bone
5-14-6-1
Just want to throw something out there for discussion as I've long been a proponent of an 8 Division format where you'd play your own Division 6 times a year (18 games), an alternate division 4 times per year (16 games) and all remaining teams 2 games per year (48 games). It creates a perfect 82 games schedule with perfectly balanced home and away matchups.
Typically, I've thought the approach would be to just to keep the current West and East and then split the current Divisions in two. However, I've just realized this approach really only creates 4 unique road games for whichever division is your 4 game rival division for any given season season.
For only 4 games, why insist on making it regional but rather make it merit based?
With this, at the end of the season, you could take each Division's cumulative record and rank them. The highest ranked Division would take on the lowest ranked division the next year for the 4 game matchups. From there it would be 2nd vs. 7th, 3rd vs. 6th, and 4th vs. 5th. The benefit being that if you are in a really strong division one year, you'll get a slightly easier schedule the following season. If would also encourage teams to win as much as possible even once eliminated to improve their Division's standing.
The problem however with this is that it would mess up the current conference setup. So you could refine to the 1st vs. 4th and 2nd vs. 3rd within existing Conferences instead, or expand this ranking system to set Conferences up as Conference A being the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 8th best and Conference B 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th. Or eliminate Conferences all together.
Playoffs
With a 16 team playoff, 8 divisions does create a challenge for seeding if you want to make it divisional, so it would go moreso to a NFL style playoff with only the Divisional winners locking up the spot than the rest of the teams based on best record. If we keep the Conferences, then it's the best Divisional winner vs. the 4th best non divisional winner in the Conference, if we get rid of Conferences then the Presidents Trophy winner plays the 8th best non-divisional winner.
Any thoughts. It does confuse things a bit, but I do think it does a bit to balance team's schedules and creates some incentive for teams to win games regardless of whether they may have a spot locked up or have been eliminated.
Typically, I've thought the approach would be to just to keep the current West and East and then split the current Divisions in two. However, I've just realized this approach really only creates 4 unique road games for whichever division is your 4 game rival division for any given season season.
For only 4 games, why insist on making it regional but rather make it merit based?
With this, at the end of the season, you could take each Division's cumulative record and rank them. The highest ranked Division would take on the lowest ranked division the next year for the 4 game matchups. From there it would be 2nd vs. 7th, 3rd vs. 6th, and 4th vs. 5th. The benefit being that if you are in a really strong division one year, you'll get a slightly easier schedule the following season. If would also encourage teams to win as much as possible even once eliminated to improve their Division's standing.
The problem however with this is that it would mess up the current conference setup. So you could refine to the 1st vs. 4th and 2nd vs. 3rd within existing Conferences instead, or expand this ranking system to set Conferences up as Conference A being the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 8th best and Conference B 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 7th. Or eliminate Conferences all together.
Playoffs
With a 16 team playoff, 8 divisions does create a challenge for seeding if you want to make it divisional, so it would go moreso to a NFL style playoff with only the Divisional winners locking up the spot than the rest of the teams based on best record. If we keep the Conferences, then it's the best Divisional winner vs. the 4th best non divisional winner in the Conference, if we get rid of Conferences then the Presidents Trophy winner plays the 8th best non-divisional winner.
Any thoughts. It does confuse things a bit, but I do think it does a bit to balance team's schedules and creates some incentive for teams to win games regardless of whether they may have a spot locked up or have been eliminated.
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