At Moment ,Canes 9th place in Eastern Conference, Leafs 6th place but Canes have more points

[Legion34]

This is a major flaw in the League and not fair at all.Yes it could still right itself but I think the 1 vs 8 format needs to be brought back.There are 3 teams behind Leafs with more points.It is almost laughable that these smart people that draw this up think this is good having teams with more pts potentially missing playoffs over teams with less points..Leave your thoughts but you have mine.Thanks p.s. If this was Bruins I would still feel the same way too.

and if you look at the pacific. Half that division would be 10th. Last year Colorado was 18th in the league and made the playoffs. The conferences were 16 and 14 for crying out loud.

hopefully this keeps up and one of Bettmans small Market southern teams loses out on playoff revenue. Only way he will make a change. Last year montreal got screwed. If Carolina does he may make a change.

the division system is dumb. If anything. Top 8 in conference get in. Seed 1-8.

the absolute best system would be 1-16 make the playoffs and you call your shot.

1st gets to pick what team they play. Then you can look at injuries travel records etc. It would never happen but it would be incredible

 

[Blueboy]

Yeah, this is how the league designed it.

 

[Maplebeasts]

The Leafs are 12th overall in the league and we get a new thread everyday about how unfair it is that they're one of 16 playoff teams...

Precisely the divisional playoffs aren't ideal but the big story is how ass the west is aside from like 4 teams

 

[Curufinwe]

It's a garbage system.

 

[AvroArrow]

I'm a leafs fan and i agree. I said the same thing in the Philly thread. 1-8 conference seeding is the best way to do it. Keep the same amount of divisional games so it builds rivalries, but why does a team with more pts miss the playoffs ? It's such a dumb format.

Another alternative, the division leaders automatically clinch, and then 3-8 is decided by top points per conference. Or just scrap the entire WC format we have and go to 1-8.

It just doesn't make sense to me lol. A team with a better record can miss the playoffs because their division is stacked, stupid as hell.

 

[AvroArrow]

Precisely the divisional playoffs aren't ideal but the big story is how ass the west is aside from like 4 teams

The Pacific leader wouldn't even be in a playoff spot in the East, but they are going to finish technically as the #2 seed with home ice advantage in the playoffs..

 

[Jesus Take the Wheel]

Teams getting seeded and playoff spots decided based on divisional standings is normal across all North American sports because its based on the results of the teams you play the most, as much as it can be unfair at times the system makes 100% sense the way it is.

 

[Kamiccolo]

What I find kind of funny is Gary Bettman took a shot at the Leafs saying "I don't think anyone is complaining about the playoff format besides Leaf fans" and people ate that shit up.

Now .5 seasons later, the shoe is on the other foot and other fan bases are experiencing how frustrating it feels to have a good team get the short end of the stick.

Leafs faced the 2nd place (tied), 4th place, and 1st placed team the past 3 years in the first round. This has been a problem for a while. The best teams are being forced to kill each other and average teams are sweeping in behind them.

 

[IPS]

I kinda wanna see the Leafs get in with less points than 9th place so I can enjoy the immense whining from HFBoards that will follow.

 

[cowboy82nd]

This is a major flaw in the League and not fair at all.Yes it could still right itself but I think the 1 vs 8 format needs to be brought back.There are 3 teams behind Leafs with more points.It is almost laughable that these smart people that draw this up think this is good having teams with more pts potentially missing playoffs over teams with less points..Leave your thoughts but you have mine.Thanks p.s. If this was Bruins I would still feel the same way too.

You wrote this today (February 11, 2020). But I show the Canes in 8th place in the Eastern Conference and the Leafs in 9th place. But Toronto is 3rd in their Division. Win your division and don't worry about the wild card.

 

[Ms Maggie]

I prefer the current set up but that's me. Impossible to make everyone happy. Don't know that fussing about it will change it. Strike that, pretty sure it won't change it.

 

[KidLine93]

Leafs underestimated how Marleau's veteran presence over those couple days would spark the Canes

 

[Deadly Dogma]

Sorry Canes/Tampa/Wsh and Florida fans but you have no leg to stand on when it comes to complaining about playoff seeding. Anyone remember the South East division?
1998-1999 NHL Hockey Standings

 

[Rants Mulliniks]

This is a major flaw in the League and not fair at all.Yes it could still right itself but I think the 1 vs 8 format needs to be brought back.There are 3 teams behind Leafs with more points.It is almost laughable that these smart people that draw this up think this is good having teams with more pts potentially missing playoffs over teams with less points..Leave your thoughts but you have mine.Thanks p.s. If this was Bruins I would still feel the same way too.

It should be 1 vs 8 and order determined on winning percentage (lose the shootout and decide games 3 on 3 for the sake of travel etc. in the regular season).

The entire point of standings is basically home ice advantage. That a team can finish 7th in the league and not get even a single round of home ice advantage.....THAT is dumb.

 

[Dooble08]

Time to just seed the NHL 1-16 for the playoffs. Forget Western Conference and Eastern Conference.

But in all reality, it's going to be a wild, bumpy ride to the end of the season in the Metro. All 6 teams (fighting for a playoff spot) are within 10 points of each other.

 

[Jacob]

In 87-88 the Rangers had 82 points and missed the playoffs and the Leafs had 52 and made it.

 

[Lobodomy]

Please miss the playoffs.. both of you. Make playoffs great again.

 

[sharkhawk]

Time to just seed the NHL 1-16 for the playoffs. Forget Western Conference and Eastern Conference.

But in all reality, it's going to be a wild, bumpy ride to the end of the season in the Metro. All 6 teams (fighting for a playoff spot) are within 10 points of each other.

It will not happen. Imagine a toronto vs Edmonton 1st round series. Half the games start at 10 in Toronto and half start at 4 in edmonton

 

[Dooble08]

It will not happen. Imagine a toronto vs Edmonton 1st round series. Half the games start at 10 in Toronto and half start at 4 in edmonton

I know it won't happen. But just imagine if you had 2 teams with actual animosity playing each other in the Stanley Cup Finals. Like Boston vs. Toronto. I think it creates different matchups that you normally wouldn't see.

Edit: Based on this years 82 game pace, we'd only have 2 series be interconference. 4 series would be division rivals going head to head.

 

[SA16]

Yes, divisions suck.



I agree completely. Another other system worth considering is 1-16 which was done at one point, was awesome, not sure why they scrapped it.

Better yet would be instead of fixed seeding, having the #1 team choose their opponent, then the number 2 team choosing etc. This would be good for a number of reasons, one issue is that sometimes it's clear that the teams don't finish the season standings in order of their strength at the time the season ends. There would be no more tanking the last game of the season to get a better opponent. And if the 8th place team is on a roll but the 6th place team is on a huge downturn due to injuries or whatever else, why shouldn't the #1 team be able to choose them as their opponent? It also mitigates the travel issue in a 1-16 system as if a team doesn't like the travelling they'd have to do, pick a different opponent.

The opponents would be chosen in a playoff draft the day after the season ends. Just imagine the drama and the TV ratings!! And after each round there would be a new draft.

You realize the point of conferences and divisions is largely travel? And if you had no divisions you'd have teams flying all over the country like crazy and the quality of hockey would be worse as teams would be far less rested? You might not need them in the east where teams are more bunched up but you certainly do in the West and in the league as a whole.

 

[ToDavid]

How much sympathy did Leaf fans get when they complained about the division system matching them against the 2nd conference seed the last two seasons?

I don't especially like the system either but it's the system we've got.

 

[MetM]

*I have no dog in the fight regarding the teams in this thread.*

I grew up with the 1-8 playoffs and I think that is the best way to go. The NHL has tried creating rivalries since the 04-05 lockout in various forms and it has never really worked IMO.

I would like to go back to the old system with one change. Under the old system, 1-3 seeds were all the division winners, with the rest of the field lined up behind them. Bring back the 1-8 format but seed them according to points. The division winners will all have a guaranteed playoff spot but not a top seed unless their points dictate so.

This. Exactly.

And don't worry about rivalries.. you don't need them in the PO, you make them. (ex.: Boston vs Vancouver)

 

[leafsfan5]

How much sympathy did Leaf fans get when they complained about the division system matching them against the 2nd conference seed the last two seasons?

I don't especially like the system either but it's the system we've got.

Especially in 2017-2018, the Leafs finished with 105 points and third in the Atlantic but the Caps who also had 105 won their division lol, everyone gets f***ed by this format at one time or another (which is why it should change)

 

[rojac]

Try to convince your team that the playoff format should change. They can then try to convince the other teams.

 

[Cor]

The Leafs are 12th overall in the league and we get a new thread everyday about how unfair it is that they're one of 16 playoff teams...