You definitely make some sound arguments, but i'm going to have to agree to disagree. the NHL simply has no desire to lose any franchise no matter how poorly run it is or how brutal the market for hockey is. i just don't see the league putting struggling franchises further at risk. in a perfect world, a loser tourney has a lot of benefits like you've stated. but once again, I just don't see it happening anytime soon. not with the current state of the league or what it projects to look like in the next 5 years.

That being said, Rep to you for some very eloquent arguments. (not that you need any :P)

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2nd Year 12 Team Dynasty H2H, Daily Starts
G, A, +/-, PIM, SOG, Hits, PPP, SHP
W, GAA, Sv%, Svs, SO

C: B.Richards, J.Pavelski, D.Roy, A.Killorn
LW: I.Kovalchuk, D.Heatley, R.Clowe, B.Dubinsky
RW: C.Perry, M.Gaborik, B.Wheeler, B.Boyes
D: A.Pietrangelo, P.K Subban, N.Kronwall, C.Franson
G: R.Miller, S.Varlamov, A.Khudobin, B.Elliott
IR: J.Spezza, E.Karlsson

Prospects: Galchenyuk, Johansen, Kuznetsov, Teravainen, Dumba, M.Foligno, Orlov, Pickard, Ramo