Winning the Stanley Cup usually takes equal parts will and skill. It takes 16 victories to hoist the Cup, and normally teams are banged up heading into the tournament grind.
While the reformated, 24-team 2020 playoffs might lead to more games played by the champion, each team will enter the fray at nearly 100% health due to the season being shuttered due to the coronavirus pandemic. So, from the outset of this unusual proposed summer series, it will be more about skill than will.
“It’s a grind, right? The silver lining in this situation is that most teams are going to be virtually healthy.