Barry Trotz said he believes any team in the NHL Return to Play Plan is capable of winning the Stanley Cup, and that whichever team does so will be worthy of the trophy.
"It's going to be fantastic for the game because you can be in the 12-spot and you have a chance to win the Stanley Cup," the New York Islanders coach told MSG Network in remarks aired Friday. "That's how close the League is. There's parity in the League, and if you hit it right, within two months you can be Stanley Cup champions."
The NHL on May 26 announced its Return to Play Plan, which will involve 24 teams, 12 from each conference, competing for the Stanley Cup. The Montreal Canadiens are the 12th-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, and the Chicago Blackhawks are the 12th-ranked team in the Western Conference.
They, along with the Islanders, who are seventh in the East, will be among 16 teams participating in eight best-of-5 series as part of the Stanley Cup Qualifiers leading into the usual 16-team Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"If you're going to come out of the [best-of-5 qualifier series], you're going to have to win 19 games (to win the Stanley Cup)," Trotz said. "And if you get to the playoffs, you've still got to win 16, which makes it legit for a Stanley Cup. I think this Stanley Cup tournament is going to be fantastic. It's going to be very unpredictable just because we've been off for a long time."
The NHL season was paused March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, and the regular season ended with the Return to Play Plan announcement. A restart date and two hub city locations have not been announced.
Montreal, with a .500 regular-season points percentage that is the lowest among the 24 teams, will play the Eastern No. 5 Pittsburgh Penguins, whose .623 points percentage is the best of any team that will play a best-of-5 qualifier series.
"I think our chances are as good as any of the other teams that have been awarded spots in the [best-of-5 qualifier series], to be honest with you," Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said May 27. "It's a short series. Anything is possible. Without putting any pressure on [Carey Price], when you have a goaltender of that quality, anything's possible."
Chicago, with a .514 points percentage that was 23rd in the NHL, will play the Western No. 5 Edmonton Oilers (.585) in its best-of-5 qualifier series.
The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
"The Blackhawks' veteran players, they've seen pretty much everything," NBC Sports analyst Patrick Sharp, who played on those championship teams, told the Chicago Sun-Times. "Nothing's going to surprise Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Corey Crawford."
In the 16-team, 1-8 conference-based playoff format that began in 1994, the Los Angeles Kings are the only No. 8 seed to win the Stanley Cup, in 2012 when they defeated the New Jersey Devils after winning the West.
Before the Kings, the lowest seed to win the Stanley Cup was the Devils, who were No. 5 in the East when they swept the Detroit Red Wings in the 1995 Final.
The NHL switched to a division-based format with wild cards in 2013-14, and Los Angeles was sixth in the West when it won the Cup that season, defeating the New York Rangers.
In 2017, the Nashville Predators became the first team ranked last among the 16 teams to reach the Cup Final, which they lost to the Penguins. (Nashville and the Calgary Flames were tied in points, but the Predators were placed eighth in the West).
The only other No. 8 seed to reach the Cup Final were the Oilers, who lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.
This season, winners of qualifier series will play one of the eight teams from a round-robin of the top four teams in each conference, which is determining the top four seeds in each conference.
The Islanders (.588) will play the Eastern No. 10 Florida Panthers (.565).
"I think you've got to find something for your team in this whole strange year that we're having," Trotz said. "… You're going to have to embrace the uncertainty of going into this format."
In 2018, Trotz coached the Washington Capitals, who were third in the East, to 16 playoff wins to win the Stanley Cup, their first NHL championship. They defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in a five-game Cup Final.
"I think the teams that can come into this with the right mental mindset are going to have a terrific chance," he said.
NHL.com staff writer George Henn contributed to this report
