[UPDATE – JULY 10: NHL announces full schedule for 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers]
While the NHL’s Qualifying Round teams fight to make it into the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Round Robin is merely for seeding. Such a scenario presents the NHL’s Round Robin for Seeding teams (four in each conference) with many conundrums, including the age-old rest vs. rust debate.
PHT will take a look at such dilemmas for all eight teams in the NHL’s Round Robin for Seeding, starting with the East. We’re going East first because the Bruins a) won the Presidents’ Trophy and b) addressed such debates recently.
We might as well go in order as they would be ranked, too.
Debates for East top four teams heading into NHL’s Round Robin for Seeding
Boston Bruins
NBC Sports Boston’s Joe Haggerty reports that Bruce Cassidy said he’s open to the idea of resting players during the three-game Round Robin for Seeding.
“Would we like to win all three games? Of course, in a perfect world, but I think with all teams there’s going to be some sort of a preseason mentality worked in with how the lineups are constructed every game,” Cassidy said, via Haggerty. “But if the [veteran players] want to play every game then I’m going to listen to them. It’s their bodies and they would know best. Then in the last game in the third period we’re going to shut our eyes and hope nobody gets hurt in those situations.”
The Bruins are in a heightened situation. While it stings that they may lose the top seeding they earned with 2019-20’s only 100-point season, this is also a roster brimming with veterans.
Most obviously, Cassidy must manage Zdeno Chara (43) and Patrice Bergeron (34). Really, the list goes deeper even than Tuukka Rask, who’s 33.
Brad Marchand is 32, and stands as an example to other contenders. As you may recall, Marchand aggravated a previous hand injury before the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.
Brad Marchand said he was battling groin and oblique issues, and a sprained hand that he re-aggravated in the scrimmage ahead of the Stanley Cup Final
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) June 14, 2019
Maybe it was coincidental, but Marchand’s top line struggled during that seven-game slugfest with the Blues. If teams like the Bruins want to go deep, they should emphasize caution most of all.
So, beyond the obvious, there are players who’ve been banged up like Torey Krug. Charlie McAvoy’s also dealt with bumps and bruises despite ranking as one of the younger Bruins.
Overall, the Bruins rank among the East Round Robin teams with the most incentive to rest key players.
[MORE: How should the West’s top four teams handle rest vs. rust?]
Tampa Bay Lightning
How should the team with the most to lose deal with the Round Robin for Seeding?
Imagine how badly things could play out for the Lightning. We all know that their historic 2018-19 season ended in a stunning first-round sweep. Kenan Thompson mocked it. Andrei Vasilevskiy looked really steamed.
What if the Lightning fall short under these strange circumstances?
It could cost Jon Cooper his job. And there’s the increased risk of scapegoating a lack of “preparedness” if the Lightning take a preseason approach to the Round Robin for Seeding.
You could definitely make the argument that the Lightning took a while to get back into their elite form in 2019-20, too.
But ... the Lightning are smarter than to cave to bad takes, right?
Let’s not forget that the Lightning didn’t really take their feet off the gas during that 2018-19 regular season -- not really. Rather than resting stars more aggressively, Nikita Kucherov and others chased history.
Personally, it really looked like Victor Hedman was far from 100 percent, even missing some of that first-round sweep.
This Lightning team boasts a fairly old defense beyond Erik Cernak and Mikhail Sergachev. Hedman is 29 already. Steven Stamkos is 30 (ponders own mortality for a second).
Cooper needs to find the right balance. If there’s any hint of failure in that regard, the vultures may start circling.
Washington Capitals
Zooming out, the most logical choice would be for the Capitals to promote rest.
Almost every major Capitals player is 30 or older, with the rare exception of breakthrough winger Jakub Vrana (24). There’s also some incentive to see if Ilya Samsonov (23) is still sharper than Braden Holtby (30).
But 34-year-old Alex Ovechkin doesn’t sit out a whole lot of games. Maybe the unique circumstances (and lack of a Maurice Richard Trophy to chase) might change Ovechkin’s approach, yet it’s not a slam-dunk to sit him. As Cassidy said, coaches will at times defer to players. It wouldn’t be shocking if such an approach occasionally backfires.
All things considered, the Capitals joust with the Bruins for the East Round Robin team with the most to gain from resting aging stars.
Philadelphia Flyers
The knee-jerk reaction would be to say that the Flyers want to shake off rust.
For one thing, the Flyers boast several core players in the younger range. Travis Konecny and Ivan Provorov are both 23, while Carter Hart is 21. The Flyers also are “playing with house money” as a team that could climb to the top spot if they end up hot during the Round Robin for Seeding.
But the Flyers have plenty of reason to be careful, too.
To start, the drop-off between Hart and Brian Elliott (or another goalie) looks pretty severe. You don’t necessarily want to increase injury risks with Hart, then.
Also, there are veterans to manage. Philly should aim to keep Claude Giroux (32) and Jakub Voracek (30) fresh, not to mention someone like Matt Niskanen (33). While Sean Couturier is only 27, he’s the sort of player you’ll lean on a ton in playoff situations. So you might want to tread lightly there.
Rather than overtaxing go-to guys, this could be an opportunity for others. Could Nolan Patrick crack the lineup if his migraine issues are behind him? Perhaps a prospect from Philly’s impressive farm system will make a jump?
The Flyers have a lot to like about this situation. Even so, they also need to avoid getting too greedy.
MORE ON NHL PLAYOFFS, ROUND ROBIN FOR SEEDING:
- NHL clears up 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs picture.
- Will this be the toughest Stanley Cup to ever win?
- Previewing the Western Conference matchups.
- Previewing the Eastern Conference matchups.
- Round Robin teams with the most, least to lose.
- The best Qualifying Round storylines.
- Most exciting Qualifying Round series.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.