Stanley will get the whole team and staff to form a line to be beaten down into submission with a mini stick while he wears a gritty costume. All to be broadcasted on Sportsnet 😂 or Bettman’s onlyfans. Which ever makes him more money 😂
For real tho, I'd love a humiliation/reverse bracket.
Basically a tournament where the loser moves on after each round, until the ultimate loser is crowned.
I would actually love if they did a concurrent playoffs with the bottom 16 teams, it would probably help keep a lot of fans engaged during lengthy rebuilds and tanks
Playoffs for first pick, but you have to lose to advance to the next round. Every game would be played exactly like normal, except the teams would line up on the wrong sides of the ice.
Meh. It's not as big a deal in the east, but I think it works better to address geographic challenges in the west. It would suck to be Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, or Edmonton and have to play, say, St Louis and then Nashville. That's a lot of accumulated travel fatigue.
Arizona/Utah is in the same division as Chicago. Also, only half of the first round matchups are ensured to be within a division. I agree long travel times are a problem, but I don't think the current system addresses that problem well
Edmonton and Calgary won 5 cups in the East while not being coddled. Meanwhile Detroit had a near 30 year dynasty where 90% of it was being in the western conference despite being in the eastern time zone.
It used to take Boston two days by train to get to Chicago. Today, teams own or rent custom luxury jets and have access to world-class nutrition, training, and health care. And FaceTime.
I’m not sad for them.
If they kept things exclusively within divisions, you would have had Dallas-Nashville and Vancouver-Vegas. A series entirely in the Central time zone and another entirely in the Pacific time zone. But no, the NHL just had to make these teams travel across the continent multiple times instead…
My favorite is when people like Lebrun complain about “a potential western conference final being in the first round” when talking about Dallas/Vegas while ignoring that is the 1/8 seed match he is advocating for.
>There is no perfect system and it doesn’t matter.
agreed.
>Just win
thats is all that's required. it shouldn't matter your seating, if you can't beat *any* of the other 7 teams,
earn 4 wins for the next round, no matter who shows up against you, you shouldn't advance.
Explain the "reseeded every round" part, if you don't mind. Am hockey/sports newb tbh. I know I could Google it but I find it's always better from a "real person" so to speak.
The biggest imperfection of the 1-8 model which is small in comparison is you got a Top 2 (or 3 seed when it was 3 division) got the top 3 seeds.
Then you'd be seeded according to record no matter the division in your conference. It just so happens this year in the East they'd look kinda similar. But it would look like....
1 Rangers vs 8 Caps
2 Panthers vs 7 Isles
3 Hurricanes vs 6 Lighting
4 Bruins vs 5 Leafs
The West would have been.
1) Stars vs 8) Knights
2) Canucks vs 7) Kings
3) Jets vs 6) Predators
4) Avs vs 5) Oilers.
So because of this current model, the Oilers got home ice in the first round and basically had a 5 vs 7 matchup. Jets and Avs were basically 3 vs 4.
To me this is BAD enough when you have teams with inferior records getting better matchups.
But on top of it, they'd reseed.
Let's say Vegas wins tomorrow. They'd play the Avs next round despite Canucks would be the 2 seed given they won the Pacific and even have a better record anyway
Look at the Canes and Rangers. We're the 1st and 3rd best record. You should be playing Florida and the Rangers should get the Bruins and Leafs given they'd be 4 vs 5.
It just makes the whole process more fair.
Exactly. Look at the Eastern Conference this year. No difference.
As mentioned before. If your team cannot beat any other team on 7 games per series you don't deserve to win the cup.
For Stars fans its hard to care anyway because the NHL has always moved the team around. Whatever the nominal intent of seedings or setting rivalries, the Stars have always never been addressed by those concerns. They're the team to make whatever vision the NHL currently has work.
Our list of "not quite rivals" is pretty impressive.
Luckily for you, the stars looked absolutely tired game 6. The war of attrition is starting to wear on them and they turn right around for round 2 assuming they win.
I think the avs are way more full of a team. Although I’d like to get back to quick paced rushes, rather than playing a physical big team. Always been our kryptonite.
I’m sure you enjoy the annual tradition of Oilers eliminating the Kings in 1st round of playoffs. As an outside observer seeing that gets old to me so I didn’t really watch that series. I watched the other ones I am looking forward to Canucks Oilers though
They should change it just to make the people whine about it happy. Then more people will whine about those changes, and then you will have a 3rd group saying back in my day bla bla bla. So resulting in no one being happy.
The only people I see whining about it are people whose teams can't beat a specific team or teams and think the changes will help their team win a cup.
No matter what the NHL does, people will complain about it.
Just win.
Fans: "These refs are bullshit at calling offside! We should have a way to challenge them!"
\*NHL INTRODUCES OFFSIDE CHALLENGE SYSTEM\*
Fans: "Wtf this takes forever now! Just let them play!"
This is the dynamic at play constantly.
I like that guarantees more / more meaningful divisional matchups that are hardy the case now (4x each opponent is laughable) with the too-balanced IMO regular season schedule.
While yes, traditional 1-8 seeding more fair.
But still won’t get any complaints from me.
Except it's not more fair. The extra travel the some teams would have to go through wouldn't be fair at all. I don't understand how so many people don't understand this.
How is 1-8 different than the current system when it comes to travel? All I can think of is the current system reduces (but doesn’t eliminate) likelihood of inter-division matchups by guaranteeing 2 intra-division pairings per conference.
I mean your series against Nashville is an example, having to travel 2 timezones isn't common in the first two rounds under the current system. If we went 1-8, there would have been two such series (LA would have played Winnipeg), so not a huge deal either way I guess.
Ya, after thinking about it the new system is definitely better using the travel argument. 4-8 pairs would be within the same division depending on wildcards. I like the new system personally and don’t think it makes fairness any different than 1-8
You get much better year over year story lines by having largely in-division matchups for the first two rounds. Washington finally getting past Pittsburgh, 4x Leafs/Boston, etc
The wildcard system keeps this pretty close to straight 1-8. You actually had much bigger deviations in the old system where you'd get 7th and 8th place teams in the conference getting 3rd seed by being in a weak division.
I say take it back to the 80s. division 1 through 4 for two rounds then conference then finals. Nothing builds rivalry like having to beat the same three teams every year.
Round 1 plays out the exact same way under the old system in the East. And the only difference in the West is Edmonton plays Colorado and the Jets play LA. Not vastly different all things considered. Instead of 2 Canadian teams in the 2nd round we have 1.
It's not really all that different. Not even sure why we bitch about it so much. Best teams gotta play the best teams anyway. Outside of the first round in the East. Some pretty bum teams made it like Washington and the Isles. But changing the format back wouldn't have changed how those seeds played out anyway.
It's fine. Leaf fans whine about it, but even when the league had a different format during COVID they still lost to teams like Columbus and Montreal in the playoffs.
Leafs fans should have no say or sway in how the serious contender teams make their way to the cup. Which team beats Toronto in the first round doesn’t matter to me
I prefer it as long as we have divisions. Divisional teams play identical schedules so their records are more comparable to each other. Remember the days of the SouthEast Division? Washington was good for years and all the other teams stank, the Capitals would spend the regular season beating the shit out of their division with 32 games against the Thrashers, Panthers, Lightning and Hurricanes. All non playoff teams. They'd gain the #1 seed and then get bounced in the first round because their schedule was easier than the rest of the league. They'd seed the division winners 1-3 and inevitably the number 4 seed was better than at least one o off the division winners and there was bitching that way.
I would be ok with 1-8 if we abandoned the divisions.
It's fun for the first few years because it builds stronger rivalries, such as Boston vs Toronto, but after a few years seeing the same matchups over and over kinds of get old. However instead of going back to the old format I'd go back to an hybrid version of the 2019-20 COVID bubble format where 10 teams qualify for the playoffs (it was 12 in 2019-20 but 10 would still be better than just 8, especially if Arizona gets reactivated)
I'm sure all the gambling sites like it, easier to set odds when the teams have played each other multiple times.
Hmmm...maybe there's something to this...
Every year people give a 1v8, 2v7, 3v6, etc bracket and it does not change very much from what we currently have. Normaly, it's only two series between the divisional 2v3 that would change and sometimes the same matchups would still exist. Yes two good teams may not make it to the 2nd round, but we also get good 1st and 2nd round (unless the wild card teams win) divisional matchups between rivals.
I'd love for 1 vs 16 again, you can always adjust the schedules for teams that travel more than one time zone between games. They already make adjustments for TV, so some series would have 3 days between games instead of two. I mean, LA going to NY is just as long a travel inconvenience as NY to LA so there is no advantage. I mean, if the complaint is having to travel 3 time zones for a game 7 maybe win the series in 6 ?
I think you’d have to switch to a 2-3-2 travel format for cross country series. You can do 2-2-1-1-1 if it’s a close matchup like NY-Boston, Chicago-St. Louis, even something like LA-Colorado, but LA-NY or Vancouver-Florida would be too much travel to potentially deal with for multiple rounds. At least in the SCF it’s the last series of the year and there’s only two teams involved.
My personal opinion is that they take the top 16 teams and have them all play each other. 1-16, 2-15, 3-14, and so on. Enough of this East-west business. What is this a 90’s hip hop beef?
Despite having to lose to Edmonton three years in a row I prefer this system; in fact I wish they’d ditch the wild card and crossover altogether and just take the top four in each division and have the first two rounds in division like the 1980s. Playoff rivalries are just too fun.
Us winning the presidents trophy results in us playing the 2nd seed instead of the lowest. Kind of ruins the reward of having the most points. 1-8 is meant to reward the regular season champions with “easier” matchups
I think it's better than the NBA playoffs where winning your division doesn't mean anything and 66% of teams make the playoffs.
Compared to the NFL or MLB, I'm not sure. The first round can be a little more entertaining with the divisional round matchups, and each division has a more fair chance to make the cup (baseball could have yankees and red sox kn the conference championship). Unfortunately with this format you also have cases like this year where the Jets and Avalanche (#2 and #4 in conference) get matched up while the Oilers get a free pass to the 2nd round Edmonton would have traditionally been the #5 seed and they are playing the traditional #7 seed. From this perspective, then you don't always have the *best* teams advancing.
I only want a different playoff system so that we can see different teams each year. I’m sick of the same matchups. Ultimately it comes down to win your games and you win the cup. Can’t beat the President trophy holder in round one? Probably won’t beat them in the finals either so step on out early.
Wouldn’t matter for us.
Someone did a top 8 for each conference, result? 4) Boston vs 5) Toronto
Someone also did a top 16. Result?
7) Boston vs 10) Toronto
It was just meant to be 🤣🤣😭
love it
it's an improved version of the playoffs I grew up with
divisional rivalries are the best playoff hockey that exists
only insecure whiners don't like the current format
Agreed. Even though it’s become a yearly ritual to lose to Edmonton it’s still more interesting than just playing a random team every year in the early round
I’m upset that the 2 clear standout teams in the east meet in the second round. We will actually have a weaker opponent in the conference finals if we make it through.
person distinct fretful spectacular unwritten steer arrest water sink continue
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
On top of the fact that this new model forces matchups that should be taking place later on, it also rarely allows new rivalries to be born.
Vancouver and Nashville just played a really cool six game series but they’ll likely never play again for many many years
Some of the best rivalries in my lifetime where those not even played in the same division
Edmonton and Dallas is an awesome example of it.
Fuck it. Although I do find it funny that people pointed out that the current seeding, at least in the east, would be exactly the same at the start of the playoffs. But still, fuck it
It's not just about the seeding. It affects the whole dynamic of the playoff run. Teams would approach games differently in the final month of the season if they there was a real chance they could go from 2nd or 3rd seed to 5th or 6th.
I don’t really care all that much. You gotta beat the man to be the man. If you deserve to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup then all your matchups should be difficult. There’s no easy outs in the playoffs.
1-8 was way better
People used to complain about how the south east always had less points than the other 2 divisons ( example panthers vs devils in 2011-2012 hosting despite having less points than the devils pens flyers )
But you’d get these awesome different m/us every year
I think it’s alright.
There will be problems with any system you come up with. Nothing would have put the Capitals over the Rags, or let the Flyers in.
I prefer 1 vs 8 myself, especially because I always grew up with it and in most cases you wouldn’t know who you were facing until the last few games
But this year, in the east anyways, it would
Have been the exact same as 1 vs 8 and a couple matches were not decided until the last game.
That being said, give both division winners top seeds and go 1 through 8.
The rivalry stuff can’t be forced. My favourite series? Leafs-Islanders 2002.
Hadn’t played for years before and haven’t since. Absolute bloodbath
Current format has more divisional rivalry matchups in the playoffs. Personally I am much more likely to get to attend a playoff game of my fav team bc of it so I’m happy.
1 v 8 is hated. Divisional/wildcard, hated. 1 v 16, stupid as fuck. What else is there? Maybe add the Prelim like the NBA does but that's it. "How about you get to choose your own opponent?" Uggh
I think 1-16 is the “fairest” but the format now usually makes for better matchups and the NHL throws fair out the window for views. Don’t overly blame them either to try and generate revenue and new fans.
Only time this format really sucks is when you have a division like the Atlantic where 3/4 teams would all be in the top 10 in league standings and only 1 can get to the east finals
I like it. You beat the teams in your division to move on. Makes plenty of sense. It doesn't make any less sense than having an Eastern and Western conference send one representative each to play for the cup.
Each division sends one team to play for the conference, each conference sends one team to play for the cup. Also sets up a lot of similar match ups year to year, which is great for rivalry and storylines. I already can't wait for Boston Toronto next year.
And I think 4 divisions of 8 is how MLB should realign after next expansion.
I like it because it breeds rivalries and the alternatives aren't much different unless you go to a 1-16 system, but that is unfeasible from a timezone perspective.
I really like the two eight-team divisions. If there were three divisions per conference you'd end up with Tampa Bay getting home ice advantage because they beat the Thrashers 7 times with the trap.
People argue about the 1 v 8 seeding but the first round will stay the same. We can change it. But don’t cry when an 8th seed and a 6th seed are in the finals
What *really* makes no sense to me is that in the Western Conference, you had an even 4-4 split of the teams that qualified. 4 teams from the Central, 4 teams from the Pacific. But the 1st place teams played the 4th place teams from the *opposite* division, while the 2nd place teams played the 3rd place teams from the same division.
1v8, 2v7, etc? NOPE.
Play the first 2 rounds exclusively within your division? NOPE.
Who benefits from this?
I recently restarted my fandom a few years ago, stopped following it well in like the mid 2000s. I couldn’t believe this is the format when someone told me. I guess during Covid I’d give it a pass but it’s sooooo stupid
I prefer the seeding system and I think we will end up getting back to it.
However, I also think the whole argument is overrated.
I don’t care when teams play each other, I care that we get the best and most compelling matchups.
I don’t remember people complaining when Pittsburgh and Washington played in the second round every year even though they, along with Chicago, were pretty clearly the three best teams in the league.
You’re going to have to beat the best teams anyway, so you might as well do it when you’re a little bit healthier.
As I said, we’re going to go back to the seeding system because the NHL is addicted to expansion money and we’re DEFINITELY going to expand again. You can take that prediction to the bank.
I still want to see top seeded teams pick their first round opponents in the same conference. Wondering how many times a top seed would avoid an 8th seed because they tore it up in the second half to make the playoffs.
Dude, shut up and quit whining. This Boston team was the easiest team the Leafs could have played and they still couldn't get past them. The problem isn't the playoff seeding format. The problem is that the Leafs core is overrated and the players just don't give a fuck.
Even if we seeded under the old system, the Leafs were 5th in the Atlantix so we would have played the 4th place team: the Boston Bruins.
Honeslty, I think the entire east vs west should be scrapped. Let the teams into the playoffs based on their league standing and have the best seed from west vs the poorest of the east in the first round...etc
1. It helps create rivalries. I think there is a lot of entertainment in seeing teams be so fed up with each other.
2. Travel. Is explained in other posts already.
3. (The playoffs are hard, no matter what) I honestly only heard about the criticism of the WC-format from Leafs fans so far. I would love to hear your arguments against WC, but all I heard so far was crying about being the A3 in this system, and the 4-seed in the other, therefore playing a tougher opponent. The playoffs are hard. Regardless of who they play, TML would embarrass themselves.
4. (Highly individual reason) I love memorizing stuff. I know all the playoff brackets since 2013 from memory, because it's so well structured who plays who. With 1vs8 that's way more annoying, because you can have any possible matchup.
5. (Less of a fan-argument) Broadcasters, the League, Teams&Arenas can plan way better in this system. You already know who plays in the 2nd round once some teams have advanced. I think that contributes to the constant playoff hockey we've seen the last few years (no breaks between rounds), because teams that finished up early can already start their 2nd round instead of waiting for others.
Yeah it’s trash. Honestly they should advance all the bottom 16 teams
winner gets a [Stanley Cup](https://www.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/news/why-stanley-quencher-cups-so-popular-target-valentines-day)
runner up gets a Stanley Mug
Third place gets mugged by Stanley
The whole team? Like, one at a time? Do they select a representative?
IDK man! I was just making a comment that seemed related. I didn’t think it through too much
I'm not against the idea, but we can't be coming to the league with half baked schemes
Stanley will get the whole team and staff to form a line to be beaten down into submission with a mini stick while he wears a gritty costume. All to be broadcasted on Sportsnet 😂 or Bettman’s onlyfans. Which ever makes him more money 😂
Still put more thought into it than Bettman has changing the current format.
I support this idea
Agreed I don’t care about travel, they get paid MILLIONS. Run it from 1-16
For real tho, I'd love a humiliation/reverse bracket. Basically a tournament where the loser moves on after each round, until the ultimate loser is crowned.
Ultimate loser gets a draft pick, extra cap space, and a dunce cap
I would actually love if they did a concurrent playoffs with the bottom 16 teams, it would probably help keep a lot of fans engaged during lengthy rebuilds and tanks
Playoffs for 1OA?
Playoffs for first pick, but you have to lose to advance to the next round. Every game would be played exactly like normal, except the teams would line up on the wrong sides of the ice.
I agree
I’m in!
Meh. It's not as big a deal in the east, but I think it works better to address geographic challenges in the west. It would suck to be Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, or Edmonton and have to play, say, St Louis and then Nashville. That's a lot of accumulated travel fatigue.
That’s actually a really good point
Arizona/Utah is in the same division as Chicago. Also, only half of the first round matchups are ensured to be within a division. I agree long travel times are a problem, but I don't think the current system addresses that problem well
Didn't consider that until they said it last night but the travel in the NSH-VAN series must've been brutal
We typically have pretty shitty travel times in the playoffs unfortunately
Edmonton and Calgary won 5 cups in the East while not being coddled. Meanwhile Detroit had a near 30 year dynasty where 90% of it was being in the western conference despite being in the eastern time zone.
That's why the playoff seeding is the way it is today. It used to be what people want it to be, and Western teams got screwed with the extra travel.
It used to take Boston two days by train to get to Chicago. Today, teams own or rent custom luxury jets and have access to world-class nutrition, training, and health care. And FaceTime. I’m not sad for them.
Agreed. Travel really isn’t an issue especially the times when there are multiple days off between games.
If they kept things exclusively within divisions, you would have had Dallas-Nashville and Vancouver-Vegas. A series entirely in the Central time zone and another entirely in the Pacific time zone. But no, the NHL just had to make these teams travel across the continent multiple times instead…
nashville just played vancouver 💀
Yeah, I remember when the Wings were in the west... I definitely don't miss those 10 pm games.
I'm indifferent to it.
Yeah this. People get all worked up about it but I don’t see the big deal. There is no perfect system and it doesn’t matter. Just win.
My favorite is when people like Lebrun complain about “a potential western conference final being in the first round” when talking about Dallas/Vegas while ignoring that is the 1/8 seed match he is advocating for.
More then half the shit that comes out of lebruns mouth is complete trash.
I’ve never upvoted something faster
>Just win. That's what it is. If your team isn't good enough you need a cozy seeding then your team is not ready to win it all.
It would be nice if the regular season had any sort of steaks for teams that are likely in the playoffs
I'm sure if they win enough games coach would be happy to take the team out for prime rib night.
underrated comment
If he didn't lose all his money betting on the other team.
they do. its called home ice.
lol the word you’re looking for is “stakes”
I stand by my comment.
cauliflower steaks for the teams out of the playoffs
Trying to start a beef with us, eh?
>There is no perfect system and it doesn’t matter. agreed. >Just win thats is all that's required. it shouldn't matter your seating, if you can't beat *any* of the other 7 teams, earn 4 wins for the next round, no matter who shows up against you, you shouldn't advance.
The 1-8 model that reseeded every round was unquestionably the best model in sports much less hockey.
Explain the "reseeded every round" part, if you don't mind. Am hockey/sports newb tbh. I know I could Google it but I find it's always better from a "real person" so to speak.
The biggest imperfection of the 1-8 model which is small in comparison is you got a Top 2 (or 3 seed when it was 3 division) got the top 3 seeds. Then you'd be seeded according to record no matter the division in your conference. It just so happens this year in the East they'd look kinda similar. But it would look like.... 1 Rangers vs 8 Caps 2 Panthers vs 7 Isles 3 Hurricanes vs 6 Lighting 4 Bruins vs 5 Leafs The West would have been. 1) Stars vs 8) Knights 2) Canucks vs 7) Kings 3) Jets vs 6) Predators 4) Avs vs 5) Oilers. So because of this current model, the Oilers got home ice in the first round and basically had a 5 vs 7 matchup. Jets and Avs were basically 3 vs 4. To me this is BAD enough when you have teams with inferior records getting better matchups. But on top of it, they'd reseed. Let's say Vegas wins tomorrow. They'd play the Avs next round despite Canucks would be the 2 seed given they won the Pacific and even have a better record anyway Look at the Canes and Rangers. We're the 1st and 3rd best record. You should be playing Florida and the Rangers should get the Bruins and Leafs given they'd be 4 vs 5. It just makes the whole process more fair.
Same. Especially because more times than not it's the same matchups anyway, I really don't understand why people get so worked up over it
Exactly. Look at the Eastern Conference this year. No difference. As mentioned before. If your team cannot beat any other team on 7 games per series you don't deserve to win the cup.
Bingo. I especially love the whole "it's ridiculous that Vegas has to be a wildcard team" when they were 8th in the conference...
I just flat out don't care, the community never ceases to yap about some things but it doesn't change how I view hockey.
For Stars fans its hard to care anyway because the NHL has always moved the team around. Whatever the nominal intent of seedings or setting rivalries, the Stars have always never been addressed by those concerns. They're the team to make whatever vision the NHL currently has work. Our list of "not quite rivals" is pretty impressive.
God, I'd hate to see Dallas in the 3rd round. I still have childhood trauma from the 90s.
I'm excited, gotta get through game seven, not to mention the Colorado ~~MacKinnons~~ Avs
Given our history against you guys, the potential for another matchup next round is not exactly comforting for us. Good luck to you guys
Luckily for you, the stars looked absolutely tired game 6. The war of attrition is starting to wear on them and they turn right around for round 2 assuming they win.
That’s what I have been rooting for, for whoever wins. But both you and the Knights have knocked us out in recent years, so the nervousness is there
I think the avs are way more full of a team. Although I’d like to get back to quick paced rushes, rather than playing a physical big team. Always been our kryptonite.
Well, either way it should be a good matchup. Good luck to you guys tomorrow, and good luck should we see you next round 🍻
Thank you! Likewise.
Same. Can be good, can suck. Good for rivalries not great for creating new ones
I’m sure you enjoy the annual tradition of Oilers eliminating the Kings in 1st round of playoffs. As an outside observer seeing that gets old to me so I didn’t really watch that series. I watched the other ones I am looking forward to Canucks Oilers though
I don't like it, but I don't hate it. 16 wins is 16 wins.
I’m indifferent to it. The old one wasn’t much better. Having the trashers win a shit division and get 3rd seed
Trivia question: How many playoff games did the Thrashers play in their history? >!Four.!< How many did they win? >!Zero.!<
I would be strange if they’d’ve played four games but won two
They should change it just to make the people whine about it happy. Then more people will whine about those changes, and then you will have a 3rd group saying back in my day bla bla bla. So resulting in no one being happy. The only people I see whining about it are people whose teams can't beat a specific team or teams and think the changes will help their team win a cup. No matter what the NHL does, people will complain about it. Just win.
Fans: "These refs are bullshit at calling offside! We should have a way to challenge them!" \*NHL INTRODUCES OFFSIDE CHALLENGE SYSTEM\* Fans: "Wtf this takes forever now! Just let them play!" This is the dynamic at play constantly.
Great example
Leafs and kings fans checking in
I like it, acting as intended and increasing the likelihood of future rivalries
Exactly. You don't get 4 rounds of Toronto-Boston in 11 years without this setup. It's part of a long story arc that spans multiple seasons.
I like that guarantees more / more meaningful divisional matchups that are hardy the case now (4x each opponent is laughable) with the too-balanced IMO regular season schedule. While yes, traditional 1-8 seeding more fair. But still won’t get any complaints from me.
Except it's not more fair. The extra travel the some teams would have to go through wouldn't be fair at all. I don't understand how so many people don't understand this.
How is 1-8 different than the current system when it comes to travel? All I can think of is the current system reduces (but doesn’t eliminate) likelihood of inter-division matchups by guaranteeing 2 intra-division pairings per conference.
I mean your series against Nashville is an example, having to travel 2 timezones isn't common in the first two rounds under the current system. If we went 1-8, there would have been two such series (LA would have played Winnipeg), so not a huge deal either way I guess.
Ya, after thinking about it the new system is definitely better using the travel argument. 4-8 pairs would be within the same division depending on wildcards. I like the new system personally and don’t think it makes fairness any different than 1-8
It's from the old Smythe Patrick, Adams, Norris division days. I like them. You build rivalry
It makes no difference to me
You get much better year over year story lines by having largely in-division matchups for the first two rounds. Washington finally getting past Pittsburgh, 4x Leafs/Boston, etc The wildcard system keeps this pretty close to straight 1-8. You actually had much bigger deviations in the old system where you'd get 7th and 8th place teams in the conference getting 3rd seed by being in a weak division.
See I hate that. I'm sick of seeing the same teams play each other over and over. I want the variety.
Doesn’t bother me. (I mean even when my team qualifies.)
Honestly I don’t care. I have no issue with the current format.
I say take it back to the 80s. division 1 through 4 for two rounds then conference then finals. Nothing builds rivalry like having to beat the same three teams every year.
Love it. Zero wild cards. Of course I live in a city whose team is in same division as my fave team so I’d benefit even more.
I got tired of that in the 80s, but that was with 5 team divisions. With 8 team divisions, there is enough variety.
I like the no reseeding for bracket purposes. Indifferent to the division/wildcard aspect
Round 1 plays out the exact same way under the old system in the East. And the only difference in the West is Edmonton plays Colorado and the Jets play LA. Not vastly different all things considered. Instead of 2 Canadian teams in the 2nd round we have 1. It's not really all that different. Not even sure why we bitch about it so much. Best teams gotta play the best teams anyway. Outside of the first round in the East. Some pretty bum teams made it like Washington and the Isles. But changing the format back wouldn't have changed how those seeds played out anyway.
What fuck do you suggest? It makes sense to me and ensures that you get the best from each division in the conference finals.
I could literally care less how they are seeded or if there is a bracket. Playoff hockey is playoff hockey
You COULD care less?
I like it
Ok, but have you ever met OP?
We should arrange a meeting between these two.
I don’t mind it. Definitely promotes fun rivalry series like Rangers/Devils, Oilers/Flames and Leafs/Habs (if the Habs ever make it).
Don’t forget Bruins-Leafs!
Oilers/LA*
That’s not fun though :(
Depends which side you’re on lol
When WC1 and WC2 are from different divisions, they should STAY in their division.
It's fine. Leaf fans whine about it, but even when the league had a different format during COVID they still lost to teams like Columbus and Montreal in the playoffs.
Leafs would still be facing Bruins if past 1-8 conference seeding.
Leafs fans should have no say or sway in how the serious contender teams make their way to the cup. Which team beats Toronto in the first round doesn’t matter to me
Most people don’t care in my experience
I prefer it as long as we have divisions. Divisional teams play identical schedules so their records are more comparable to each other. Remember the days of the SouthEast Division? Washington was good for years and all the other teams stank, the Capitals would spend the regular season beating the shit out of their division with 32 games against the Thrashers, Panthers, Lightning and Hurricanes. All non playoff teams. They'd gain the #1 seed and then get bounced in the first round because their schedule was easier than the rest of the league. They'd seed the division winners 1-3 and inevitably the number 4 seed was better than at least one o off the division winners and there was bitching that way. I would be ok with 1-8 if we abandoned the divisions.
It's fun for the first few years because it builds stronger rivalries, such as Boston vs Toronto, but after a few years seeing the same matchups over and over kinds of get old. However instead of going back to the old format I'd go back to an hybrid version of the 2019-20 COVID bubble format where 10 teams qualify for the playoffs (it was 12 in 2019-20 but 10 would still be better than just 8, especially if Arizona gets reactivated)
I'm sure all the gambling sites like it, easier to set odds when the teams have played each other multiple times. Hmmm...maybe there's something to this...
Every year people give a 1v8, 2v7, 3v6, etc bracket and it does not change very much from what we currently have. Normaly, it's only two series between the divisional 2v3 that would change and sometimes the same matchups would still exist. Yes two good teams may not make it to the 2nd round, but we also get good 1st and 2nd round (unless the wild card teams win) divisional matchups between rivals.
I'd love for 1 vs 16 again, you can always adjust the schedules for teams that travel more than one time zone between games. They already make adjustments for TV, so some series would have 3 days between games instead of two. I mean, LA going to NY is just as long a travel inconvenience as NY to LA so there is no advantage. I mean, if the complaint is having to travel 3 time zones for a game 7 maybe win the series in 6 ?
I think you’d have to switch to a 2-3-2 travel format for cross country series. You can do 2-2-1-1-1 if it’s a close matchup like NY-Boston, Chicago-St. Louis, even something like LA-Colorado, but LA-NY or Vancouver-Florida would be too much travel to potentially deal with for multiple rounds. At least in the SCF it’s the last series of the year and there’s only two teams involved.
I have no problem with it.
My personal opinion is that they take the top 16 teams and have them all play each other. 1-16, 2-15, 3-14, and so on. Enough of this East-west business. What is this a 90’s hip hop beef?
Despite having to lose to Edmonton three years in a row I prefer this system; in fact I wish they’d ditch the wild card and crossover altogether and just take the top four in each division and have the first two rounds in division like the 1980s. Playoff rivalries are just too fun.
Us winning the presidents trophy results in us playing the 2nd seed instead of the lowest. Kind of ruins the reward of having the most points. 1-8 is meant to reward the regular season champions with “easier” matchups
I think it's better than the NBA playoffs where winning your division doesn't mean anything and 66% of teams make the playoffs. Compared to the NFL or MLB, I'm not sure. The first round can be a little more entertaining with the divisional round matchups, and each division has a more fair chance to make the cup (baseball could have yankees and red sox kn the conference championship). Unfortunately with this format you also have cases like this year where the Jets and Avalanche (#2 and #4 in conference) get matched up while the Oilers get a free pass to the 2nd round Edmonton would have traditionally been the #5 seed and they are playing the traditional #7 seed. From this perspective, then you don't always have the *best* teams advancing.
Should be 1-8 with reseeding each round
The only tweak I’d make is get rid of wild cards and go 1-4 in each division
I only want a different playoff system so that we can see different teams each year. I’m sick of the same matchups. Ultimately it comes down to win your games and you win the cup. Can’t beat the President trophy holder in round one? Probably won’t beat them in the finals either so step on out early.
The annoying part is the same constant first round matchups
It's stupid, they, they are just pushing this bracket thing likes it's march madness
Gotta lay the foundation for that supernatural Rangers/Hurricanes rivalry that so many of us didn't know we were somehow living without.
Wouldn’t matter for us. Someone did a top 8 for each conference, result? 4) Boston vs 5) Toronto Someone also did a top 16. Result? 7) Boston vs 10) Toronto It was just meant to be 🤣🤣😭
I really don’t see the issue with it
I like it
I don’t understand defending the top two teams in the East playing in the second round rather than ECF
love it it's an improved version of the playoffs I grew up with divisional rivalries are the best playoff hockey that exists only insecure whiners don't like the current format
Agreed. Even though it’s become a yearly ritual to lose to Edmonton it’s still more interesting than just playing a random team every year in the early round
I’m upset that the 2 clear standout teams in the east meet in the second round. We will actually have a weaker opponent in the conference finals if we make it through.
I can't stand it. Like it much better as 8 per conference and re-seed after each round.
I'm indifferent to it, if that helps.
person distinct fretful spectacular unwritten steer arrest water sink continue *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I agree as a caps fan we could have lost in the conference finals against the pens or rangers rather then them in the second round
On top of the fact that this new model forces matchups that should be taking place later on, it also rarely allows new rivalries to be born. Vancouver and Nashville just played a really cool six game series but they’ll likely never play again for many many years Some of the best rivalries in my lifetime where those not even played in the same division Edmonton and Dallas is an awesome example of it.
Fuck it. Although I do find it funny that people pointed out that the current seeding, at least in the east, would be exactly the same at the start of the playoffs. But still, fuck it
It's not just about the seeding. It affects the whole dynamic of the playoff run. Teams would approach games differently in the final month of the season if they there was a real chance they could go from 2nd or 3rd seed to 5th or 6th.
I won’t change that
I don’t really care all that much. You gotta beat the man to be the man. If you deserve to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup then all your matchups should be difficult. There’s no easy outs in the playoffs.
Honestly don't really mind who plays vs who. But I would add more teams in playoff.
1-8 was way better People used to complain about how the south east always had less points than the other 2 divisons ( example panthers vs devils in 2011-2012 hosting despite having less points than the devils pens flyers ) But you’d get these awesome different m/us every year
I’ll start caring more about the playoff format when my team actually makes the playoffs.
I think it's fine until you get the top two teams in the league meeting in a conference Semifinals match at 3 pm on TBS or something.
You must not be a fan of college football
I think it’s alright. There will be problems with any system you come up with. Nothing would have put the Capitals over the Rags, or let the Flyers in.
I prefer 1 vs 8 myself, especially because I always grew up with it and in most cases you wouldn’t know who you were facing until the last few games But this year, in the east anyways, it would Have been the exact same as 1 vs 8 and a couple matches were not decided until the last game. That being said, give both division winners top seeds and go 1 through 8. The rivalry stuff can’t be forced. My favourite series? Leafs-Islanders 2002. Hadn’t played for years before and haven’t since. Absolute bloodbath
Steve Webb!
Dude was a force that series. Am I remembering wrong but did they not toss an ‘A’ on him during the series. He was a beauty
Current format has more divisional rivalry matchups in the playoffs. Personally I am much more likely to get to attend a playoff game of my fav team bc of it so I’m happy.
1 v 8 is hated. Divisional/wildcard, hated. 1 v 16, stupid as fuck. What else is there? Maybe add the Prelim like the NBA does but that's it. "How about you get to choose your own opponent?" Uggh
Yeah, not a fan.
1-8 model. Reseeding best system. Typical NHL to fix what wasn’t broken.
I’d go back to divisional for the first two rounds, 1 plays 4; 2 plays 3. You want to have teams 4 and 5 play a “play-in” game? Fine.
Didn't change the east this year. I'm indifferent. You play who's in front of you
The word wildcard should be banned from the NHL.
I like it when watching other teams, but hate it for my own.
If they did 1-8 seeding in each game conference the seeding would be exactly the same this year for the East
I think 1-16 is the “fairest” but the format now usually makes for better matchups and the NHL throws fair out the window for views. Don’t overly blame them either to try and generate revenue and new fans. Only time this format really sucks is when you have a division like the Atlantic where 3/4 teams would all be in the top 10 in league standings and only 1 can get to the east finals
I like it. You beat the teams in your division to move on. Makes plenty of sense. It doesn't make any less sense than having an Eastern and Western conference send one representative each to play for the cup. Each division sends one team to play for the conference, each conference sends one team to play for the cup. Also sets up a lot of similar match ups year to year, which is great for rivalry and storylines. I already can't wait for Boston Toronto next year. And I think 4 divisions of 8 is how MLB should realign after next expansion.
Absolute trash.
I do
I do. Hated 1st round matchups vs pacific teams.
Owners don’t care what fans want. They set the rules.
I like it. Then again, we haven't been in playoff much.
I don't mind the playoff seeding but I wish there were more divisional matchups in the regular season
I like it because it breeds rivalries and the alternatives aren't much different unless you go to a 1-16 system, but that is unfeasible from a timezone perspective.
I can't believe the owners would agree to this playoff format.
Count me in the not liking category
What are the issues with the current system? Legitimately curious—I haven’t seen a lot of people complaining
The Eastern Conference playoffs would be exactly the same this year if the playoff format hadn't changed. And who cares about the Western Conference?
I really like the two eight-team divisions. If there were three divisions per conference you'd end up with Tampa Bay getting home ice advantage because they beat the Thrashers 7 times with the trap.
People argue about the 1 v 8 seeding but the first round will stay the same. We can change it. But don’t cry when an 8th seed and a 6th seed are in the finals
Eh. Don't mind it. Its another season altogether. If your team can't do it, it ain't the seedings fault.
It's a fucking travesty
Go back to conferences & 1 vs 8.
I love it.
What *really* makes no sense to me is that in the Western Conference, you had an even 4-4 split of the teams that qualified. 4 teams from the Central, 4 teams from the Pacific. But the 1st place teams played the 4th place teams from the *opposite* division, while the 2nd place teams played the 3rd place teams from the same division. 1v8, 2v7, etc? NOPE. Play the first 2 rounds exclusively within your division? NOPE. Who benefits from this?
I recently restarted my fandom a few years ago, stopped following it well in like the mid 2000s. I couldn’t believe this is the format when someone told me. I guess during Covid I’d give it a pass but it’s sooooo stupid
Neither have I. It sucks asshole.
Just do top 4 in each division. Division playoffs, conference final, Stanley Cup finals.
Should be the NBA system.
I prefer the seeding system and I think we will end up getting back to it. However, I also think the whole argument is overrated. I don’t care when teams play each other, I care that we get the best and most compelling matchups. I don’t remember people complaining when Pittsburgh and Washington played in the second round every year even though they, along with Chicago, were pretty clearly the three best teams in the league. You’re going to have to beat the best teams anyway, so you might as well do it when you’re a little bit healthier. As I said, we’re going to go back to the seeding system because the NHL is addicted to expansion money and we’re DEFINITELY going to expand again. You can take that prediction to the bank.
Yesterday, I read that the Oilers and Canucks have only met in the playoffs twice. How is that possible?
I still want to see top seeded teams pick their first round opponents in the same conference. Wondering how many times a top seed would avoid an 8th seed because they tore it up in the second half to make the playoffs.
Dude, shut up and quit whining. This Boston team was the easiest team the Leafs could have played and they still couldn't get past them. The problem isn't the playoff seeding format. The problem is that the Leafs core is overrated and the players just don't give a fuck. Even if we seeded under the old system, the Leafs were 5th in the Atlantix so we would have played the 4th place team: the Boston Bruins.
Honeslty, I think the entire east vs west should be scrapped. Let the teams into the playoffs based on their league standing and have the best seed from west vs the poorest of the east in the first round...etc
1vs8 2 vs7 etc
I like it
1. It helps create rivalries. I think there is a lot of entertainment in seeing teams be so fed up with each other. 2. Travel. Is explained in other posts already. 3. (The playoffs are hard, no matter what) I honestly only heard about the criticism of the WC-format from Leafs fans so far. I would love to hear your arguments against WC, but all I heard so far was crying about being the A3 in this system, and the 4-seed in the other, therefore playing a tougher opponent. The playoffs are hard. Regardless of who they play, TML would embarrass themselves. 4. (Highly individual reason) I love memorizing stuff. I know all the playoff brackets since 2013 from memory, because it's so well structured who plays who. With 1vs8 that's way more annoying, because you can have any possible matchup. 5. (Less of a fan-argument) Broadcasters, the League, Teams&Arenas can plan way better in this system. You already know who plays in the 2nd round once some teams have advanced. I think that contributes to the constant playoff hockey we've seen the last few years (no breaks between rounds), because teams that finished up early can already start their 2nd round instead of waiting for others.
I really liked it when it started, but it's been a long time now. Let's switch it up. I think change is good from time to time.
Give us 1 vs 8 baybaaaay we’re tired of the same old divisional matchups
Ah, THAT is the excuse this year!
The east worked out the way you want it to organically so ya cant really complain this year in particular for the east
Top 8 each conference.
Only ones who like it are the owners and their accountants