Day 6

If NHL resumes, some truly bad teams will make the playoffs — including the Habs, says sports writer

The plan is to abandon the regular season and go straight to the playoffs — but with 24 teams instead of 16. In this case, the 24th best team is the Montreal Canadiens, who have a less than stellar record.

The NHL has announced a plan for how the league will return — if it does at all

Montreal Canadiens defenceman Max Domi, left, could get his first taste of the post-season if the NHL returns with a 24-team playoff format. (Paul Sancya/The Associated Press)

Brendan Kelly was excited this week when the National Hockey League announced its plan to save the 2019-2020 season.

But after looking at the plan, he wondered if it was a joke.

"You had to work really hard at sucking, to not be in this postseason," said Kelly, a regular contributor on CBC Radio in Montreal and columnist for the Montreal Gazette.

The NHL suspended its season on March 12 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. All other major sports leagues in North America are similarly on ice.

The proposal is to abandon the regular season and go straight to the playoffs — but with 24 teams instead of 16.

In that case, the 24th-best team is the Montreal Canadiens.

If the plan goes ahead, the Habs would manage to squeeze into the postseason despite a sorry record of 31 wins, 31 losses and 9 tied games.

"That's called sad-sack, not playoff-worthy," said Kelly.

Click Listen above to hear more from Brendan Kelly.

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