The current playoffs format is BROKEN

[catnip]

At the end of the day, the first three rounds of the playoffs are just a way to funnel one team from each conference to the finals. It doesn't really matter how you do it since there's only one winner anyway. I get that it's quite anti-climactic when conference finals don't seem very competitive, but we're only looking for the one team that advances to the finals. I have trouble imagining a scheme where Florida doesn't end up on top in the east, so the funnel seems to be working just fine.

That said, I'm as bored of Florida-Tampa and Florida-Toronto as the next guy, but stale matchups are fundamentally a result of the same teams dominating their divisions and conferences year after year. No tinkering with the playoff format is going to change that.

 

[justus the great]

Carolina getting a free trip to the conference finals while a ton of great teams meet in the 1st round is a bit iffy. That said though, there is no perfect system where everyone is happy. Come playoffs you play whoever you play and if you want to be the champion then you have to win anyone the league puts in front of you.

 

[Chet Manley]

The Canes took out the top seed in the east so what's with all the crying about them not facing lower seeded teams first? If people want to argue Washington was only the top seed because of the division they are in than you've just argued that points aren't equally weighted across divisions and that 1-8 matchups based on them is illogical. Points are only equal if teams played the same competition.

 

[Fenway]

How would things look if the NHL went to straight seeding the 16 playoff teams?

For starters, Calgary would be in and Montreal out

#1 Winnipeg vs #16 New Jersey
#2 Washington vs #15 Calgary
#3 Vegas vs #14 St. Louis
#4 Toronto vs #13 Minnesota
#5 Dallas vs #12 Ottawa
#6 Los Angeles vs #11 Florida
#7 Tampa Bay vs #10 Carolina
#8 Colorado vs #9 Edmonton

That is not a bad Round 1 menu

I remember 50 years ago, the Bruins had to play Los Angeles in the first round. In those days, teams flew commercial. Now, everybody charters.

The NHL became a joke in 1980 when 16 of 21 teams qualified.

The NHL had that crazy bubble format in 2020 and there were shockers in Round 1

 

[LightningStorm]

Are you not excited by the formation of rivalries that all end with the first round?

- The League, probably

Spoken like someone who never experienced the epic first round matchup rivalry of Colorado/Detroit (with Dallas as the 3rd wheel) from 1996-2002.

Oh what's that? They were all after the first round and had bigger stakes? Color me surprised that latter round matchups make for stronger rivalries.

 

[Shark Finn]

Florida has quite a bit of off ice incentive to attract quality players. Can't say the same for many other NHL teams.

Yeah, that's why they have been a contender for their whole existence.

 

[RiverbottomChuck]

The Canes took out the top seed in the east so what's with all the crying about them not facing lower seeded teams first? If people want to argue Washington was only the top seed because of the division they are in than you've just argued that points aren't equally weighted across divisions and that 1-8 matchups based on them is illogical. Points are only equal if teams played the same competition.

Nothing against the caps but they were riding high on getting Ovi the record and had some crazy clutch finishing ability throughout the season. Once the goal for Great 8 was achieved and the luck dried up there wasn't much there for them to fall back on.

 

[justus the great]

Nothing against the caps but they were riding high on getting Ovi the record and had some crazy clutch finishing ability throughout the season. Once the goal for Great 8 was achieved and the luck dried up there wasn't much there for them to fall back on.

Yeah, Caps have been awful in the playoffs since their cup win in 2018. This is the first year after 2018 they've been to the second round. Not exactly a powerhouse playoff team.

 

[qcal1427]

Every argument about this is just someone whining about how its not fair that to make it far in the playoffs you have to play other good teams

Sometimes the draw is favorable sometimes it isn't, who cares

 

[Mr Positive]

Imo the league mostly like divisional seeding for time zones and travel. Maybe it should only apply to the western conference though, and the east just go 1-8

There's also the idea of letting the home seeds pick their opponent from the road seeds, in the order of their points value. If a team wants to face a rival, they can. Same for picking the lowest in the standings possible, or even picking based on variety. Of course the final home seed get the leftovers, but at least it gives more value to regular season success

 

[Daximus]

Yeah, that's why they have been a contender for their whole existence.

I think it's kind of a two fold scenario. When a sunbelt team is bad and mismanaged nobody wants to play there. See: Arizona, early Florida, Atlanta, current Anaheim

But when a sunbelt team is good then everyone wants to play there. See: Current Florida, Tampa, Dallas, Vegas, LA, 2000's-2010s Anaheim, 2000's-2010's San Jose.

The same can't really be said for non-sunbelt teams. Even when they are good nobody wants to play there unless they are massive markets like Toronto, Montreal, Chicago or New York.

 

[Daximus]

Imo the league mostly like divisional seeding for time zones and travel. Maybe it should only apply to the western conference though, and the east just go 1-8

There's also the idea of letting the home seeds pick their opponent from the road seeds, in the order of their points value. If a team wants to face a rival, they can. Same for picking the lowest in the standings possible, or even picking based on variety. Of course the final home seed get the leftovers, but at least it gives more value to regular season success

This scenario would add a lot of intrigue to the situation. Let 1 pick their opponent for the top portion of the bracket and then 2 picks their opponent for the bottom portion, then 3 for bottom and 4 gets the leftover for top. Could make for some easy 1st round matchups but get pretty wild in the 2nd round. And actually makes finishing high worthwhile.

 

[Shark Finn]

I think it's kind of a two fold scenario. When a sunbelt team is bad and mismanaged nobody wants to play there. See: Arizona, early Florida, Atlanta, current Anaheim

But when a sunbelt team is good then everyone wants to play there. See: Current Florida, Tampa, Dallas, Vegas, LA, 2000's-2010s Anaheim, 2000's-2010's San Jose.

The same can't really be said for non-sunbelt teams. Even when they are good nobody wants to play there unless they are massive markets like Toronto, Montreal, Chicago or New York.

Name one big free agent that signed with the Sharks during this period.

 

[Daximus]

Name one big free agent that signed with the Sharks during this period.

It's not just about free agent signings it's also about keeping the talent you drafted. The Sharks drafted really well for a lot of years but being able to keep those players is a big reason why they were such a force. Many teams that aren't big markets or in the sunbelt will have players want out simply because they aren't one or both of those things.

 

[Jumptheshark]

Go back to 1 vs 16

 

[Jumptheshark]

there is one thing I am amused by

Remaining 4 teams overall?

Dallas 5
Edmonton 9
Canes 10
Florida 11

My guess is about 80% of the posters complaining about the playoffs are pissed because their team got knock out and believe that if they played someone else not only would have they won.. they would have won the cup

As an oiler fan-- we finished 9th overall have beaten the guys who finished 6th and 3rd and are now battling the guys who finished 5th.

I have watched a lot of games this playoff and a lot of teams that should have won lost because they played like shit

 

[Fatass]

Never liked it from the beginning. Needs to be 1-8 again.

But is it a legitimate 1-8 when the schedules aren’t balanced evenly?

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

Only select playoff teams can play the Leafs in the playoffs...the rest of the playoff teams suffer a disadvantage.

 

[Whalers Fan]

Why did things change from 1 to 8 playoff seeding to what is now divisional playoffs?

From 1982 - 1993, the league used a divisional playoff format. The NHL's playoff format is continually changing -- this is not a new phenomenon.

 

[Jumptheshark]

From 1982 - 1993, the league used a divisional playoff format. The NHL's playoff format is continually changing -- this is not a new phenomenon.

My childhood was 1 vs 16 and that is what they should do

 

[BLNY]

Florida has quite a bit of off ice incentive to attract quality players. Can't say the same for many other NHL teams.

As Pronger said on Sportsnet in the last week, players weren't going running to Florida in droves 20 years ago. It's about who's running the show.

 

[Whalers Fan]

My childhood was 1 vs 16 and that is what they should do

...and my childhood there were only 12 teams in the league. I guess that's what they should do?

 

[Shockmaster]

The reason it changed was because back in 2013 those making the decisions were yanking it and cranking it thinking about the 80's.

 

[BLNY]

My childhood was 1 vs 16 and that is what they should do

That was only in 1979-80.

All-Time Playoff Formats | NHL Records

Explore the various postseason formats from the NHL’s more than 100 years of competition.

records.nhl.com

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

I'd like to see 1-32.

Tons more League playoff revenue. The regular season becomes much more relevant right up to the last games. Much less incentive to tank. Weak playoff teams like the Leafs will still get exposed as frauds while surprise 'Cup contenders would emerge from the ranks of the bottom half of the League.