NHL claims this is the best playoff format they have ever had. no changes on horizon

[Oryxo]

I mean this is the same league that doesn't seem to have a problem with games being worth different amount of points...

 

[JuniorNelson]

The NHL's problem is that a thirty two team league doesn't need long format playoffs. Division champs play a round to decide conference representative in the final. Anything else looks greedy and bloated. They are trying to prop up their corporate greed. I am surprised they don't play the final outdoors for added seating!

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

I'm not interested in seeing the same two teams or teams in the same division play every year in the first round of the playoffs (if they make it). If it happens organically, fine.
I would be just as, if not more excited for seeing two teams who never have faced each other before in the playoffs go at it. The mystery of it can be just as if not more exciting to me than the rivalry (this is mostly talking about forced rivalries).

 

[NewtJorden]

Yeah, because it was normal to have Nashville/Winnipeg in round 2. Or Tampa Bay/Boston in round 2. Or having one of Tampa Bay, Boston or Toronto forced to be eliminated in round 1...

 

[Doyoulikeapples*]

It’s very flawed. You have great teams who should have home ice advantage that are forced to start on the road. This makes a huge difference in the series. For EXAMPLE, the leafs were the THIRD best team in the eastern conference, and didn’t have home ice because the top 2 happened to be in their division. It lets the weaker teams in the weaker divisions off easier.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I wonder how many of you even remember all of the rivalry matchups that took place in the first or second round, like all the times the Oilers would face the Flames, Jets, or Kings in the first two rounds, then face a team from the Norris Division, which was usually be one of Chicago, Detroit, or Minnesota back then.

Montreal and Boston would always meet in the opening two rounds as well. The current format is a lot closer to the old format of divisional rivals facing off against each other, until the 1-8 format was introduced in 1993-94.

 

[Cor]

You're using the Habs and the Bruins -the oldest rivalry in the sport- as an example of a rivalry born out of a system.

Show me two teams who were never rivals and then became rivals because the NHL kept matching them up.

Toronto and Ottawa wasn't really an intense rivalry until they kept playing each other in the playoffs.

In fact, even today, the rivalry isn't that strong because of the lack of playoff matchups.

 

[haveandare]

Most people upset about this are just mad that their hot regular season team couldn't beat the good team they got matched up against in the first or second round. They think having a good regular season means you're entitled to easy matchups to start the post season.

If you can't beat the best teams, you're not going to win no matter the order.

 

[DL44]

So glad to hear that.

Love it!

 

[StreetHawk]

In the west, Would either Nashville or Winnipeg have wanted to travel to the west coast and dea with 2 hours of time difference ?

I believe it’s likely the western teams that would rather play a tougher opponent than deal with 2 hour time zone difference plus the added travel time in th first 2 rounds.

In 2011, canucks played Chicago, Nashville, San Jose, then Boston. SJ played Detroit that year and nearly blew a 3-0 series lead. So, Canucks were pretty close to getting Detroit as well. Meaning that they would have played 2 cst teams and 2 est teams.

I do however expect changes in a couple of years should we have a lot of repetition of series.

 

[FootKnight]

Since the format change we've seen the following series multiple times:

Rangers vs Pens (3 times)
Jackets vs Pens
Pens vs Caps
Rangers vs Habs
Lightning vs Habs
Lightning vs Wings
Blues vs Wild
Sharks vs Kings
Ducks vs Flames

10 remmatches in 5 years, good for 21 series, making up over a quarter of the 75 series played in those 5 years. Tell me more about how everyone "plays a new team every year."

Compare that to the 5 years previous in which we saw the following series multiple times:

Capitals vs Rangers (4 times)
Blackhawks vs Canucks (3 times)
Ducks vs Red Wings
Bruins vs Canadiens
Bruins vs Flyers
Blackhawks vs Red Wings
Red Wings vs Sharks
Red Wings vs Coyotes
Kings vs Canucks
Kings vs Blues
Kings vs Sharks
Devils vs Flyers
Senators vs Penguins
Flyers vs Penguins
Sharks vs Canucks

15 rematches over 33 series.

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Being sick of a team kills the rivalry.

No. Being friends with everyone on the other team kills the rivalry. And when one team sucks for a long time (once Buffalo finally figures it out, those games with the Leafs are gonna be fantastic television).

 

[Lemmiwinks]

1-8 is the system you use when you're not overthinking things.

The system we have now is what you get when you think rivalries are more interesting than unique matchups year by year.

 

[unknown33]

Looking at the leafs for example what's even the point of the regular season at all?

 

[DL44]

1-8 we woulda saw this yr:

Wpg-LA instead of Wpg-Min
Vegas-SJ instead of Vegas-LA
Min-Ana instead of Ana-SJ
1-8 is always the same in both Nas-Col

Bos-CBJ instead of Bos-Tor
Was-Phi instead of Was-CBJ
Tor-Pit instead of Pit-Phi
1-8 same TB-NJ

1-8 system puts more reward on the regular season. Disregards travel/rivals.
Div system rewards winning the division, then pits rivals with reduced travel vs each other, and creates more competitive series.


Mark me down for it being a no brainer choice for me.
Full agreement with the NHL and VERY happy they are all in on keeping this system in place.

#probablyanNHLburneraccount

 

[Barrie22]

Looking at the leafs for example what's even the point of the regular season at all?

If you can't beat every team that made the playoffs then it doesn't matter the format.

Was the pens any better of an option then the bruins?

 

[LamorielloAndSon]

I think they should change it up every few seasons, it would be cool to see how it used to be where 1 plays 16 2 plays 15 and so on but that would never happen again

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

Yeah, because it was normal to have Nashville/Winnipeg in round 2. Or Tampa Bay/Boston in round 2. Or having one of Tampa Bay, Boston or Toronto forced to be eliminated in round 1...

This. The format is garbage. You either want to finish on top of the conference or be in a wild card spot and hope to get lucky. Just yuck.

 

[Ducks in a row]

I totally 100% disagree with the NHL on this. This format sucks.

 

[These Are The Days]

 

[MattMartin]

Being sick of a team kills the rivalry.

I completely agree. Rivalries create themselves. No need to force them down the fans throat year after year. I wonder why this is the only sport (of the major 4) that does this, surely Gary knows better than anyone.

 

[ek93]

If you have to try to "create" a rivalry, maybe it's just not a rivalry? Seems fabricated to me.

Use 1-8. Rivalries will develop due to highly competitive hockey, not some ridiculous system that attempts to make them.

Not to mention teams meeting in early rounds, good teams not having home ice, etc.

 

[JoVel]

I know this is a bit off the wall, but has anyone ever thought about the NHL using what the World Championships do? Top team in each division plays the bottom seed in the other division and so on and so forth...I think that would be pretty ****ing wild and to see matchups we would rarely ever see.

so just using this year as an example the matches we would see would have been:

West Bracket

1. Nashville Predators -
8. New Jersey Devils

4. Minnesota Wild
5. Pittsburg Penguins -

3. Las Vegas Knights
6. Philadelphia Flyers -

2. Winnipeg Jets
7. Columbus Blue Jackets


East Bracket

1. Tampa Bay Lightning
8. Colorado Avalanche -

4. Washington Capitols
5. Anaheim Ducks -

3. Toronto Maple Leafs
6. San Jose Sharks

2. Boston Bruins
7. Los Angeles Kings

space them out so 1 and 2 ranked teams would not face each other in round 2 in each bracket if they both win round 1...

I think this would be pretty wild and we would see some fun matches..it would likely avoid similar matchups year in and year out...for those that don't like facing the same team over and over.

YOU WOULD CERTAINLY KNOW WHICH DIVISION IS TOUGHER BY THE TIME THE FINAL 4 ROLES AROUND!!

I'd be all in for this if teleportation was a thing. But travel distances would be ridiculous.

 

[MessierII]

I want an example of this format creating a rivalry.

When were the Kings and Sharks not rivals?

In the 80’s Calgary and Edmonton and Calgary in the 2nd round every year despite being the two best teams in the league. It created one of the best rivalries in the game at the time. Obviously they’re geographical rivals anyway but you can’t say it doesn’t make it more heated.

 

[The Flow]

Better than the NBA at least. Cavs vs Warriors for the first time since 2017 and only the fourth time since 2015.