Auston Matthews to Sit on Wednesday, Critics Blame 'Load Management' on Current Playoff Format

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach confirmed that Auston Matthews will sit out of Wednesday's matchup against the Nashville Predators due to a nagging ailment.

Naturally, the decision has spawned criticism from some directed at the NHL's current playoff format, and those folks may have a fair argument. The criticism centers around the idea that Keefe's decision to rest Matthews could be classified as 'load management,' a term borrowed from the NBA.

'Load management' has never been a thing in the NHL. Fans pay exorbitant ticket prices to see star players play, so having someone like AM34 take the night off is a disservice to those fans. On top of that, there is something to be said for the notion that if you can play, you play. It's that simple.

To clarify, the Atlantic Division playoff picture looks like this:

In short, the Boston Bruins have run away with the division, and the Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning are basically locks to play in the first round. Buffalo is the next closest Atlantic Division team, 9 points behind Tampa Bay.

The criticism isn't that the Maple Leafs are managing Matthews' game-load. Rather, that the current playoff format enables teams to do so. The fact that there is a first-round playoff matchup all-but set in January is - to put it bluntly - super lame.

The NHL's 2014 decision to shift the playoff format to a Wild Card structure wasn't without controversy, and criticism only seems to be growing as we move along.

What say you?

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