Current Playoff Format has been Terrible for Division Winners

[Shockmaster]

2014 (first year): All division winners eliminated by the end of the 2nd round.

2015: Two division winners make the Conference Finals (NYR & ANA), both lose in 7 games.

2016: All division winners eliminated by the end of the 2nd round.

2017: Only 1 division winner (ANA) make it to the Conference Finals, they lose in 6 games.

No division winner has made it to a Stanley Cup Final in this format.

Thoughts on this? Just dumb luck, or is there more to it?

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[Fire Benning]

The bracket is set up in a way has top teams playing other top teams in the first two rounds of the playoffs, winning the division also isn't equal for all of the divisions either because some divisions are tougher than others. Montreal won the Atlantic last season and was eliminated by the Rangers who despite being a wild card team, were only one point worse than Montreal and two spots lower in the league standings (7th and 9th). The point system also enables teams to rise to the top of the standings by picking up points in Overtime and Shootouts which can lead to inflated records, see: Chicago last year.

 

[Warden of the North]

This year its terrible for almost everyone

 

[mazmin]

Can't stand it.

Should be 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 etc etc. Divisions shouldn't mean so much once playoff start. Teams like Nashville and Winnipeg, Washington and Pittsburgh should be meeting in the Conference final - not in the second round.

Leads to the wrong teams in the finals IMO

 

[Buckets and Gloves]

I would love to see a 1-16 just because I like the idea of classic match ups for the cup... Boston VS Montreal or Toronto VS Montreal or Chicago VS St. Louis or Flames VS Oil... just love the idea that anyone can play anyone... 1-16 bracket style, no re-seed...

this way you can have the 2 best teams in regular season potentially playing for the cup as well

or go 1-8 with or without re-seeding after every round

 

[HockeyAnalystGenius]

It should be 1-16 Because This Sucks

 

[Calicaps]

I'm a Caps fan, and I approve this message.

 

[shtorm2005]

I'm a Caps fan, and I approve this message.

Same here. Better teams should play more in playoffs.

 

[Peiskos]

Go back to 1-8, its obvious that nobody likes this terrible system. Feels like the GM's only agreed to it so that they can be good little brown nosers to Bettman.

 

[Inglewood JACKets]

"Shut your mouth and and enjoy the rivalries that I have created!"

Gary Bettman probably

 

[shtorm2005]

"Shut your mouth and and enjoy the rivalries that I have created!"

Gary Bettman probably

Is there a lot of people who likes rivalries? You play over and over same team, often with same result. Isn't little bit boring for fans and players?

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

Is there a lot of people who likes rivalries? You play over and over same team, often with same result. Isn't little bit boring for fans and players?

Yes. It's among the reasons I hate this system. New York and Washington have played one another so often, it's just dull. I recall a few years back, both teams were actively cheering another just so they wouldn't play each other. Neither fanbase wanted yet another rematch.

 

[Shockmaster]

Is there a lot of people who likes rivalries? You play over and over same team, often with same result. Isn't little bit boring for fans and players?

I think it’s starting to get there. This format seems to be for those who want to relive the 80’s.

 

[PenguinSpeed]

-Well maybe make new divisions. I posted on the other board the 5th place Metro continues to eliminate the Atlantic Champion every year. Everyone is complaining. Teams that play the most back to back games complain about unfair scheduling with twice as many back to backs as other teams. Teams that travel the most complain they have a harder schedule. They should have stuck with the older schedule formats where back to backs and travel miles were still well balanced. And now you have the bottom of the Atlantic 4 teams that have tanked the back half of the season. The bottom of the Pacific is barely competitive. And you have a lotto format in the draft that doesnt give the worst teams the best players. Keep it unfair, it is what it is. Maybe someone else breaks through the Pens-Kings-Hawks stranglehold on the Stanley Cup. Well, the Hawks are done. Instead of a 2 or 3 year rebuild, a bottom feeder could stay one for 10 years with the NHL draft lottery set up the way it is.

 

[WolfgangPuck]

I rather have seeded 1 vs 8 2 vs7 just like in the NBA
It’s a pity that Wash can’t get out of the 2nd round meet strong teams in their division like Pitts
Caps ought to meet these teams in the conference finals
Nashville and Jets has the best records in the West this year but will likely meet in the 2nd round

 

[WSS11]

I think they did this to reduce travel in the early rounds and yes to manufacture rivalries. Incredibly stupid format and very redundant, like most of you I miss the old system.

 

[Sam Spade]

The biggest issue I have is there is just no reward for finishing first.

Maybe in round one the top conference team gets a slight reward playing a team that has been fighting for a month but even that is negligible when you see wild card (or 8th seed) making the Final all the time.

 

[NJDevs26]

I think it’s starting to get there. This format seems to be for those who want to relive the 80’s.

Which is hilarious because in the 80's you ONLY had your four-five main rivals in the same division so at least they were actual rivalries. Now you have a bunch of new forced 'rivalries' with these megadivisions.

It's also hard to explain this playoff format to a non-hockey fan because they're trying to combine two different things - division matchups and getting the best teams in - especially if you have a situation where the first wild card is playing the other division winner (if they have less points) while the second wild card winner stays in their own division bracket.

 

[Anisimovs AK]

Yes. It's among the reasons I hate this system. New York and Washington have played one another so often, it's just dull. I recall a few years back, both teams were actively cheering another just so they wouldn't play each other. Neither fanbase wanted yet another rematch.

That occured under the conference format though...

 

[hagelin1381]

It's been terrible for a lot of different reasons. NHL has to admit their mistake and go back to a 1-8 or tweak the schedule and maybe go 1-16. Anything is better than this

 

[Bladerunner]

Tend to agree, with the current system too many top teams meet in the 2nd round and are eliminated.
Going 1-16 it too extreme and almost makes Conferences exist only to keep travel in check.

Consider within Conf. 1-8 or something similar that will increase chances top teams play in Conf. finals. Upsets are not scarce in hockey, no need to make it less likely for top teams to advance to Conference finals.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Go back to 1-8, its obvious that nobody likes this terrible system. Feels like the GM's only agreed to it so that they can be good little brown nosers to Bettman.

Was it Bettman's idea to change the previous 80's format to something more similar to the NBA? Why is an NBA guy changing the NHL?

It may feel like that, but it's not that. Western teams have legitimate reasons why they wanted a change.

Is there a lot of people who likes rivalries? You play over and over same team, often with same result. Isn't little bit boring for fans and players?

Yet every rivalry than anyone has ever cared about is the result of teams players each other again, and again, and again, and again, and again. Not that the current format was done for rivalries. It was a half-assed compromise done for more boring things like time zones, start times, and travel.

That occured under the conference format though...

Don't say that. Don't ever say that.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Current matchups going into final weekend of the season if it was 1-8:

East:
(1) Tampa vs (8) Philly
(2) Boston vs (7) New Jersey
(3) Washington vs (6) Columbus
(4) Toronto vs (5) Pittsburgh

West:
(1) Nashville vs (8) St. Louis
(2) Winnipeg vs (7) Los Angeles
(3) Vegas vs (6) Anaheim
(4) San Jose vs (5) Minnestoa

Under the current format, both conference champions -- Tampa and Nashville -- are "rewarded" with a potential 2nd round matchup against the 2nd best team in their respective conferences whereas in the 1-8 format, they'd avoid them until the Conference Finals. The current format stinks.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Current matchups going into final weekend of the season if it was 1-8:

East:
(1) Tampa vs (8) Philly
(2) Boston vs (7) New Jersey
(3) Washington vs (6) Columbus
(4) Pittsburgh vs (5) Toronto

West:
(1) Nashville vs (8) St. Louis
(2) Winnipeg vs (7) Los Angeles
(3) Vegas vs (6) Anaheim
(4) San Jose vs (5) Minnestoa

Under the current format, both conference champions -- Tampa and Nashville -- are "rewarded" with a potential 2nd round matchup against the 2nd best team in their respective conferences whereas in the 1-8 format, they'd avoid them until the Conference Finals. The current format stinks.

Would it be a strict 1-8? The division winners would probably go 1-2.

TB/Phi
Was/NJ
Bos/Clb
Tor/Pit

Not all that different than today.

Nas/StL
Veg/LA
Wpg/Ana
SJ/Min

This is why the current format exists. To cut down on the Wpg/Ana, SJ/Min scenarios. One size must fit all though, so the 1 time zone Eastern conference gets dragged into the mud. The same way the previous alignment/format had the West with 4 time zones, and 2 divisions that spanned 3 time zones. Nothing has been fair since 1967 when the NHL put 6 expansion teams into one division and guaranteed one of them a trip to the Final. Which is worse than the current format. Toronto once made the playoffs with the 2nd worst record in the league, over 4 teams with better records, and 2 of those teams had 30 more points. One of those two teams was Pittsburgh, and Lemieux had 168 points, the 2nd highest total in his career. All before Bettman.

 

[Anisimovs AK]

Would it be a strict 1-8? The division winners would probably go 1-2.

TB/Phi
Was/NJ
Bos/Clb
Tor/Pit

Not all that different than today.

Nas/StL
Veg/LA
Wpg/Ana
SJ/Min

This is why the current format exists. To cut down on the Wpg/Ana, SJ/Min scenarios. One size must fit all though, so the 1 time zone Eastern conference gets dragged into the mud. The same way the previous alignment/format had the West with 4 time zones, and 2 divisions that spanned 3 time zones. Nothing has been fair since 1967 when the NHL put 6 expansion teams into one division and guaranteed one of them a trip to the Final. Which is worse than the current format. Toronto once made the playoffs with the 2nd worst record in the league, over 4 teams with better records, and 2 of those teams had 30 more points. One of those two teams was Pittsburgh, and Lemieux had 168 points, the 2nd highest total in his career. All before Bettman.

Somebody else bringing in facts and logic