QuadrupleDeke
33% more deke
Right now the 6th place team in the Metro is on pace for more points than the 3rd place team in the Atlantic, meaning:
I would prefer going back to top-8 in each conference making the playoffs, but at a minimum there should only be 2 guaranteed spots per division with 4 wildcards per conference.
To illustrate how lopsided the divisions are, here is every team that is currently on pace to end the season with at least 98 points:
Atlantic Division
Boston (115.9)
Tampa Bay (114.5)
Metropolitan Division
Washington (113.6)
Pittsburgh (110.3)
NY Islanders (105.4)
Philadelphia (100.4)
Columbus (100.4)
Carolina (98.1)
Central Division
St. Louis (106.5)
Colorado (105.4)
Dallas (102.1)
Pacific Division
-none-
- the Maple Leafs would make the playoffs as a 3-seed despite being the 9th-best team in the Eastern Conference
- the Hurricanes would miss the playoffs as the 6th-best team in the Metro even though they are 11th overall in the entire NHL (6 teams with a worse record would make the playoffs over them)
I would prefer going back to top-8 in each conference making the playoffs, but at a minimum there should only be 2 guaranteed spots per division with 4 wildcards per conference.
To illustrate how lopsided the divisions are, here is every team that is currently on pace to end the season with at least 98 points:
Atlantic Division
Boston (115.9)
Tampa Bay (114.5)
Metropolitan Division
Washington (113.6)
Pittsburgh (110.3)
NY Islanders (105.4)
Philadelphia (100.4)
Columbus (100.4)
Carolina (98.1)
Central Division
St. Louis (106.5)
Colorado (105.4)
Dallas (102.1)
Pacific Division
-none-