In this edition of the hotstove we discuss whether the NHL should change its point system and reward regulation wins with three points.
Todd Cordell
I think the NHL should definitely change to a 3-2-1 system.
I know the league likes parity and wants as many teams in the race for as long as possible, however, I'd rather see good teams be rewarded for being, well, good.
While bottom feeders would be out of the mix at an earlier time, it would lead to more sellers at the deadline (everyone loves trades!) and teams would have more games to get their young players reps and showcase the future, rather than selling false hope.
Matt Henderson I think they should drop points completely. It's W/L with the tiebreaker going to Non-Shootout wins.
What purpose does having a million points serve now that ties are dead? There is a winner and a loser every single night in the NHL. Why worry about points?
To be totally honest. I think there's even less of a problem with it if the NHL drops the shootout completely and goes to unlimited 3v3 OT in the regular season. MLB and Basketball have unlimited overtime/innings in the regular season. There's no reason why they cant have it in hockey.
That brings us back to abolishing the point system. 90 points, 100, points, 115 points, our reference for what's good is constantly changing with rule changes. 90 points was OK and 100 was great. Now 90 wont guarantee the last playoff spot. 3 point system that moves to 100 or more.
If we're ok changing what points mean then we should be OK with removing it completely. At some point it should just make sense so that new fans have an easier entry into the sport. Nobody needs to use a calculator just to find out if the playoffs are possible. Wins and Losses with an easy to understand tiebreaker like regulation wins and in-season series record.
James Tanner The NHL should definitely adopt a 3-2-1 system where every game is worth the same amount of points.
Losing in overtime/shootout is worth a reward, because by nature of the 3v3 or shootout, it's a pretty random outcome and making it there alone should get you something.
It's so obvious to move to a system where every game counts for the same amount of points (as it is, regulation games give out 2 points and OT games 3) that it's actually pretty bizarre that they haven't.
Given the nature of change the game has seen in the last 50 years (helmets, bigger players, better goalies etc) the argument that this somehow 'ruins' the record book is ridiculous.
Three points for a regulation win is long overdue. The current way is a joke for a league worth billions. It's extremely paradoxical that a professional sports league would track it's standings in a way that defies sense.
The only reasonable explanation is that it keeps the standings artificially close and, in theory, would trick stupid people into paying for tickets long after their team has realistically been eliminated from contention.
If that is the case, and I think it is, then the NHL is in effect calling its fans stupid and being willingly deceitful.
Ed Stein Most younger fans probably don't remember that the NHL formerly awarded one point to each team for a tie. The current method was put in place to eliminate ties. What bugs me most about the present system is that there is a variable amount of points per contest and in any given game a total of either two or three points can be awarded. A three point system is long overdue.
Soccer gives three points for a win and one point to each side for a draw; still an uneven amount of points per game.
In the NHL, I would give a team that wins in regulation three points. A team that wins in OT or a shootout gets two points and the loser gets one. Ties in the standings can be broken with the formula the league currently uses: Regulation and OT wins.
Jan Levine Because the league has become a series of one-goal contests with a propensity for three-point games, moving up in a division and conference has become a nightmare. It's for that reason many have suggested that the league needs to adopt a 3-2-1 system that had been suggested in the past. Yes, Regulation plus Overtime wins is a tiebreaker but that has not proven enough of an incentive to go for wins in regulation. Switching to a 3-2-1 system would make late-season contests a lot more interesting and somewhat eliminate playing for overtime.
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