NHL should shorten regular season, not extend it

The NHL and NHLPA are reportedly closing in on a new CBA extension, and one of the agreements included will be extending the regular season from 82 games to 84, while also shortening the preseason.

Instead of adding games, it should consider reducing the amount of regular-season contests. Even though that might seem counterproductive from a financial standpoint, it would improve the quality of games and the playoffs, ultimately benefiting the players in the long term. 

When combined with a two-month postseason that requires the Stanley Cup finalists to play an additional 20-25 high-intensity games, it turns the entire season into one of the most grueling and physically demanding in pro sports. 

By the time the playoffs end, we hear about players playing through major injuries, broken bones and other assorted physical calamities. Aside from the injuries themselves, players look sluggish at times and the quality of play can suffer. 

Arguably, some of the best and most entertaining postseasons in recent memory have occurred during shortened campaigns (either by the pandemic or lockouts), and that might not be a coincidence. Suiting up for fewer games has left players fresher, more energized and healthier for the grind of the playoffs.

Moreover, the NHL doesn't need 82 games to determine the best or playoff teams.

The postseason standings rarely change much after the end of December. Many of the games being played are not significantly impacting the seeding or teams' chances of making the playoffs. 

While the NHL — or any professional sports league — is unlikely to ever reduce the number of games due to financial reasons, it should at least consider the option. 

If it wants more meaningful matches, perhaps it should consider reducing the regular season down to 70-75 games, and then adding an NBA-style play-in tournament to increase the number of teams playing postseason games. 

Critics will argue that the NHL already has too many playoff teams, with half of the league qualifying (16 out of 32), but that's nothing compared to what it used to be in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when more than 75% (16 out of 21 teams) made the playoffs. The NHL has fewer playoff teams now (by percentage) than at any point in the modern era. 

With the league likely to expand again within the next decade, it would make sense to extend the postseason as well.

A couple of extra play-in games might be more enticing to hockey fans than two more Seattle-San Jose regular-season games that only diehard fans of each team are going to watch. 

Money always wins in these matters, and more games mean more money, not necessarily an improvement in the product.