Trying to gauge the reaction of NHL players to the NBA’s first in-season tournament starts with a long preamble to the question, and that’s the first obstacle.
It’s a lot of explaining, particularly for guys who aren’t basketball or soccer fans. Then they have questions, and sometimes more questions based off the answers.
After speaking with a handful of players on the Colorado Avalanche about whether or not an in-season tournament could work in the NHL, the general consensus was … intrigue, but also plenty of skepticism.
“It could be interesting,” Fredrik Olofsson said. “I think it could work, but the schedule is as intense as it already is.”
For the uninitiated, the NBA kicked off its inaugural In-Season Tournament — which needs a better name — on Friday night. The league is seeking to boost interest during the regular season with a nod to the various in-season competitions in all the major soccer leagues.
There are four group-stage games for each team, which will be played this month on “tournament nights.” Those games count in the regular-season standings, along with the quarterfinals and semifinals in the knockout rounds as well.
There is one extra game, the championship, which will be played in Las Vegas. The winning team claims the NBA Cup — which needs a better name — plus $500,000 per player. There are smaller financial prizes for each of the other teams that reach the knockout phase.
“The cups are very popular in Europe. It might not be a bad idea,” Tomas Tatar said. “I think there would be a concern about the number of games and how it would be structured. If you ask any player to add more games, they probably would not be excited unless there’s something in it.”
The key for the NBA, and the NHL would face the same challenge, is not increasing the travel and workload — 28 of the 30 NBA teams are still playing 82 regular-season games — while also making it something players will get excited about.
The NBA is introducing new, colorful court designs and making sure that no non-tournament games are played on tournament nights.
“Maybe, I don’t know. It could be kind of cool,” Mikko Rantanen said. “They do a lot of load management (in the NBA), so they have more energy to play more games.”
NHL teams aren’t going to paint the ice different colors, but a new jersey design or designating tournament games as throwback or reverse retro nights could work. The NBA is using Las Vegas as a neutral site to play up the big-game atmosphere.
Las Vegas or Toronto could work for the NHL as a championship site, but the league could also move it around or even play for the NHL Cup (with a better name) at an outdoor venue.
With 32 teams, the NHL could go with eight groups of four for the opening stage. Three group-stage games doesn’t feel like enough, but given that every team in the NHL plays home and away, six would work.
The NBA put teams into pots and drew names for the groups but also separated the conferences and the pots based on records from last season. If the NHL wanted to be different, it could put all 32 teams in one pot.
That’s part of the fun with European football cups — Arsenal and Manchester City might draw together in an early round of the FA Cup. Vegas and Florida get drawn into a group together after playing in the Stanley Cup Final? OK, that’s a fun storyline.
“I don’t know. I’d have to look more into it,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “It doesn’t sound that appealing, to be honest. … But maybe it would be great.”
The NBA dealt with plenty of skepticism before the tournament began but is betting on everyone coming around. There was some of that when the league expanded its playoffs to 20 teams, introducing play-in rounds to get down to the final 16.
That’s been a significant success. The NHL has resisted following suit, and it won’t be a surprise if the league takes the same view on a potential in-season tournament.
It could work, though. It just might take a lot of explaining and some convincing for teams and players to give it a chance.
“We want to grow the game,” Tatar said. “This might be another way of doing it. You would just need to figure out the structure and maybe go from there.”
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