BOCA RATON, Fla. — Imagine a scenario where instead of being one point back of the wild card spot, there was actually a 10-point gap between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the team they are chasing.

For the Leafs, who have lost their last five games, it would be a nightmare. Even scarier is the fact that it could happen — all it would take is for the league to change how wins and losses are weighted.

The proposed 3-2-1 point system — three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime win and one point for an overtime loss — was just one of the ideas that came out of a brainstorming session during Day 1 of the NHL general managers’ meetings on Monday.

With no real pressing issues, general managers were instead asked to think big picture and envision what the game might look like five to 10 years from now.

No ideas were considered bad ideas, although some were admittedly a bit nutty.

One GM proposed a complete ban on blocking shots, while another wanted to move the faceoff circles to the middle of the offensive zone.

The 3-2-1 point system, which provides extra incentive for teams to close out games in regulation, was one of the more realistic ideas. It’s been on the table ever since the shootout was implemented in 2005-06 and tie games were made a thing of the past. And it seemed to have general support.

Most GMs don’t mind giving a point to a team that loses in overtime or a shootout. But the problem is that regulation wins and overtime/shootout wins are lumped together, when the latter is often the result of being good at a skills competition.

“I’m not one who is personally in favour of three-point games,” Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello said. “But I’m also not in favour of getting a point if you don’t win. I’d rather see the game be two (points) and zero (points) or end up in a tie, one and one.”

The best — and worst — thing about three-point games is that it causes the standings to become tighter by keeping everyone competitive.

The “loser” point makes it more difficult for top teams to pull away, or for non-playoff teams to drop completely out of the picture.

We’re seeing that again this season, with six teams — four from the East and two from the West — only three points out of a playoff spot as of Monday.

By making regulation wins count for more, the order of the standings wouldn’t change much. Washington would still be best team in the league and Colorado would still be the worst. But the gaps between teams would become noticeably larger.

The Leafs, who are a win away from being back in a playoff spot, would be 10 points back. The Florida Panthers, who are two points out, would now trail by 16 points.

Of course, there’s more to it than that. Teams play a certain way knowing that regulation wins are not worth more and that a loser point exists.

“We all talk about it all the time, having no three-point game,” New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero said. “If there was a 3-2-1 system what would the standings look like today? My thing is, why is that relevant? We’re coaching and playing a game that is this (way), so the idea of a 3-2-1-point game is we play differently. I don’t think you could say where we’d be if we instituted the thing. My point is, that’s not how it would be if you actually did it because you’re playing with these rules now.”

Indeed, the bigger question is how it might change the way actual games are played.

Would teams be more aggressive, knowing that three points are on the line for winning in regulation? Would there be fewer overtimes?

“You have to model it out and see how much does it change,” Flames GM Brad Treliving said. “We were a little mixed on that. The idea is, how do you make the game look? Is there change in the game? The whole idea behind it is, with five minutes to go or 10 minutes to go in a 2-2 game, is the game better because we’re chasing another point or is it going to make that much difference?”

The real sticking point, however, is that there is no pressing need to change things. It might not be fair that a shootout win and a regulation win are worth the same number of points, but at the end of the day, the league is more competitive than ever.

As most GMs said, that’s not exactly a bad thing.

“The system that we’re in right now, you can fuss all you want about it,” Treliving said, “but we’ve got parity and I don’t think we’re changing that anytime soon.”

mtraikos@postmedia.com

BY THE NUMBERS

There would still be four Canadian teams in a playoff spot if the league changed to a 3-2-1 point system, but the chances of Toronto and Winnipeg also sneaking into wild card spots would be more difficult.

Here is how the “new” standings would shake out:

Team (reg. wins-OT wins-OT losses)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Metropolitan

Washington: 36-8-7 =131 points

Pittsburgh: 32-8-8 = 120

Columbus: 30-11-6 = 118

Atlantic

Montreal: 27-10-8 = 109

Ottawa: 28-7-6 = 104

Boston: 28-6-6 = 102

Wild card

NY Rangers: 34-7-2 = 118

NY Islanders: 28-4-11 = 103

Toronto: 23-5-14 = 93

Tampa Bay: 23-7-8 = 91

Florida: 18-11-11 = 87

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central

Minnesota: 35-7-6 = 125 points

Chicago: 31-11-5 = 120

Nashville: 28-4-9 = 101

Pacific

San Jose: 31-7-7 = 114

Edmonton: 26-9-8 = 104

Anaheim: 29-4-10 = 105

Wild card

Calgary: 25-11-4 = 101

Winnipeg: 25-5-6 = 91

St. Louis: 22-7-11 = 91

Los Angeles: 19-12-6 = 87

Vancouver: 18-10-7 = 81