<p>NHL deputy commissioner and chief legal officer Bill Daly joined Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill for <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/bill-daly-doesnt-envision-nhl-playoff-format-changing-leafs-morning-take">an exclusive interview on Leafs Morning Take</a>, where he spoke candidly about a number of issues across the league on Friday.</p>
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<p>Daly was thrilled about the resounding success of the 4 Nations Face-Off, the first best-on-best men&#8217;s international competition since the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. Canada emerged victorious over the United States in overtime during a final that will go down as an instant classic, with <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/mitch-marner-shines-biggest-stage-silencing-clutch-narrative">Mitch Marner setting up Connor McDavid&#8217;s winner</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;I had very high expectations for this tournament from the start, but it would be hard for me to say that it didn&#8217;t exceed those expectations,&#8221; Daly said. &#8220;Obviously, a lot of things broke right for creating something that was very compelling to a lot of people. It just reinforced our confidence in growing our business internationally and domestically, with respect to international best-on-best competition, it&#8217;s something people want to see. It&#8217;s something that players care about and they felt passionately about, as you could see in every game. It was something that was enormously successful, so we&#8217;re pleased for sure.&#8221;</p>
<div class="jetpack-video-wrapper"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Bill Daly Talks Rogers Deal, Playoff Format, LTIR Loophole, The Gr8 Chase, &amp; the Battle of Ontario" width="1424" height="801" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yfkh2Bm17EU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<p>There are just two weeks remaining in the regular season and it appears that the Toronto Maple Leafs are likely to square off against the Ottawa Senators, which would completely reinvigorate the Battle of Ontario. Daly provided a diplomatic answer, when asked about the potential revenue and appeal of a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/ranking-toronto-maple-leafs-potential-first-round-opponents">Leafs-Senators duel in the first round</a>.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not really lucrative to the NHL per se. I think it would be good, I think it would be good for hockey in Ontario, obviously great for the Sens in particular. Whether they can generate additional incremental revenue because of that rivalry, that&#8217;s certainly a possibility. In the overall scheme of league revenue, it&#8217;s not going to be different from any series. Knock on wood, all of our games sell out in the playoffs. It&#8217;s not an issue to generate more revenue or gameday, or rights fees.</p>
<p>&#8220;It heightens the anticipation, the passion, the expectations and it&#8217;s exciting. If it plays out that way with Toronto and Ottawa, that means you get a Florida-Tampa series which is the same kind of dynamic. We have a lot of good potential first-round matchups people are going to look forward to watching.&#8221;</p>
<p>Daly also expanded on a number of other topics, including the use of long-term injured reserve. In recent years, many contending teams have been accused of purposefully circumventing the salary cap by placing players on the LTIR list, only for them to return in full health for the playoffs. It appears to be a contentious issue, that could potentially be smoothed out in a conversation with league executives.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s fair to say that it&#8217;ll be a point of discussion with the (NHLPA) when we talk CBA issues, and we&#8217;re actually talking CBA issues currently. I do think it&#8217;s an issue I would say a majority of our general managers would like us to try to address in a meaningful way. I would say that I think it&#8217;s been an evolution. The rule has been the same since we negotiated the cap back in 2005. I don&#8217;t think it has ever been a huge loophole. Having said that, I think the way it&#8217;s evolving is not positive for the game. I do think it ultimately needs to be addressed in a meaningful way.&#8221;</p>
<p>Daly will certainly be a busy man as the playoff picture comes into greater focus. You can listen to the full interview with Daly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfkh2Bm17EU">here</a>.</p>
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NHL deputy commissioner and chief legal officer Bill Daly joined Nick Alberga and Jay Rosehill for <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/bill-daly-doesnt-envision-nhl-playoff-format-changing-leafs-morning-take">an exclusive interview on Leafs Morning Take</a>, where he spoke candidly about a number of issues across the league on Friday.
<div class="bam-inline-promotion-block" data-max-length="2" data-placement-id="2106" data-context="web-content-promocard" data-property-id="324"></div>
Daly was thrilled about the resounding success of the 4 Nations Face-Off, the first best-on-best men's international competition since the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. Canada emerged victorious over the United States in overtime during a final that will go down as an instant classic, with <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/mitch-marner-shines-biggest-stage-silencing-clutch-narrative">Mitch Marner setting up Connor McDavid's winner</a>.

"I had very high expectations for this tournament from the start, but it would be hard for me to say that it didn't exceed those expectations," Daly said. "Obviously, a lot of things broke right for creating something that was very compelling to a lot of people. It just reinforced our confidence in growing our business internationally and domestically, with respect to international best-on-best competition, it's something people want to see. It's something that players care about and they felt passionately about, as you could see in every game. It was something that was enormously successful, so we're pleased for sure."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfkh2Bm17EU

There are just two weeks remaining in the regular season and it appears that the Toronto Maple Leafs are likely to square off against the Ottawa Senators, which would completely reinvigorate the Battle of Ontario. Daly provided a diplomatic answer, when asked about the potential revenue and appeal of a <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/ranking-toronto-maple-leafs-potential-first-round-opponents">Leafs-Senators duel in the first round</a>.

"It's not really lucrative to the NHL per se. I think it would be good, I think it would be good for hockey in Ontario, obviously great for the Sens in particular. Whether they can generate additional incremental revenue because of that rivalry, that's certainly a possibility. In the overall scheme of league revenue, it's not going to be different from any series. Knock on wood, all of our games sell out in the playoffs. It's not an issue to generate more revenue or gameday, or rights fees.

"It heightens the anticipation, the passion, the expectations and it's exciting. If it plays out that way with Toronto and Ottawa, that means you get a Florida-Tampa series which is the same kind of dynamic. We have a lot of good potential first-round matchups people are going to look forward to watching."

Daly also expanded on a number of other topics, including the use of long-term injured reserve. In recent years, many contending teams have been accused of purposefully circumventing the salary cap by placing players on the LTIR list, only for them to return in full health for the playoffs. It appears to be a contentious issue, that could potentially be smoothed out in a conversation with league executives.

"I think it's fair to say that it'll be a point of discussion with the (NHLPA) when we talk CBA issues, and we're actually talking CBA issues currently. I do think it's an issue I would say a majority of our general managers would like us to try to address in a meaningful way. I would say that I think it's been an evolution. The rule has been the same since we negotiated the cap back in 2005. I don't think it has ever been a huge loophole. Having said that, I think the way it's evolving is not positive for the game. I do think it ultimately needs to be addressed in a meaningful way."

Daly will certainly be a busy man as the playoff picture comes into greater focus. You can listen to the full interview with Daly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfkh2Bm17EU">here</a>.
<h3>Sponsored by bet365</h3>
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Bill Daly on the resounding success of the 4 Nations Face-Off, a potential Battle of Ontario and more

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