05-22-2023, 04:36 PMspooked Wrote: Losers of Round 1 get some balls in the lottery to move up at a low rate?

Honestly you had me until here. Paying the playoff teams and round winners could have merit (I do understand Luke’s points and there may be validity) but giving every first rounded team balls could be a disaster. It works in the J due to 2 teams missing, 4 losing in the first round due to byes, and the fact J player cycles are shorter. If you gave every first rounded SHL team balls you could have 10 win teams picking 11th or 12th which goes back to Luke’s point of “the rich get richer”. I’m fine with deincentivizing tanking but not at the cost of potentially crippling a franchise to give a top 10 team 1 OA.