Why the Lightning were one of two teams to vote ‘no’ on 24-team format
By Joe Smith May 23, 2020 179

TAMPA, Fla. — Lightning wing Alex Killorn hopes to make one thing clear.

His team wants to have a chance at a playoff run this summer.

“Everyone on our team wants to play,” he said.

That’s not surprising considering Tampa Bay is a serious Stanley Cup contender hoping for a long playoff push and a chance at redemption from last year’s stunning first-round sweep. But while the NHLPA executive board authorized further negotiations on a 24-team return-to-play format on Friday, the vote wasn’t unanimous. Killorn, the Lightning’s long-time NHLPA rep, confirmed to The Athletic Saturday that Tampa Bay was one of the two teams that voted “no,” on the proposal. The other was Carolina, according to the initial report by former Sportsnet insider Nick Kypreos.

Killorn said the vote was a result of a cumulative opinion from his entire team — not just his feelings. He said they are ready to move forward with the plan. But it doesn’t mean there weren’t some concerns the team had.

“I brought the format to my team,” Killorn said via text Saturday night. “They didn’t feel it was fair that certain teams that probably wouldn’t have made the playoffs would have a chance to make the playoffs in a best-of-five series. My team also felt it was unfair that the teams with a bye would not be as well prepared for a playoff series as the teams that had already basically played a playoff series to get into the playoffs.

“This was not my opinion alone. As the PA rep I have a duty to represent the voice of my entire team. I don’t want people to think that we don’t want to play. Everyone on our team wants to play. In saying that, we are fine with the vote the PA took and we are ready with it going forward.”

Killorn had brought up some of these concerns with the format in a Zoom call with local media on Thursday, ahead of the vote. Under this scenario, the top four teams in each conference would have a bye — playing in round-robin games against each other to help determine seeding — while the “bubble” playoff teams would be involved in a shorter play-in series to determine the 16-team playoff field.

“The only problem I have with that format is that the top teams that have a bye, I don’t know how competitive their games will be going forward where the teams at the bottom will be playing playoff games right away and (would be) potentially more prepared for, I guess, the real playoffs,” Killorn said. “But there’s not going to be any way to do this that satisfies everyone. We’re just going to try to be as fair as possible. Whatever it is, we’re going to have to find a way to play with it.”

The Lightning (43-21-6) entered the pause with the second-most points (92) in the Eastern Conference behind Boston.

You can understand Killorn and the Lightning’s perspective, especially considering what they learned (painfully) last spring. Tampa Bay, which racked up a historic 62 wins last season, hadn’t played a meaningful game for a long time, having sealed up the Eastern Conference by early March. They were in a “comfort zone,” as goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy put it, and then ran into the red-hot and desperate Columbus Blue Jackets, who had been playing for their playoff lives the final month of the year.

Multiple Tampa Bay players and coaches brought that up as one of the challenges in the “perfect storm” of their stunning first-round sweep. So, imagine the Lightning this summer, having not played a game in four months due to the pandemic, going through a round-robin slate of games before hosting a Panthers or Islanders team that had just won a hard-fought win-or-go-home series.

“It could be some sort of disadvantage,” Killorn said.

Now, there are many other issues that have to be sorted out with this 24-team plan and other concerns Tampa Bay players might have had with it. You’d have to be quarantined in one of the two “hub” cities for the playoff run, away from families, which is likely something that would be challenging for some of the younger dads in the group.

“It’s going to be tough to be away, and we don’t know how long we’ll be away,” Killorn said. “We’ll be somewhere that’s foreign, but, like I said, no one is going to be in a comfortable situation. You don’t know how many chances you’re going to get at winning this (Stanley Cup), especially when you have a team that you think can compete for it. So you’re willing to make whatever sacrifices you need to do that.”

Killorn isn’t married, nor does he have kids, but there are other players with families who have weighed in on the subject of having to be separated for an extended period.

“Being away from my wife and (2-year-old daughter) Emma would be hard,” forward Yanni Gourde said. “But considering what scenarios we’re in right now, I’m all for playing hockey. And if it means being away from my family, for sure it’s going to suck a little bit, but I would definitely play hockey right now.”

Killorn said he’s been on a call with the players association weekly and remains in contact with teammates who have had plenty of questions throughout the process.

“It’s tough when there’s so many unknowns and a lot of guys, especially guys that are maybe not in Florida and are trying to figure out when you’re going to come back,” Killorn said. “I don’t know what to tell them. There’s a little bit of pressure and anxiety, but I can’t control any of it.”

Coach Jon Cooper pointed out this week on Sirius NHL Network Radio that not “everybody is going to be happy in this scenario. You have to look at the bigger picture and say, ‘Are we going to compete for the Stanley Cup?’ And if the answer is yes, does it really matter how this plays out? Because you have to win your hockey games anyway.”

Asked whether or not he’s in favor of having a bye and facing a “warm” team, Cooper said you could make the argument either way.

“Is it better to dip your toes in the water or jump right in?” Cooper said. “It’d be akin to saying one team goes through a seven-game series and the other team sweeps. So the team that sweeps is sitting there waiting for a week to 10 days for the other team that’s coming right out of a playoff series. Who has the advantage?

“It’s a different type of mindset thing. For me, it’d just be exciting to be back in the playoff picture. It’s what everyone in the beginning of the season wants. If you’re going to be fortunate enough to get in, I think nobody will care if they play play-in games or however it goes.”

Forras: theathletic.com/1833050/2020/05/23/why-the-lightning-were-one-of-two-teams-to-vote-no-on-24-team-format