Coyotes' Hall: 'There should definitely be a play-in to the playoffs'

If the 2019-20 season is able to resume, Arizona Coyotes star Taylor Hall hopes the NHL stages some kind of qualifying event to determine the final playoff teams.

“I think there should definitely be a play-in to the playoffs,” Hall said, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "I know I’m biased in saying that but if there are two to three exhibition games and then a mini-series to see who goes into the playoffs, maybe that’s smart.

When the NHL suspended play on March 12, Hall's Coyotes sat four points back of the final Western Conference wild-card berth with 12 games remaining. If the league went straight to the playoffs and awarded the final seeds based on points percentage, the Coyotes would still miss out.

"Maybe we try and play eight regular-season games and make wins count as three points," Hall said. "I’m not really sure. You can make the games worth more. But you can’t go right into the playoffs. There’s no way, I think that’s obvious.’’

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday that the league's return would need to be fair to bubble teams, which had all played varying amounts of games before the season was put on pause.

Several other players on those clubs, including Florida Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov and netminder Sergei Bobrovsky, said it would be unfair if the league jumped right into the playoffs. New York Rangers superstar Artemi Panarin shared the same sentiment.

The Coyotes acquired Hall in December in an attempt to end their seven-year playoff drought, the NHL's second-longest postseason dry spell.