How do we feel about 24 team playoffs?

Asterisk, yes, but not one with a negative aspect to it, not in my opinion anyway. What this playoffs will be, will still crown a worthy champion, especially if the winner is from the teams playing a Best-of-5 fifth round. It is however, a playoff season loaded with issues. Specifically relating to the pandemic, we're so close to October at this point that the league really should have cancelled the season, had the draft on time with a lottery a-la 2005 and we would be into free agency right now in preparation for a new regular season in hub cities. The obsession with awarding the 2020 Stanley Cup makes me chuckle given that "2004-05 SEASON NOT PLAYED" is engraved on the Cup due to a f***ing labour dispute. Before then, the only season without a champion was 1918-19 due to... that's right... A PANDEMIC! There would have been no shame at all in having no champion this year.

That said, I do think the league can pull this off thanks to the hub cities both being in Canada, though I can't lie... being in BC, I'm glad our health experts told the NHL to piss off when they didn't want to play by our health rules. Hockey-wise, as a Canucks fan, I'm on the wagon. If the players are taking the obvious heightened risk to play, I'm going to support them like a drunk soccer hooligan (from the comfort of my living room/office) and we have a young eager team looking to put a dent into the playoffs. It's a unique opportunity for all teams with nobody on a hot or cold streak. With the league basically going straight into playoffs cold, I do worry about injuries, but maybe our young stars can handle that physical demand better than some older veterans around the league. Time will tell how that works out.

I want the Leafs to win it so I can sell my Auston Matthews jersey for $15K.

More concerned about a "good" team winning the lottery.

I’m kind of concerned about injuries. These players have had more down-time than a normal off season. It’s all new and different.

How is it tainted? A pandemic hit. I was in favour of cancelling the season too, but they didn't and it's still a playoff tournament for the Stanley Cup. Don't forget that it used to be a challenge cup. This year's winner won't be tainted. Due to all the intangibles already mentioned, it might be the toughest Stanley Cup to win yet.

After some time to think and see how some training camps are going, I'm less worried about injuries now as I am next season, which will start in December with the league wanting to get in a full 82-game schedule while having the Cup won mid-June. Now THAT is insane.

Yeah I understand those who are pissed at the lottery, but I also understand the argument that the play-in round losers aren't in the actual four rounds of playoffs. I'm just chalking the lottery up to something f***ed up that is the production of a f***ed up time. In the end, what was the reason to not have the full lottery after the play-in round? Could end up with the same result without the "they were in the post-season" noise that's followed.