Pacific Division captains on what should happen when action resumes

When the NHL paused its season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it did so not knowing how it would affect the remainder of the 2019-20 regular season as well as the playoffs. Given that many teams were in the thick of the hunt and no spots had yet been clinched, with 11-14 games remaining, things could have gotten very interesting on the home stretch.

Some players have the opinion that with the time that will have elapsed when the pause is lifted, it may be a better idea (for time's sake) to hit the ground running and commence with the playoffs straight away.

Others, such as Edmonton's Connor McDavid, Vancouver's Bo Horvat and Arizona's Oliver Ekman-Larsson are of the mindset that the season is not complete until it is complete, and that in fairness to everyone, the season should be played out before the playoffs begin.

"I think [the standings] look pretty good right now," joked McDavid. "But you want a fair season. And a fair season is a full season. If we can do that, I think that's something we'd obviously prefer."

Horvat, the Canucks' captain, had a similar outlook, but with a slight elaboration on what he thinks is fair should the NHL and NHLPA elect to end the season and move straight to the playoffs when action resumes.

"Either go by points percentage or play some more regular-season games," said Horvat. "Obviously, to make it completely fair, you'd want to play more regular-season games and have more games to get in. But if we're going to start playoffs right away, definitely by percentage, that would put us in. But it's tough to make that call."

Since the Coyotes are currently on the outside looking in by both points and points percentage, captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson would like to have the opportunity to propel his club forward and make up some ground, hopefully sneaking in via one of the wild card spots.

"I think it's fair to start where we left off here. It would be good for the playoffs too, to get those games going again. It would benefit all of us," Ekman-Larsson said.

He poses a very interesting argument, being that players need to ramp up their strength and conditioning before ultimately attempting to stake a claim to hockey's greatest prize.

Another take, by Flames captain Mark Giordano, is to alter the playoff structure to include 12 teams per conference and give more teams a chance to compete.

"I've thought a lot about this," said Giordano. "In a perfect world, you want to play a full regular season and whoever gets in, gets in. But I don't think realistically we're going to have that time. You can't eliminate teams that are in on points percentage. I think you go 12 and 12 (in each conference). More teams get in this year. Maybe a couple byes at the top, and play it out."

There's no denying that it's an intriguing concept. More playoffs and a different structure definitely makes things interesting, especially if your team is one that's on the wrong side of the dividing line.

It's unclear at this point how the league will proceed, but I suppose it's something that won't be left off the table in these very unorthodox circumstances.

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