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CHANGE the Playoff Format (For the millionth time)


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The time has come again, another year where it looks like this terrible Playoff Format is going to force one of the top 3 teams in the East to be ousted in the 1st round because of this ridiculous format. It used to be the Metro.. Now its the Atlantic. The Bolts are obviously going to finish as the top team in the league.. The Bruins and Leafs are currently the 3rd and 4th best teams in THE LEAGUE! This division, if things stay as is, would have 3 of the top 4 teams in the league battling it out in the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. It is such a shame that the NHL has made this move, causing top teams to be eliminated YEAR AFTER YEAR. When will this stop? What will it take for them to realize the best teams shouldn't be playing each other in the first or even second round? As the current East stands, the Bruins and Leafs would meet in the first round, meaning the current 3/4th place teams in the whole league would battle in a round that should never include two top 5 teams in the league facing off.

 

It's time to go back to the old way of Playoffs.

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Hate this format. It was made to build rivalries. It hasn’t done shit. The Caps and Rangers met in the playoffs 89 times without it. How can it build a rivalry when you’re forcing a 2-3 matchup? The same teams have to finish in the same spot every year for that 1st rd matchup. Dumb.
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I'm an advocate of "Pick your own opponent" playoff format of Southern Professional Hockey League

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2018/03/07/minor-hockey-league-to-use-pick-your-playoff-opponent-format/32690197/

 

'The Southern Professional Hockey League will use a "pick your opponent" playoff format, with the first-place team choosing its first-round opponent from the teams that finished from fifth to eighth place, then the second- and third-place teams makes their choices before the final two teams get matched up. In the second round, teams will be matched by regular-season points.'

 

I would love to hear "For the first round of the NHL playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning select..."

 

Also done by Overwatch League

https://compete.kotaku.com/the-overwatch-league-stage-playoffs-are-letting-the-top-1824263650

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Give me true 1-8 in each conference

I don't think this will ever happen, because it means getting rid of divisions.

 

Without getting rid of the divisions, you end up with the same thing where team A gets a better seed because they got to play a bunch of skids in their division. You could end up with shit like:

 

1 - Division A

2 - Division A

3 - Division B

4 - Division B

5- Division B

6 - Division B

7 - Division B

8 - Division A

 

9 - Division B

10 - Division B

11 - Division B

12 - Division A

13 - Division A

14 - Division A

15 - Division A

 

Something like this, the #3 and 4 seeds are still getting deep dicked.

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I don't think this will ever happen, because it means getting rid of divisions.

 

Without getting rid of the divisions, you end up with the same thing where team A gets a better seed because they got to play a bunch of skids in their division. You could end up with shit like:

 

1 - Division A

2 - Division A

3 - Division B

4 - Division B

5- Division B

6 - Division B

7 - Division B

8 - Division A

 

9 - Division B

10 - Division B

11 - Division B

12 - Division A

13 - Division A

14 - Division A

15 - Division A

 

Something like this, the #3 and 4 seeds are still getting deep dicked.

 

Give me true 1-8 in each conference

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The idea that this current weird set up is somehow producing rivalries that the 1-8 system does not is simply fatuous. Fans do not want to see their team play the same opponent every time they make the playoffs. The current arrangement was a dumb Bettman idea, and I don't know anyone who likes it. 1-8 was fair and produced series with a variety of opponents. It also avoided what happened in 2016 and 2017 when the Islanders and then the Rangers improved their draw by falling out of the No. 3 slot in their division and into the Wild Card, which put them in the weaker division's bracket for the first two rounds.
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I'm an advocate of "Pick your own opponent" playoff format of Southern Professional Hockey League

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2018/03/07/minor-hockey-league-to-use-pick-your-playoff-opponent-format/32690197/

 

'The Southern Professional Hockey League will use a "pick your opponent" playoff format, with the first-place team choosing its first-round opponent from the teams that finished from fifth to eighth place, then the second- and third-place teams makes their choices before the final two teams get matched up. In the second round, teams will be matched by regular-season points.'

 

I would love to hear "For the first round of the NHL playoffs, the Tampa Bay Lightning select..."

 

Also done by Overwatch League

https://compete.kotaku.com/the-overwatch-league-stage-playoffs-are-letting-the-top-1824263650

 

They use it in Norway aswell. I kinda like it, feel that it makes more rivalries than the current format atleast, if that's the goal. It lights a fire under your ass knowing the other team picked you to play against thinking it would be the easiest match. It makes for some heated matchups.

 

Not sure how it would do in the NHL tho.

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A) Toronto and Boston have an insignificant lead over both Washington and the Islanders, and there are still ~15 games to play for that to change.

 

B) Toronto and Boston have the advantage of having the two worst teams in the league in their division.

 

C) It doesn't matter who you play. Win or go home.

 

B.... They also have the SERIOUS DISADVANTAGE of having the best team in the league as well as the 3rd best team (From Toronto’s perspective) in the league in their division...

 

C... WHY would any fan want two of the best teams in the whole league, as well as rivals, playing in the first round. Let the best of the best survive the first round, setting up a better second round match, will bring out even more rivalries, with something bigger on the line.

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C... WHY would any fan want two of the best teams in the whole league, as well as rivals, playing in the first round. Let the best of the best survive the first round, setting up a better second round match, will bring out even more rivalries, with something bigger on the line.

I'm kind of confused.

 

Your concern is that Boston and Toronto are playing in the first round? You could make a pretty good argument that they aren't better than any of CAR, WAS, STL, WPG, SJ, NSH or CGY. Is it really a problem that, like the 6th- and 7th-best teams are playing each other in the first round?

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I'm kind of confused.

 

Your concern is that Boston and Toronto are playing in the first round? You could make a pretty good argument that they aren't better than any of CAR, WAS, STL, WPG, SJ, NSH or CGY. Is it really a problem that, like the 6th- and 7th-best teams are playing each other in the first round?

 

My argument is that currently we have the potential to have the 3/4 best teams in the league, should they finish that way, playing right away. It?s bad for the league. You want the best of the best later on in the Playoffs, as is the way with every other league. As of today, the top 2 teams in the whole league would play in the Conference Semis, when that should only happen in the Conference Finals. It is a disservice to the fans of those teams to have one of them eliminated early. The Bruins should have home ice for 2 rounds minimum. This format they lose that right because they unfortunately play with the best team in the league. It needs to change.

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My argument is that currently we have the potential to have the 3/4 best teams in the league, should they finish that way, playing right away. It’s bad for the league. You want the best of the best later on in the Playoffs, as is the way with every other league. As of today, the top 2 teams in the whole league would play in the Conference Semis, when that should only happen in the Conference Finals. It is a disservice to the fans of those teams to have one of them eliminated early. The Bruins should have home ice for 2 rounds minimum. This format they lose that right because they unfortunately play with the best team in the league. It needs to change.

 

Point totals aren't the same as the best team in the league.

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ok, great. You think Toronto is better than Washington, Nashville, and Winnepeg?

 

Well, my actual argument just then was that Boston and Tampa are the best teams in the league, as well as having the most points in the league. Then as I said, Toronto also has to play those top 2 teams more often than other crappy division leaders... So yes, I’d argue Toronto is currently better than those teams you listed. Maybe come Playoff time that won’t be the case, but so far this year, those other teams have underwhelmed.

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My argument is that currently we have the potential to have the 3/4 best teams in the league, should they finish that way, playing right away. It’s bad for the league. You want the best of the best later on in the Playoffs, as is the way with every other league. As of today, the top 2 teams in the whole league would play in the Conference Semis, when that should only happen in the Conference Finals. It is a disservice to the fans of those teams to have one of them eliminated early. The Bruins should have home ice for 2 rounds minimum. This format they lose that right because they unfortunately play with the best team in the league. It needs to change.

But this happens in the 1-8 as well. Points aren't always a measure of who the best teams are when divisions are so skewed. Plus, teams who start off slow but finish hot (STL, CAR) aren't necessarily worse than teams who were consistent and could easily beat them in a playoff series.

Please tell me who you think the top 2 teams in the league are.. I believe they are the current top 2 teams in points.

This is a tough sell when the Central is absolutely stacked, relative to the rest of the league.

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But this happens in the 1-8 as well. Points aren't always a measure of who the best teams are when divisions are so skewed. Plus, teams who start off slow but finish hot (STL, CAR) aren't necessarily worse than teams who were consistent and could easily beat them in a playoff series.

 

This is a tough sell when the Central is absolutely stacked, relative to the rest of the league.

 

Well let’s dive into that... You say Central, so I’ll counter with a very meh Metro. Metro has 8 teams to the Centrals 7.

 

Metro teams above 80 points:3

Central teams above 80 points:2

 

Metro teams in the 70’s: 3

Central teams in the 70’s: 4

 

Metro has two teams below 67 points.

Central has 1 tram below 67 points.

 

Again, Metro has one more team. I’d argue the Metro is weaker than usual this year and your argument is the Central is absolutely stacked. Looking at them as I just did, I’d say they look the same to me lol.

 

Regardless of divisions, the 2 best NHL teams are the Bruins and the Bolts right now.

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