Speculation: 24 team format! Keep it or lose it?

[Leaf Fans]

It made for some good story lines but I don't think we should keep it.

 

[BertCorbeau]

Nope nope nope. I'd hate it.

 

[robertmac43]

There is so much parity already in the league, why not let more teams get in? I'm definitely looking at this with recency/pandemic bias, but I thought the format this year was awesome!

 

[tp71]

It should absolutely be a 16 team format. But they absolutely will go to a 24 team format. Absolutely they will. Billy Guerin that shit.

 

[mclaren55]

Yay, 2/3rds of the league can make the playoffs now. Participation trophies for all.

No thank you.

 

[LeafGrief]

The regular season needs to mean a little bit more than just seeding and cutting out the bottom feeders.

 

[Havoc]

24 teams + parity on steroids as it is?

League will go bankrupt.

 

[stickty111]

The only change they should make is top 16 still make it, 8 in each conference as normal but re seed every round..

 

[kevsh]

In the 80s when 16 teams made it out of 20 you had some really awful teams in the playoffs. Of course, they didn't use wildcards (top 4 in each division) but I'd rather have the post-season limited to teams that have earned it.

16/32 is enough and ensures that outside of an anomaly year where there's an extremely weak division, every team will at least be .500 (even though the 3-point system muddies it a bit). That should be the bare minimum bar for contending for a sports greatest prize.

 

[wingman75]

I voted yes, but not really for 24.

I support a best 2 out of 3 play-in round between 7-10 and 8-9.

I like the idea of more teams being in the run to the playoffs and this short play-in would create some nice excitement before the madness of round 1 commenced.

 

[Brown Dog]

The NHL's current (that is, pre-Covid) playoff format is the best in sports.

1) You have to be a pretty good team to make it to the playoffs but enough teams do get in to keep the regular season interesting. Upsets are possible in every round but you've gotta earn it by winning 4 out of 7.

2) Four 7-game series is extremely challenging, so it's very hard, if not damn-near impossible, for a mediocre team to back into a championship.

3) The 4 x 7-game format is simple, straightforward, and easy to follow and understand (no byes, no having a different number of games in each round, and it's the same every year).

(The only issue I have is the way they currently determine how teams qualify and seeding/matchups. But I would strongly oppose abandoning the 4 x 7-game series structure in favour of some gimmick format.)

 

[Tak7]

You 100% keep it.

1. Keeps more markets engaged & involved.
2. The qualifying round adds further value to the regular season - you want to be seeded, to avoid that round, and get more rest between season and playoffs.
3. Leafs aside, the hockey and storylines were fun.

 

[hoglund]

If 24 teams get in and I were the GM of an NHL team I'd know that the regular season means nothing because you can make the playoffs with a losing record I'd play the average players during the season and save the stars for the playoffs. It would make for a boring season, but my chances of winning the cup would be better than tiring my star players for nothing.

 

[Suntouchable13]

This is BS format. Making the playoffs should feel like an accomplishment. You're further diluting it by expanding it to 24 out of soon to be 32 teams. The only thing I would be in favour in of is some kinda play in between the 8th and 9th seeds, but that's about it.

 

[Al14]

16 teams making the playoffs is good enough!

 

[justashadowof]

An 82 game schedule to eliminate 7 (later 8) teams? It would make the regular season a farce. An elite team could theoretically get away with coasting through a season sub-.500, get serious in April, smoke some middling NHL team in the prelim, then enter the real tournament after taking most of the regular season off.

 

[Maplebeasts]

No. The playoffs aside from the divisional bracket were perfect as they were.

 

[Menzinger]

A better argument could be made of rolling back the playoffs to just 12 teams than to keep 24. It would stop the normal playoffs from heading into late May/June. 24 teams (while being exciting at times) let's too many flukes happen, which fundamentally punishes teams who made smart decisions/signings/trades over the course of the season

Might cause teams to stop coasting during chunks of the regular season too

I think 16 is the better compromise here

 

[Wafflewhipper]

There is no real need for a regular season if you have a 24 team playoff format, as playing 82 games to eliminate only 7 teams (8 after expansion) where 75% of the league qualifies is mickey mouse. IMO

12 of 18 used to make it. I don’t have a problem with more fans enjoying the fun of playoffs or qualifiers. You are being a buzz kill.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Ha i bet its coming anyways

 

[Dragao6]

I really liked it.

I 100% keep it IF they reduce the regular season by abit.
Wild card games allow a few more teams to try and get it and gives us way more meaningful games at end of season then last 5/10 regular season games

But lottery should also not include losers from wildcard

 

[Northernguy10]

I disliked the play-in rounds but I understood it due to highly unusual circumstances. You have 82 games to make the playoffs and now they are going to compensate teams that failed to make it by giving them another chance in a short series?...I don't think so.

 

[Cams]

If that many teams are making the playoff, what really is the point of playing hard in the regular season? No more than 16 teams should make it. This year, you had a team (MTL) that only have 19 regulation wins in 71 games make the playoffs!

Winning your division has to mean something. I'd like to see either the top 4 of each division make it for a divisional playoff or each division winner gets 1 & 2 based points and next 6 make it.

Otherwise, just wait until Seattle comes in, then you have 16 teams in each conference - everyone makes it, it's a nice even number and even reduces down to a bracket style playoff where regular season really means nothing at all. NCAA basketball style bracket format. Why stop at 24?

After we do this, let's put all hockey revenue in a pool and divide it up evenly among all 32 teams so we have super parity!

 

[notDatsyuk]

An 82 game schedule to eliminate 7 (later 8) teams? It would make the regular season a farce. An elite team could theoretically get away with coasting through a season sub-.500, get serious in April, smoke some middling NHL team in the prelim, then enter the real tournament after taking most of the regular season off.

That's why you should give the top two teams in each division a first round bye - two weeks off to heal and prep.

 

[joepeps]

MLB is going to a 16-team playoff this season only and it feels completely hokey. Yet the NHL has been taking 16 of 30 teams for years. Anything more just de-values the regular season, which already isn't what it used to be.

MLB was waaaay on the other end though.

they play 10 millions games.. had 8 teams make the playoffs .. 1st round was best of 5 lol..

It made no sense. might as well cancel the playoffs and who ever wins the regular season is the champs.