Time for some additional cup competitions

[UKNuck96]

I will just prefix that the Stanley Cup is the big one and wouldn’t be diminished by the below suggestions and that would still be the pinnacle of hockey sporting achievement.

 

However with 32 teams in the league even if a team won the cup once every 32 years most fans would see their team win at most twice in a life. In reality though teams good enough to win fit may get a few bites at the cherry meaning some teams may win a few times during that period, and thus others wouldn’t win at all. 
 

with some hockey markets just playing hockey there fills the arena. However for most success brings more people through the gates and also brings more commercial revenues.

 

With the league looking to maximise revenue and with revenue sharing meaning that often it’s the Canadian teams subsidising the sunbelt teams maybe it’s time to look at ways that both commercial revenue and success for fans can be brought together.

 

I propose that the league get reduced number of games ever so slightly and over the course of the season a 32 team knock out cup is brought in.

 

this would be a random draw (which can be televised (aka more revenue) and the cup itself can be sponsored (seeing as its new and has no history no issue here (more revenue)) 

 

the format can be debated about how it would work with group stages, etc however I propose keep it simple.

 

a home and away leg using cumulative score , and if tied after 2 games use the away goals rule. Winner goes through to the next round. 
 

it could either have set brackets or redraw each round doesn’t bother me.

 

so this would give teams more reason to compete and give fans something grasp at winning each season even if their team isn’t a contender. 
 

what I would do though to shake it up more is remove the cap for the cup games, and also remove waivers and allow the club to use any player on its 50 man roster. 
 

this would mean teams can use it for multiple purposes, and a way of getting development time for prospects and evaluating players, or without having to have crazy cap shenanigans impacting the cup. 
 

inalso propose tying into this as a way of growing league and revenue that during preseason the winners of the Stanley cup play the winners of the KO cup in a match played abroad in a way of generating more overseas interest and raising commercial revenue from overseas broadcast rights
 

 

thoughts?

[-AJ-]

Might be interesting to watch, but I don't think I'd put that much stock into a random draw tournament and even if the Canucks won the trophy, it certainly wouldn't feel like "winning it all" if it isn't Lord Stanley's Cup.

 

Might be interesting, but with most players having the primary goal of winning a Cup, playing games that do little to progress them towards that goal might not be terribly motivating. It's like the World Cup of Hockey except without the motivation that comes from representing your country.

[UKNuck96]

1 hour ago, -AJ- said:

Might be interesting to watch, but I don't think I'd put that much stock into a random draw tournament and even if the Canucks won the trophy, it certainly wouldn't feel like "winning it all" if it isn't Lord Stanley's Cup.

 

Might be interesting, but with most players having the primary goal of winning a Cup, playing games that do little to progress them towards that goal might not be terribly motivating. It's like the World Cup of Hockey except without the motivation that comes from representing your country.

It deffo won’t be anywhere near as prestigious as lord Stanley’s cup. But it means a player can still win trophies. 
 

in European football you can win a domestic league, one or two domestic cups and one of three European cups all in one season.

 

winning the domestic league and the champions league are top two things a player would want. But in a knockout cup you can get some odd results and that means a team has to be at their best not have a bad game and then still win a series. 
 

if you look at the history of the FA cup that’s sort of what this would be like. Any player who has won the FA cup wouldn’t give it back, yes early round some teams may not take it that seriously but if you get into the 8 you probably think you have a chance to win it. 

[-AJ-]

8 minutes ago, UKNuck96 said:

It deffo won’t be anywhere near as prestigious as lord Stanley’s cup. But it means a player can still win trophies. 
 

in European football you can win a domestic league, one or two domestic cups and one of three European cups all in one season.

 

winning the domestic league and the champions league are top two things a player would want. But in a knockout cup you can get some odd results and that means a team has to be at their best not have a bad game and then still win a series. 
 

if you look at the history of the FA cup that’s sort of what this would be like. Any player who has won the FA cup wouldn’t give it back, yes early round some teams may not take it that seriously but if you get into the 8 you probably think you have a chance to win it. 

I can simply see some players choosing to opt out in the same way they opt out for the All-Star game. If it's not contributing to their Stanley Cup hopes, they aren't interested in risking injury for it. Maybe some would find motivation, but I suspect some players are more singularly focused on the Stanley Cup and nothing else, going so far as to avoid hockey that doesn't contribute to their Stanley Cup journey. I suspect NHL hockey players are brought up in a different culture than EU footballers and so might be less interested in a variety of tournaments and competitions, as EU players are.

 

As a fan, I'm sure they could be entertaining, so long as the players put in a full effort.

[UKNuck96]

9 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

I can simply see some players choosing to opt out in the same way they opt out for the All-Star game. If it's not contributing to their Stanley Cup hopes, they aren't interested in risking injury for it. Maybe some would find motivation, but I suspect some players are more singularly focused on the Stanley Cup and nothing else, going so far as to avoid hockey that doesn't contribute to their Stanley Cup journey. I suspect NHL hockey players are brought up in a different culture than EU footballers and so might be less interested in a variety of tournaments and competitions, as EU players are.

 

As a fan, I'm sure they could be entertaining, so long as the players put in a full effort.

inthink any player who can win a trophy would want to.

 

plus it’s not EU it’s European or UEFA, as it covers areas such as Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Israel etc as well 

[-AJ-]

1 minute ago, UKNuck96 said:

inthink any player who can win a trophy would want to.

 

plus it’s not EU it’s European or UEFA, as it covers areas such as Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Israel etc as well 

Why do you think many stars opt out of the World Cup of Hockey, even when they're out of the playoffs? Not only is it a tournament and trophy, but they can even represent their nation with pride and still many decide not to play. I think it's obvious that they're prioritizing regular season and playoff hockey over any other hockey.

 

I think if you somehow had the tournaments as part of the regular season or in some way impact playoff seeding, you'd see fierce competition the whole way, but I think it would have to be linked to the playoffs in some way.

[UKNuck96]

13 minutes ago, -AJ- said:

Why do you think many stars opt out of the World Cup of Hockey, even when they're out of the playoffs? Not only is it a tournament and trophy, but they can even represent their nation with pride and still many decide not to play. I think it's obvious that they're prioritizing regular season and playoff hockey over any other hockey.

 

I think if you somehow had the tournaments as part of the regular season or in some way impact playoff seeding, you'd see fierce competition the whole way, but I think it would have to be linked to the playoffs in some way.

 Because the World Cup of hockey is an artificial construct to replicate a international tournament.

 

this would be a club competition there would be no opt out. This isn’t just a random half baked event designed purely to make money for the league but  but a chance within the NHL to win an cup with their team. Something that a player, a coach, the fans most importantly can get behind. Something players can win for each other not just artificially created teams like the all star or WCH events. 
 

it’s something that will also take place over the course of the season not as a separate event all in one go. So it might be that in September the first round games are held and it concludes before Transfer deadline day. 
 

in the UK as well it’s notorious for a team performing badly to go on a cup run and it helps bust the season slump and bring the team together. I don’t see why a player wouldn’t want to play in it 

Edited October 23, 2021 by UKNuck96

[King Heffy]

Does anyone care about the President's Trophy?  Because they'd care even less about this.  North American sports simply doesn't work that way.

[Phil_314]

So for players who've gone through 82 games of a grind and countless injuries, to realize that they won't be making the playoffs, and in the event that they won't be selected by their country for World Championship play, you want them to play for a consolation prize of a trophy which basically says "look at me, I'm the best of the worst"?

For their pride and their offseason training, I don't see many, if any being down for this.

[goalie13]

6 hours ago, -AJ- said:

Why do you think many stars opt out of the World Cup of Hockey, even when they're out of the playoffs? Not only is it a tournament and trophy, but they can even represent their nation with pride and still many decide not to play. I think it's obvious that they're prioritizing regular season and playoff hockey over any other hockey.

 

I think if you somehow had the tournaments as part of the regular season or in some way impact playoff seeding, you'd see fierce competition the whole way, but I think it would have to be linked to the playoffs in some way.

I can't recall any players opting out of the World Cup of Hockey.  It happens all the time at the World Championships, but the World Cup is more designed as a fundraiser for the NHL and the NHLPA.  The players generally have full buy-in for that one.

 

The World Cup would be a better tournament if it got on an actual schedule rather than being played in random years.

[King Heffy]

3 minutes ago, goalie13 said:

I can't recall any players opting out of the World Cup of Hockey.  It happens all the time at the World Championships, but the World Cup is more designed as a fundraiser for the NHL and the NHLPA.  The players generally have full buy-in for that one.

 

The World Cup would be a better tournament if it got on an actual schedule rather than being played in random years.

That and get rid of the gimmick teams that made the tournament an absolute joke.

[-AJ-]

33 minutes ago, goalie13 said:

I can't recall any players opting out of the World Cup of Hockey.  It happens all the time at the World Championships, but the World Cup is more designed as a fundraiser for the NHL and the NHLPA.  The players generally have full buy-in for that one.

 

The World Cup would be a better tournament if it got on an actual schedule rather than being played in random years.

Apologies, I used the wrong name--I meant the World Championships. The World Cup is fairly different.

[AV.]

I think if the talent of hockey players was much more dispersed around the world, such an idea for a tournament would be interesting since it could be global.

Thing is, SC playoffs already function as a tournament because the best team through 82 games doesn't always win the cup.  And while the alure of the President's Trophy isn't quite like winning a league title, the question becomes how much hockey do you add that the NHLPA would permit and the players would be interested and care to compete in.  The Olympics sparks an interest but that's because its every 4 years.  That random World Cup tournament in 2016 sparked some interest but most of the alure was that it helped players get into game shape.  We didn't even have enough quality countries competing as evidence by Team NA competing against Team Canada and Team USA.  As for the World Championships, it really just appeals to younger players or quite frankly, bored players, and it really doesn't appeal to the average fan.  I think we have to accept what we already have.

If we were to add anything, we have to look to our own league.  I think play-ins for the wildcard spots in both conferences could be interesting - 7 v 10, 8 vs 9.  Maybe not ideal for the players since extra games are being played, but I think a lot of fans would appreciate that.  Would definitely make the end of each season very exciting.  I love this format for European soccer and I really liked it when it was used during the bubble.

Edited October 23, 2021 by AV.

[UKNuck96]

46 minutes ago, Phil_314 said:

So for players who've gone through 82 games of a grind and countless injuries, to realize that they won't be making the playoffs, and in the event that they won't be selected by their country for World Championship play, you want them to play for a consolation prize of a trophy which basically says "look at me, I'm the best of the worst"?

For their pride and their offseason training, I don't see many, if any being down for this.

Never said it would be post season or only non playoff teams.

 

would be during the season and invoke all 32 teams as it makes a complete bracket 

[King Heffy]

1 hour ago, UKNuck96 said:

Never said it would be post season or only non playoff teams.

 

would be during the season and invoke all 32 teams as it makes a complete bracket 

Simply wouldn't work with the way scheduling is done.  You want us to go back East during the middle of a homestand to participate in this charade?

[drummer4now]

3 hours ago, King Heffy said:

Simply wouldn't work with the way scheduling is done.  You want us to go back East during the middle of a homestand to participate in this charade?

Also unlike other sports or leagues hockey is very deep rooted in tradition... 

 

I could not see any other major trophy or championship offered in the NHL other than the Stanley Cup. 

 

What goes on in global Soccer/Football is just pure greed as evident from the recent super league fiasco... 

Edited October 23, 2021 by drummer4now

[Ghostsof1915]

Has any team won the FA cup, but then got demoted in the league they play in the same season? 

[Ghostsof1915]

Problem is you can have a 32 team round robin, win or take all tournament. But what if you're trying to make the playoffs, and you get a critical injury for a different cup?

I don't want players playing more games and not being able to play when it "matters". 

 

Let Europe have Champions League, FA Cup..etc. 

 

Would you want Hughes, Petey, or TD getting hurt to get a separate trophy? 

[UKNuck96]

6 hours ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Has any team won the FA cup, but then got demoted in the league they play in the same season? 

Yes