, the league shoots itself in the foot.

Are there actually 20 good teams?

According to the NHL’s current playoff model in which the top three teams in each division make the playoffs, as well as two wild cards, is misleading. Through this system, more teams are able to stay competitive longer into the season than under the old 1-8 seeding method. The wild cards and division format also robs the league of more meaningful series.

No one wanted to see the Winnipeg Jets play the Nashville Predators in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. Two teams of that quality should only meet in the conference finals and truly test each other as to who should represent their side of the playoff bracket.

In this convoluted playoff system, 20 different teams all finished with at least 90 points and five different teams were within three points of leapfrogging another team. However, in the 1-8 system, those teams would more accurately finish reflective of their talent level.

The playoff system is a mess and needs to be addressed when it comes to negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. Whether the league seed on a 1-8 system or give each division four playoff births are to be decided by those directly involved. It’s inexcusable how much weaker one half of the bracket has been the past several postseasons because of this delusional format.

The Vegas Golden Knights were able to waltz on by against the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and get a real test only from the Jets. Compare that to Winnipeg that had to play the Minnesota Wild, Predators and the Knights.

Where the Rangers fit in

As a rebuilding team, the New York Rangers shouldn’t be particularly concerned about a playoff seed at the moment. The realistic and attainable goals are working on getting better every single night. As cliche as David Quinn’s coachspeak about improving is, there is merit in the concept of working hard and establishing a culture of accountability.

The Montreal Canadiens have a four-point lead on the Rangers for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. However, in a conventional 1-8 format that actually rewards performance, New York would be just one point back of the eight seed. This convoluted division system designed to feature divisional rivalries in the postseason fails to do so in a logical way.

This division system favors teams in the weaker division within a conference. Take for example the last time New York made the postseason back in 2017. As a wildcard team, the Rangers got to play on the Montreal and Ottawa side of the bracket as opposed to the Pittsburgh Penguins or Washington Capitals.

In a nutshell, the league is artificially keeping as many teams as competitive as possible to help each individual franchise. When a team is in the playoff mix, its fanbase is more likely to buy tickets, watch on tv or purchase merchandise. Every year one team plays down to the final day of the season and captures the hearts of fans whose teams are already long out of the race.

Why it helps

At a base level, teams being able to stay in the playoff mix does have a backhanded positive consequence. In playing more competitive games that have meaning to other teams, it exposes younger talent to the high-intensity atmosphere that accompanies a playoff chase.

Getting practical experience against teams fighting to extend their season is about as good a lesson for any young player as possible. Playing in a jumping arena as opposed to a library does something to a player’s internal system that pushes them to another level.

In addition to the experience factor, the requirements for making the playoffs being easier does favor a team that can get hot at the right time. With Henrik Lundqvist in net, the Rangers are never that far away from one quick run of six wins in seven games to get right back into the mix.

This also means that it only takes one good series of moves in the offseason to get right back into the playoffs following a down year. New York is still on the rise and needs to procure more talent to be a serious contender. Yet, it will have every opportunity to be a playoff team next year with the right moves.

The NHL or the players association can opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement in September of 2019 meaning that the CBA would expire the following September. With so much up in the air, is this really the right time to add another expansion team?