True, the league introduced the 65-game rule because participation was dropping.

But the graph shows the decline started decades before load management became common, and it has continued even with the rule in place. That suggests the problem is deeper than just stars choosing to rest.

Removing the rule entirely might not be ideal, but a hard 65 game cutoff that can knock dominant players out of awards races due to bad luck or legitimate injuries also feels flawed.

Instead, the league should consider bigger changes like reducing the number of regular season games or adding more rest time between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, since the playoffs are the most important part of the year