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24 Team Playoff Format Benefits New Jersey Devils

By Vincent Parise

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 21: Jesper Boqvist #90 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his second goal of the game which became the game winner at 15:57 of the third period on the powerplay against the New York Islanders at the Prudential Center on September 21, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Islanders 4-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY - SEPTEMBER 21: Jesper Boqvist #90 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his second goal of the game which became the game winner at 15:57 of the third period on the powerplay against the New York Islanders at the Prudential Center on September 21, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Islanders 4-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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The New Jersey Devils wouldn’t make it to the playoffs in the proposed format but they would still benefit if the NHL decided to go that route.

With the NHL season fully paused, nobody knows when it is going to resume or how when it does, but one new proposal would really benefit the New Jersey Devils. The proposal that was rumored to have been discussed was one that would have 24 teams participate in a creative version of the Stanley Cup playoffs. One of the top TSN insiders, Darren Dreger, confirmed that is a strong option. 

If this option was the one that the National Hockey League decided to roll with, the New Jersey Devils would still miss the playoffs. They currently sit in 26th place in the overall league standings. Making the playoffs is not the big deal for the Devils, they are not good enough to make anything of such an opportunity this season.

What it would do for the Devils is secure three 1st-round picks. The Devils have the Arizona Coyotes 1st-round pick as long as they don’t win the lottery and the Vancouver Canucks pick as long as they make the playoffs.  The Arizona Coyotes would make the playoffs in this 24 team format which could lead to their draft pick being a worse one, but the Vancouver Canucks would be in as well. It might even mean Arizona is out of the lottery entirely, but that much hasn’t been made clear yet. If Vancouver’s 2020 first-rounder became New Jersey’s as a result of them making the playoffs, the three picks in a very deep 1st round would be so nice.

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In addition to being happy that we get to watch some hockey playoffs and see someone lift Stanley Cup, it would be good for the Devils overall. There are some really good players that are going to be selected in the 1st round of the 2020 Draft, so the Devils having as many picks to their disposal could be the key to this thing getting turned around. They already have good young players like Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier to build around so adding a few more would be very nice. That could be a big thing given to them by this potential playoff format.

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