Even with ‘somewhat disappointing’ round-robin tournament, expectations shouldn't be tempered for Bruins with new playoff format

At the end of the day, the glimmer of hope brought on by the announcement of the NHL’s “Return to Play” plan outweighs all of the complexities and concessions that come with adjusting to an unorthodox format in time of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Such was the stance that Bruins president Cam Neely took on Wednesday afternoon when speaking to the media, noting that even with a few shortcomings in the new format — expectations will still be high for a veteran Bruins club that captured the Presidents’ Trophy with a 44-14-12 record. 

“I know we've got a group of guys that are very dedicated and committed and obviously know where the team was at the pause and what the possibilities were going into the playoffs,” Neely said. “Nothing's a guarantee, as we all know, but I think our guys recognized that we had a legitimate chance to do well and have a deep run in the playoffs. 

“Obviously our goal all along is to win Stanley Cups. So that goal is not going to change. I think, from what I understand and talking to some of the guys, they're anxious and excited. Obviously, they still have some questions and concerns about how this is all gonna play out, but everybody still wants to play hockey.”

If/when the NHL can progress past both voluntary workouts (Phase 2) and full training camps (Phase 3) and welcome a revamped postseason tournament, the Bruins will find themselves in an odd spot. 

As the top team, points-wise, in both the Eastern Conference and the NHL as a whole, the Bruins will be able to avoid the best-of-five, play-in round in which 16 of the 24 clubs in the running for the Stanley Cup will duke it out for a chance to advance to the officially first round. 

In order to keep fresh during that play-in round, the Bruins and the other three top seeds in the East — the Lightning, Capitals and Flyers — will all take part in a round-robin tournament as a way to stay fresh and shake off any rust before the playoff field is narrowed down to a traditional 16-team format. 

You won’t find many qualms from the Bruins on such a move, considering the need for these top teams to remain active after months of inaction against opposing teams.

But what’s at stake during that mini, round-robin tournament is what gives Neely some pause. 



Rather than just serving as a way for the eight top seeds (four in the East, four in the West) to keep fresh during the play-in rounds, the results of the tournament will be used to determine seeding for when the official “first round” of the playoffs gets underway. 

So, to play devil’s advocate, let’s say the Bruins start off very slow out of the gate — especially against tough competition in Tampa, Washington and Philly. 

Despite holding an impressive 8, 10 and 11-point leads in the standings over those three respective clubs, Boston could suddenly find itself as the No. 3 or No. 4 seed once the postseason begins in earnest. 

“Obviously a little disappointed with what the team was able to accomplish in the first 70 games and then kind of the point spread that we had —  between not only the teams in the league, but the teams in our division or conference. So to maybe have three games dictate where we (potentially) fall in the conference standings is somewhat disappointing,” Neely said.  “But the fact remains that these are uncharted times for everybody and we're just hoping we can eventually get back on the ice and play meaningful hockey games.”

From Neely’s perspective, the need to offer some sort of incentive to get these four top seeds to battle in the round-robin tournament seems a bit unnecessary. After all, getting a bunch of uber-competitive athletes back on the ice after a months-long break should be incentive enough to get the juices flowing. 

“I was involved with some discussions with the league on the format — listening to what some of the options were,” Neely said. “I expressed my feelings about where it was headed, but for the good of the game, this is what they thought was best. I know they talked about some competitive games while the play-in rounds were going on. 

“But from my perspective, I felt that the players would be amped up and ready to go regardless if they were round-robin games or games to get ready for the playoffs knowing that other teams were playing competitive games.”

Alas, when it comes to making the necessary concessions for the good of getting hockey back, the only clubs with a legitimate bone to pick with this tournament are likely the Bruins and Blues — who could be knocked off the summit. 

Granted, you could also make the argument that the Bruins could also nullify these concerns by simply validating what we saw for most of the regular season — with the best team in hockey besting whatever competition stands in their way. 

Boston also holds an edge over the field thanks to its top spot in regular-season points percentage, which Gary Bettman noted on Tuesday would be used to break potential ties in the standings during this tournament. 

So, yes, while this round-robin format might not carve out the easiest path for Boston if it stumbles out of the gate, let’s be frank — very little of this format is ideal for all parties. 

If anything, aside from last change, the role that seeding plays in helping playoff odds will take a major hit, given that factors such as home-ice advantage will be muted due to the role that hub cities will play in these playoff proceedings. 

And, at the end of the day, if the Bruins had a legitimate beef with this format, they would have joined the Hurricanes and Lightning as the only teams to vote against such a 24-team proposal last week. 

But rather than bemoan this new format, it seems as though the Bruins are in the same boat as the rest of the expanded playoff field. Sure, the conditions might not be ideal, but jumping into the melee that is this format is a hell of a lot better than the alternative — in which a 2019-20 campaign full of so much promise is not given the chance to be fully seen through.

"We've had shortened seasons, whether it's lockouts or strikes, and had Stanley Cup champions. I don't recall seeing asterisks beside those years," Neely said. "So I don't see why this is any different. You know, the playoff format has changed in the history of the NHL, the number of games per round has changed. So I still think that if you're gonna have to play four rounds and beat those teams, I don't see why there needs to be an asterisk beside the Stanley Cup champion."