NHL Point System Needs Changes

I think it’s time we say enough is enough when it comes to the ridiculous NHL point system currently in place.

Of course I’m talking about the league’s infamous “three-point game”, where the team losing in a shootout or overtime gets a point, making some games worth more in the standings than others.

Proponents of the system usually site two main points when arguing the current format should be maintained. 

Firstly, that it’s unfair to not reward a team who fought it’s opponent to a stalemate for 60 minutes, only to lose in 4-on-4 overtime or a shootout, and secondly, that the three-point games keep the playoff races close and interesting to the very end of the season.

The first argument never made any sense to me because the three other major sports don’t feel any compulsion to reward a team for pushing the game to extra time. 

Football, baseball and basketball all play overtime during the regular season and none of those leagues make any distinction between a regulation win and an overtime win.  A win is a win and a loss is a loss. 

Even the NFL, with arguably the most unfair overtime system in professional sports, where a game can virtually be decided by the flip of a coin, doesn’t give the losing team any extra credit for an overtime defeat. 

So if it works fine for the other major sports leagues, it should work for the NHL, too.

It’s harder to argue the second point, because, on the surface, there’s no question that the NHL playoff races have certainly been more interesting since the new point system was initiated.  But a closer look at the current standings reveals that could be more of an illusion than reality.

What the current point system does is make the standings look close but also makes it extremely difficult to gain ground on the teams ahead of you.  Take the Ottawa Senators for an example. 

About three weeks ago, they stood in 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings, 12 points out of the last playoff spot. 

In the next ten games the Sens compiled a 9-1 record and where did that get them?  Still in 12th place, nine points out of a playoff spot.  This is directly a result of the three point game.

Here is how the current standings in the NHL would look for each conference, including games of Wednesday, March 25, 2009, if we stopped rewarding losers of shootouts and overtime games:

Eastern Conference

Pos	Team	Wins	PTS
1	New Jersey Devils	47	94
2	Boston Bruins	46	92
3	Washington Capitals	45	90
4	Carolina Hurricanes	41	82
5	Philadelphia Flyers	40	80
6	Pittsburgh Penguins	40	80
7	New York Rangers	39	78
8	Montreal Canadiens	37	74
9	Florida Panthers	35	70
10	Buffalo Sabres	35	70
11	Ottawa Senators	32	64
12	Toronto Maple Leafs	31	62
13	Atlanta Thrashers	30	60
14	Tampa Bay Lightning	24	48
15	New York Islanders	24	48

Western Conference

Pos	Team	Wins	PTS
1	Detroit Red Wings	49	98
2	San Jose Sharks	48	96
3	Calgary Flames	42	84
4	Chicago Black Hawks	39	78
5	Vancouver Canucks	39	78
6	Columbus Blue Jackets	38	76
7	Anaheim Ducks	37	74
8	Edmonton Oilers	35	70
9	Minnesota Wild	35	70
10	Nashville Predators	35	70
11	St. Louis Blues	34	68
12	Dallas Stars	33	66
13	Colorado Avalanche	31	62
14	Phoenix Coyotes	30	60
15	Los Angeles Kings	30	60

A quick analysis of these standings indicates that the standings would be just as close, and the playoff races just as tight, if the three-point game disappeared. And it would also give teams, who go on a hot streak, a chance to make up some serious ground in the standings.

And, as an extra bonus, the Leafs would be right back in the draft lottery race where they belong. 

How can Brian Burke not support this change?