Get rid of charity point

By Jeff

Why does the NHL continue to reward losers who just take longer to lose?

Seriously, why are teams that losing in OT or the shoot out getting a point? It's the only major sport that does it. It's time to stop.

I just hate looking at the standings and seeing teams in the playoffs that wouldn't be there, or would be much farther down, if not for this charity point. Look at the Devils this year. They would be tied for 10th in the East if teams didn't get rewarded for hanging around but ultimately coming up short. Instead, they have seven overtime losses and would be the No. 7 seed if the playoffs started today.

The easiest solution is to get rid of the shootout and bring back ties. Then you get two points for a win, one for a tie and nothing for any kind of loss.

The shootout is not nearly as exciting as it initially sounded. It's actually quite boring, as half the players skate down slowly and practically stop the puck in front of the goalie before they shoot it. The whole thing just seems cheap and silly. So get rid of it.

But this will not stop inferior teams from playing for ties and the charity point. It ruins a game when you see a team perfectly content to not even attempt to win, as they fear their attempts will be countered and the other team will win.

That brings us to a no tie format, like the NBA. Extend the 4-on-4 overtime to 10 minutes. If we don't have a winner after that, then let's go another round and continue this format until somebody scores. Sure, it could screw a team over if they have a back-to-back, but it could also motivate them to try and win rather than settle for a tie or shootout.

It's just hard to picture the league continuing to grow if it doesn't get rid of gimmicks and rewarding teams for simply hanging around for 60 minutes.