I'm sick of the "American Thanksgiving playoff position" conversation that happens every single year in the hockey world. I say this with complete respect to longtime NHL executive Ken Holland, who is credited with introducing the idea.

You know exactly what I'm talking about: if an NHL team is in a playoff position by American Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November, this year on the 27th), they will probably make the playoffs. From 2005-06 through last season, 77.1% of NHL teams in a playoff spot on American Thanksgiving made the postseason. That ratio was as spot-on as mathematically possible last season, with six of eight teams in each conference that were in playoff position on Nov. 28 remaining there at season's end.

Here's why this season could be different: in the last 10 s

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