Flames coach Geoff Ward says no one in the playoffs will care about an asterisk

Geoff Ward, the interim head coach of the Calgary Flames, is convinced no player in the NHL playoffs will view a Stanley Cup win this year as a cheap victory. Speaking to reporters, Ward told them the idea of an asterisk is not even on their minds.

"Whoever wins, believe me, there is going to be no sort of feeling like, 'Oh, it was a cheap year. It was something different. It wasn't normal,' " Ward told reporters via Zoom. "Whoever is crowned the Stanley Cup champion is going to take an awful lot of pride in that.

"I don't see anything that is going to take anything away from being a Stanley Cup champion this year."

Some fans have questioned the NHL's plan to return with a 24-team playoff format, saying the idea cheapens the grind it usually takes to win a championship in the NHL. However, Flames captain Mark Giordano says that notion ignores the bigger picture.

"I really feel like it's going to be a harder Cup to win than most years — if not the hardest — because of a) the number of rounds and b) the strength of the teams and the health of the teams," said Giordano. "It's going to be every team at their best basically.

The NHL has stated that teams playing in the opening round of the 24-team format have not yet officially made the playoffs. That won't happen until there are 16 teams left standing. That's at least how it is viewing the format for the purposes of conditional draft picks exchanged during the regular season.

Source: CBC Sports

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