Are you happy with the current playoff format?

[Rubi]

I'd like to see more inter divisional play (Pacific team vs Central team) in the Western conference and likewise in the Eastern conference. Ideally I'd like to see the #1 team vs the #16 team, etc, etc, but I don't think that will ever happen.

Right now, the top three teams in each division earn berths in the playoffs. The next two teams in terms of total points in the conference, regardless of division, earn the wild-card spots. This provides a total of eight teams from each conference.

The top seed in each division plays one of the wild-card teams in its conference. The division leader with the most points plays the wild-card team with the fewest points. The second and third seeds in each division face each other in the first round.

Here are the Western Conference standings as of now...

If the playoffs were to start tomorrow it would be:
vs and vs
vs and vs


I would rather see the following change:
vs and vs

Click to read more...

 

[DCDM]

If we win our first round matchup, yes I am happy with the current format.

If we lose, no I am not.

 

[Rubi]

Right now the playoff structure would be fine for the Flames because they're in first place in the Pacific and they would meet the Wild in the first round.

But... if the Flames drop to 2nd or 3rd in the Pacific they would have to play either the Sharks or the Knights (depending upon who was in first place). This I wouldn't be particularly happy with. I'd rather the Flames play a team like the Avs in the first round. More interdivisional play in the first round and once thats over the team that has the highest season end points would play the whichever team had the lowest pts.... and so forth until a Western Conference champion is crowned.

 

[Dertell]

It's really dumb. We were lucky to face the 'nucks in 2015.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

I like the interdivisional play, and wish the divisions had 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3.

I also like the fact that a team that just misses in one division and outplays the worst team in another gets a chance at ploffs.

Maybe the format will change again when there's 32 teams?

 

[Bounces R Way]

Kind of miss the 1-8 seeding personally. Just made more sense. Rivalries get born in the playoffs organically, not through contrived divisional matchups.

 

[JPeeper]

By the end of the year the following could happen, (2) and (3) play each other in round 1 then in round 2 (1) and (2) play each other (Flames 1, Sharks 2, Vegas as 3). That is just the West seeding, those 1-3 could potentially be 2-4 in league wide standings. So before the West final, the top 3 West teams all face each other and only 1 remains. That's f***ing stupid.

If the Flames don't hold this insane pace the top 3 Pacific teams are on and we potentially drop to 2nd place we'd have to play a team better than both wild cards and pretty much all the Central, yet we'd probably finish with more points than all the Central teams and obviously the Wild Card teams. That's just dumb.


Either way, if the Flames want to go deep they'll have to go through the Sharks or Golden Knights at some point, hopefully it's just the once though and not both of them.

 

[crackdown44]

Kind of miss the 1-8 seeding personally. Just made more sense. Rivalries get born in the playoffs organically, not through contrived divisional matchups.

Even with 1-8 seeding the first three seeds were decided by division winners. I remember the Panthers jumping from like 10th to 3rd in the last couple of days of the regular season under that format.

I think I like the new one better, but ultimately I think you have to beat everybody to win and if you need favorable matchups to win a cup then you’re not the best team in the league anyway

 

[Tkachuk Norris]

I love it. The rivalries are amazing and only are getting better

 

[Bounces R Way]

Even with 1-8 seeding the first three seeds were decided by division winners. I remember the Panthers jumping from like 10th to 3rd in the last couple of days of the regular season under that format.

I think I like the new one better, but ultimately I think you have to beat everybody to win and if you need favorable matchups to win a cup then you’re not the best team in the league anyway

Yeah I don't really feel all that strongly, not like I despise the new format or anything. Just find it kind of stupid there 3 instances of 100pt teams playing each other in the first round last year. Boston had 112 and had to play Toronto with 105. Winnipeg had to play Minnesota after scoring 114 pts in the regular season. The other one was SJ-ANA but that could of been a 4-5 matchup pretty easily. You do have to reward division winners somehow I guess, but the 2-3 1st rd matchups in the Pacific and Atlantic especially are going to be gnarly.

Really hope the Flames can find a way to stay atop the Pacific, would much rather play one of what is pretty sure to be a weak wildcard rather than probably have to go through SJ and then Vegas or vice versa.

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

We should add a Wildcard game like they have in baseball. That’s super duper exciting.

 

[Mobiandi]

It doesn't really bother me. One way or another the cream rises to the top in the playoffs