Preferred playoff format?

[Johnny Tomala]

1 vs 8,:seeding based on points. Re-seeding after first round.

 

[Kingfan1967]

Only change would be if both divisions get a WC then the WC should stay in the division, like in the Pacific Seattle will finish WC1 and in the Central Winnipeg WC2 but Winnipeg would play the Pacific leader ( say Vegas ) and Seattle would crossover to play (say Colorado).

 

[Golden_Jet]

Even though voted 1-8, top 2 seeds division winners.

However, Gary likes or says fans like the bracket format for playoffs.

 

[ck26]

No playoff, balanced schedule, single table, lose the Presidents Trophy.

 

[Ace]

1 vs 8 in conference with a 3-2-1 point system

 

[CharlestownChiefsESC]

Other,

I posted this recently but ill change it up to reflect current standings.

Id like to see 4 place holders and 4 wild cards per conference.

So for example here's how it would play out in the east for arguments sake, right now the 3rd place teams have more pts than the 2 predicted WC teams but if a WC had more than a 3rd they would get a higher seed.

DC #1 (Boston) vs WC #4 (Pittsburgh)
DC#2 (Carolina) vs WC #3 (NYI)
RU #1 (NJ) vs WC#2 (Tampa)
RU#2(Toronto) vs WC#1 (Rangers)

So we have a crossover here sort of. But instead of the bracket we have, we do a re-seed after round 1 based solely on pts. Just for arguments sake lets go by season series leaders so far for the winners of above.

So our winners are

Boston
Carolina
Tampa
And ill go Rangers based on pts vs the Leafs (series tied at 1 Rangers 1 w,1 otl, Leafs 1L,1 otw Rangers 3 pts Leafs 2 pts)

So we have with a reseed

Boston
Carolina
Rangers
Tampa

So that gives us for the Eastern Semi Finals

Boston vs Tampa
Carolina vs Rangers

And then after its the same as is now, winners play for the ecf. Ecf and finals home ice is based on higher pt total.

West would be

DC #1 (VGK) vs WC# 4 (Winnipeg)
DC#2 (Minnesota) vs WC# 3 (Seattle)
RU#1 (LA) vs WC#2 (Colorado)
RU # 2 (Dallas) vs WC#1 (Edmonton)

But instead of the bracket we have, we do a re-seed after round 1. Just for arguments sake lets go by season series leaders so far for the winners of above.

VGK
Minnesota
LA
Edmonton

So that gives us for the Western Semi Finals

VGK vs Edmonton
Minnesota vs LA

So we have 3 Pacific teams and 1 central team in the semis

And then after its the same as is now, winners play for the wcf. Wcf and finals home ice is based on higher pt total.

BTW( 1 quick disclaimer and it obviously didn't happen here but if a WC team has more pts than a division winner or runner up and both move on after round 1 than the WC team would gain a higher seed. Same principle for a RU having more pts vs a division winner, if the RU and division winner both move on than the RU would gain a higher seed based on more pts)

 

[tsujimoto74]

I don’t really get the desire for a play-in. We already have one—the 82-game regular season.

 

[Stive Morgan]

1 vs 8 within conference, but don't give the division winners the top 3 seeds.

 

[Golden_Jet]

1 vs 8 within conference, but don't give the division winners the top 3 seeds.

Not to worry ,
There’s only 2 divisions,

 

[tfwnogf]

I think every leap year they should reverse it and have the worst 16 teams in the playoffs, and the 16 best teams are in the draft lottery

 

[MNRube]

Gotta say I’m surprised so many of us want the old 1-8. It just worked

 

[banks]

I prefer 1-8 slightly. But nothing wrong with the wildcard format they have now. Either one is fine by me.

Please, no play-in. 82 games is enough to determine who should or shouldn't be in the playoffs.

 

[JTToilinginToronto]

1 vs 8, but with the slight tweak that the top two spots are division winners.

 

[swiftwin]

Playins like we had in 2020.

Back in the 1980's, 76% of NHL teams made the playoffs. Going with the 2020 format, 75% of teams would make the playin/playoffs.

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

Other.

1-32. Add in additional playoff round. Maximize profits.

 

[Golden_Jet]

No

Playins like we had in 2020.

Back in the 1980's, 76% of NHL teams made the playoffs. Going with the 2020 format, 75% of teams would make the playin/playoffs.

No thanks 75% is way too high.

 

[EdJovanovski]

Let the top seed teams choose their opponent

 

[Sun God Nika]

With 32 teams play in is the way to go.

More money and less tanking more fan bases engaged with their team

Expand wild cards to 4 teams
7v10
8v9

Best of 3 or best of 5 series.

Puts more importance on playoff seeding in the regular season as well teams will be fighting to get out of the wild card spot and teams will be fighting to get into the wild card spot .

Top seeds get a huge reward in a tired and potentially weaker team putting more importance on being first.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc.
No need to overthink it.

 

[Golden_Jet]

1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc.
No need to overthink it.

We already have 1-8 and 2-7

It’s just the 3-6 that could be different.

 

[MikeyMike01]

It’s funny that the format I grew up with (1v4 / 2v3) isn’t the “old way” anymore because it’s too old.

I prefer the divisional playoffs with more of an unbalanced schedule OR 1v8 with a balanced schedule. Now they are just in this weird in between where you don’t play your division enough in the regular season to justify having the in-division playoff games, but you do play a little bit unbalanced which makes 1v8 unfair and weird, too.

If I had my druthers I would do home and home with all the other divisions and then play the rest of the games in division before having two rounds of divisional playoff. That how you build the inter division rivalries.

This. There needs to be way more divisional games.

 

[Leafsfan74]

The answer is clearly 1-8 old format or else there isn't much if any reward for many teams for a long frueling regular season of success.

The NHL always tries to outsmart themselves and often end up looking foolish. This intended "build rivalries" rationale is silly. That is built over the years through city proximiity and conference games. You can't manufacture it, it has to be organic.

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

Adding a play-in would be such a joke. They already let half the teams into the playoffs, diluting the value of the regular season. Add a play-in so that ~20 teams out of 32 make the playoffs? Why have a ~7 month 82 game regular season if you're going to let 2/3s of the teams into the playoffs anyway?

The NHL has only had 50% playoff participation for what, 1 year?

For the majority of its existence a much higher proportion of teams made the postseason.

 

[treple13]

The NHL has only had 50% playoff participation for what, 1 year?

For the majority of its existence a much higher proportion of teams made the postseason.

I honestly have very little idea why fans seem so opposed to some version of a play-in. It makes the regular season MORE meaningful, not less. Take the NBA system. It becomes important to finish top 6, top 8 and top 10. Each level is important. Plus it's essentially a bonus game 7. Why are we against making the regular season have more meaning, keeping more fanbases interested AND creating an extra TV event?

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

I honestly have very little idea why fans seem so opposed to some version of a play-in. It makes the regular season MORE meaningful, not less. Take the NBA system. It becomes important to finish top 6, top 8 and top 10. Each level is important. Plus it's essentially a bonus game 7. Why are we against making the regular season have more meaning, keeping more fanbases interested AND creating an extra TV event?

I can kinda understand the sentiment from a best on best event standpoint. But it's quite an anomaly for the NHL. They've had up to 66% of teams make it for large blocks of their history.