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No one needs to float this idea past Pittsburgh Penguins fans. They’ve already gotten the message.

But one trend is becoming noticeable in the coronavirus-era rebooted sports world. Reformatted training camps, empty stadiums, herky-jerky schedules and covid-19-related absences have heightened competitive balance within the leagues.

The playing field is a lot more even than expected going into some of the restarts.

OK, maybe not for the Pirates. But for lots of other teams in the three major sports leagues that have resumed competition.

• In the NHL, both No. 5 seeds (Penguins, Edmonton Oilers) were upset by No. 12 seeds (Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks) in the qualifying round.

The 11th-seeded Arizona Coyotes and 9th-seeded Columbus Blue Jackets also pulled off upsets.

• In Major League Baseball, five of the league’s worst teams from 2019 — the Baltimore Orioles, Miami Marlins, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, and Chicago White Sox — entered play Tuesday with records of .500 or better. None of those clubs had more than 72 wins last year. Baltimore (54) and Miami (57) couldn’t even crack 60.

Meanwhile, the World Series Champion Washington Nationals started Wednesday at 9-12 and in last place of the National League East.

• The NBA restart was a little different because of the format. Some teams had less to play for than others. But both the eventual top seeds in each conference — the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers — were only 3-5 in regular season “bubble play.” And they both lost the first game of their respective first-round playoff series Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Portland Trail Blazers are now 7-2 despite being 29-37 pre-shutdown to make the playoffs. The Phoenix Suns went 8-0 in the bubble, even though they were so bad during the regular season they still couldn’t qualify for the playoffs.

So will the NFL — and the Steelers — be susceptible to that trend, given the lack of organized offseason workouts and the jumbled training camps?

“I don’t think it is going to matter too much,” Steelers cornerback Joe Haden said Tuesday. “There is a lot of parity (in any NFL season).

“I think the league is overall very balanced. I think it will work itself out.”

Well, sure. Parity is always an NFL theme. And the talent difference between the Super Bowl champs and the worst franchise in the league may not be very steep.

Take a look at the 2019 Miami Dolphins. They were a laughing stock to begin the season, losing their first four games by a combined score of 163-26. But they ended up winning five of their last nine contests.

Also, Haden’s own organization is a perfect member of the control group to underscore his argument.

The Steelers haven’t had a losing season since Mike Tomlin took over the team in 2007. But his tenure is pockmarked with indescribably ill-timed upset defeats at the hands of rotten teams, many of which have kept the Steelers out of the playoffs in given years.

Not only that, but, at 8-8, the Steelers helped define what average looked like 2019.

Yes, sadly, the Tomlin-era Steelers have often proven that the NFL doesn’t need the ripple effect of a pandemic to illustrate its unpredictable nature from week to week.

But from year to year, you do see the likes of the Bengals, Browns, Giants, Jets, Lions and Washington constantly getting in their own way to the point that they can’t get back to the playoffs and find themselves often drafting in the top 10.

If we wake up in November and those clubs are vying for playoff seeding and the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks are all in last place, then the “covid effect” theory gaining steam in other sports may be applicable to the NFL.

Haden still isn’t buying.

“Every (NFL team) is working on the same schedule. No one else is able to get extra meeting times, anything like that. Veteran teams will have a little bit of a jump because you are coming into the same playbook. The familiarity of your teammates and the plays, that makes it a little bit easier,” Haden said.

That’s a point Tomlin has been asked about repeatedly since his team has many veteran players and a coaching staff that has been together for a long time.

“There are some advantages to continuity,” Tomlin said last week. “About having shared experiences in an unstable or uncertain environment. But we are not going to make an assumption or find comfort in some of those facts. We are just simply going to respect the circumstances that we are in as unique (in 2020), as they are unique for everyone.”

Tomlin has apparently been preaching that point to his players.

“We can’t run around with our heads on fire thinking we are super behind. Everyone is super behind,” tight end Vance McDonald said.

That truth, though, could benefit the bottom feeders in the league. Because more highly acclaimed rosters playing at a lower quality of performance could bring the better teams down to the level of the lesser clubs.

Speaking of which, the Canadiens haven’t moved to the AFC North, have they?

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.

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