I'm pretty scared that they're going to be inclined to go in that direction when they see how even one extra WC spot has increased interest late in the season in multiple cities. Teams like New York, Toronto, Cleveland, and Seattle would be playing out the schedule at this point in past, but are now in the thick of a playoff chase. That's a quarter of the league!
I hope it stops here though. The NHL has turned itself into an absolute farce trying to maximize revenues across the league until the season is over.