2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Talk

[Canes]

I don't see Lindy mocking us here, shocking turn of events!

 

[Canes]

I give it another year before Hanifin is on the outs in Calgary. He looks the same exact player in this series that he was here.

Some other team will fall in love with the draft hype and think they'll be able to pry it out of him, but it'll fail. Dude just doesn't care.

He might care, I'm not sure. But he's simply not as good as people think he is because of his draft position.

He has very little offensive skill and his hockey IQ is pretty low as well. The proverbial all the tools, no toolbox player.

His defensive skills are pretty lacking for that matter as well. Just a really good skater with a good first pass, not much else.

 

[Dack]

I'm here to join the bandwagon

#museumsarecool

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I'm here to join the bandwagon

#museumsarecool

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Vagrant]

skol claps at lindholm

 

[Surrounded By Ahos]

Sorry for your loss.

I ain’t.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I ain’t.

I'm sorry for Flames fans. Nothing against them.

Flames coach? Particular Flames players? I'm delighted by their misery. But that's none of Dack's doing.

 

[Canes]

skol claps at lindholm

Savage.

I ain’t.

Savage.

 

[TheOllieC]

Hanifin got railed in this series.

 

[Canes]

Hanifin got railed in this series.

But he can skate guud and occasionally makes a sweet breakout pass.

 

[Dishface]

With the exception of Pittsburgh, all the lower seeds could win the series in round 1. Cue to everybody, but us

 

[DougieSmash]

Most hyped teams are already gone - Tampa, Flames and Pens. Bruins about follow them, Jets too. I believe we could take next two against Craps.

 

[My Special Purpose]

Finishing 1st in your conference still gives you the advantage of facing the #8 seed in the 1st round though.

It's the divisional #2 vs #3 that needs to be changed.

Just go back to how it was before. There was literally nothing wrong with that.

What do you mean by something needs to change? No matter what you do to the regular season or playoff format there’s going to be a lot of variance in the playoffs. In a game where so few scoring events occur you’re going to get a lot of different results. There’s nothing you can do to change it, just enjoy it.

What do you mean by "before." The NHL has had a ton of different playoff formats. There's no such thing as "how it used to be." It's literally been everything.

During the Original Six era, four of six teams (67 percent) made the playoffs. During those years, the semifinals were seeds 1 vs. 3 and 2 vs. 4. When the Original Six doubled to 12 in 1967, the Original Six teams stayed in one division and the six new teams made up their own division. The top four in each division advanced, so the ratio stayed at 67 percent. But the quarterfinals and semifinals stayed within the divisions, so the Stanley Cup Finals the next three seasons were (predictably, yet somehow, surprisingly) blowouts with the established team hammering the St. Louis Blues 4-0 each time.

With further expansion to 14 (VAN/BUF in 1970) and 16 (NYI/ATL in 1972), the number of playoff teams stayed at eight (57 and 50 percent), but the league *intentionally* went East vs. West in the semifinals to ensure a more competitive Cup Final.

In 1974-75, the league added the Capitals and K.C. Scouts, and also created the much-missed Adams, Norris, Patrick and Smythe divisions. Also, the number of playoff-qualifying teams was bumped to 12 (of 18, so 67 percent) and the most-complicated playoff system in NHL history was implemented. The top 3 teams in each division qualified for the playoffs. The first place teams in each division earned a first round bye, while the second and third place teams were seeded 1–8 based on their regular season record and played a best-of-three series. The four division winners then joined the four preliminary series winners in the quarterfinals, and they were again re-seeded 1–8 based on regular season record. This re-seeding took place again in the semifinals, with the teams seeded 1–4. The Montreal Canadiens loved this format, winning four of the five Stanley Cups awarded using it.

The WHA/NHL merger adding four teams in 1979-80 was the next big change. (Note: In 1978, the Cleveland Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars, so this took the total teams to 21, not 22.) Of the 21, 16 qualified for the playoffs (a whopping 76 percent). The divisions stayed, but were largely irrelevant. Basically, the teams were ranked 1-16 and the playoffs were re-seeded every round. This was my personal favorite set-up and the one I wish they'd "go back to." It led to awesome first-round matchups like PHI/EDM, BUF/VAN, NYI/LAK, MIN/TOR and NYR/ATL, and an awesome matchup in the Final with the No. 1 Flyers losing to the No. 5 Islanders, which can't happen now because there's no way the NHL would allow two teams from the same conference to monopolize the Final, even if they were clearly the two best teams in the league.

This format lasted only two seasons until "travel concerns" brought us the intra-division crap we have now.

When we get to 32 teams shortly, we'll be at 50 percent in the playoffs. Based on history, it's probably time to expand the playoffs. Keeping to a standard ratio of around 67 percent would mean 20 teams (62.5 percent). That would mean the bottom eight play down to four, then the 16-team bracket can start. Or maybe we even do 24 teams, with the top eight getting byes to the round-of-16. And with charter flights, $200 tickets, and two weeks to finish a 7-game series, I'm tired of hearing the travel excuse for intra-division matchups. Open it up and rank teams 1-24.

 

[Vagrant]

i don't know how i missed this, but i have been laughing for ten minutes straight

 

[Canes]

i don't know how i missed this, but i have been laughing for ten minutes straight

Well I missed it for sure, too

But how did Brett Finger find it and why did he post it now?

@Hayley from paramore is going to be so mad

 

[Vagrant]

because it quenches his thirst

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Open it up and rank teams 1-24.

So regular season finish can mean even less? What argument are you trying to make here, exactly?

 

[Navin R Slavin]

i don't know how i missed this, but i have been laughing for ten minutes straight

that look on her face omg

 

[VAcaniac]

If the freaking Avalanche can win a series, wed be like SCF locks in the west. What a horrible year in the West.

 

[My Special Purpose]

So regular season finish can mean even less? What argument are you trying to make here, exactly?

No, the top eight advance automatically and get to play teams that just played a best-of-5 series in a max of eight days (if I had my way). The matchups this year would have been: COL@VGK, ARI@DAL, FLA@MTL, CHI@CBJ, MIN@STL, PHI@CAR, VAN@WPG, ANA@PIT. Winners move on to face: TBL, CGY, BOS, WSH, NYI, SJS, TOR, NSH, where those eight would have a decided advantage, I would think.

 

[TheBigKahuna]

But he can skate guud and occasionally makes a sweet breakout pass.

Me too.

 

[Wolfpuck]

bUt ThE fLaMeS tOtTaLlY fLeEcEd ThE hUrRiCaNeS

 

[Wolfpuck]

 

[DougieSmash]

Hanifin is not in same universe as Hamilton. Lindholm is good second liner, probably much better than Ferly now and long term, but we upgrade Hanifin with legit first pairing still young dman. Win-win, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.

 

[MinJaBen]

OK, I'll ask the question. We're now 20 minutes away from the two No. 1 seeds *combining* for ONE win this playoff season. Does something need to be changed? Are we giving enough of an incentive for teams to have play all-out for 82 games? If the playoffs are going to be a crapshoot from Day 1, why expend the energy to get a good seed?

IMO, there *should* be more of an upside to finishing at the top of the regular-season standings, but I have no idea what that should be.

Why do we change the playoffs for an outlier event? How often has this scenario happened before? I think we are talking about this and enjoying it because it is not normal. If we don’t want the possibility of the lower seed winning, just exchange the President’s trophy for the Cup and call off the playoffs.