The NHL is one of the only sports worldwide that uses a point system to determine it's standings. The NHL has evolved greatly over the past few years, with great innovative thinking and bold decision making. Yet the point structure in which deteremines standings and playoff positions is severely flawed.
Stay with me on this.
A team that wins in regulation is a team that has accomplished something much more desirable than a team that has won in overtime or a shootout. It takes more skill and deserves far better compensation to dispatch an opponent in regulation time than in an extended match. It also takes more skill to win a game in an extra period as opposed to a shootout. Team's playing for shootouts should not be rewarded for cowering by receiving the same amount of points a team who lost in an overtime period by being bold and going for it.
Here is what I propose. It might be novel, it might be idiotic, it might be something already thought of and thrown out, but it's something.
Win a game in regulation - 5 pts
Lose a game in regulation - 0 pts
Win a game in overtime - 4 pts
Lose a game in overtime - 2 pts
Win a game in a shootout - 3 pts
Lose a game in a shootout - 1 pt
This structure awards teams who win the game, in whatever fashion. You will always receive more points for a win. Where the major difference lies in the consolation given to teams who lose in extra frames. As stated before, a team who takes a game to overtime should be rewarded, as should a team who takes a game to a shootout. But they should not be equal compensations.
This system would also get rid of those strange 3 point games we see now. Sure an overtime game would be a 6pt game, but a shootout game would only be a 4 point game. This would encourage teams to attack more and be more offensive in overtime periods, making them that much more exciting. Shootouts would now hold more value too, as one shootout win would be equal to three shootout losses as opposed to the difference of two shootout losses we now see.
Yes this would create some rather complicated high numbers, but it would be a better indication of who the better teams truly are. I'm sure that's worth the math. The biggest benefit of this situation is that it stops rewarding teams for losing. The percentage of points earned in losing efforts would decrease significantly.
As of Feb 29th NHL teams had accumalated almost 11 percent of their points from losses. If the 5 point system was applied that number shrinks to 3.94%. Carolina, the worst offender, had almost a quarter of their points (21.31%) from losses. The lowest percentage in the league, Detroit at 3.45%, was the only team to be under what the league average would be in the 5 point system.
And while the standings wouldn't change dramatically, there would be subtle changes. For example, on Feb 29th, the Maple Leafs stood 3 points behind Winnipeg. A deficit that would require at least 2 games to make up. While in the 5 point system, they were only 5 points back of Winnipeg, a deficit that would require only a single regulation win...well maybe the Leafs weren't a great example to use...(sorry Leaf fans, couldn't resist).
The point is, the gaps are more realistic representations of actual game play achievement in a 5 point system.
I will revisit this again at the conclusion of the season to see if it makes that much of a difference in the playoff structure.
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