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No changes required: current NHL playoff format is just fine, thanks |
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With the end of the NHL season a few weeks away, the topic of playoff seedings is going to become an issue for some people. And there will be no shortage of them who’ll argue (in many cases, quite well) that the league’s playoff structure – in which teams square off against divisional rivals – would be fairer if it were a straight-ahead system where, for example, the No. 1 seed in each conference would face the No. 8 seed, the No. 2 seed would take on the No. 7 seed, etc.
The reasoning behind that argument has its merits, and if the playoffs ended today, you can understand why some teams would be happy if the league changed to that approach. In the Eastern Conference, the New York Rangers (who sat in second place in the Metropolitan Division entering Thursday night's action) would meet the white-hot Pittsburgh Penguins under the current system, but in a 1-8 seeding format, they’d be opposed by the comparatively lukewarm Boston Bruins. Similarly, the St. Louis Blues would face the defending-Stanley-Cup-champion Chicago Blackhawks in the present system, but they’d get the Nashville Predators in a 1-8 setup.
However, there’s less difference in the playoff systems than you’d think. And the reality is, regardless of the system, a 16-team post-season is always going to leave a handful of very good teams reeling from an early-round exit. So building divisional rivalries, as the NHL has chosen to do with the current format, makes as much sense as any. And the way things are shaping up, the 2016 playoffs are going to feature some astonishing series right from the get-go.
As it stands at the moment, in addition to the Rangers-Penguins and Blues-Hawks series, the first round also would include: a Battle of California showdown between Anaheim and San Jose; the Pacific-leading Los Angeles Kings against the deep and determined Preds; a Dallas Stars/Minnesota Wild series with all sorts of history (off-ice, at least) bubbling beneath the surface; a Washington Capitals/Philadelphia Flyers series with all sorts of history (on-ice) behind it; Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Lightning taking on John Tavares and the New York Islanders; and the Florida Panthers battling the Bruins.
It’s true not every one of those series is going to go down in history as a classic. But here are the series we’d see in a 1-8 seeded playoff system:
– Washington vs. Philadelphia
– Rangers vs. Boston
– Tampa Bay vs. Islanders
– Florida vs. Pittsburgh
– Dallas vs. Minnesota
– St. Louis vs. Nashville
– L.A. vs. San Jose
– Chicago vs. Anaheim
As you probably noticed, hockey fans would get the same series in three of eight first-round matchups in both playoff structures. And at some point, teams such as the Blues and Ducks likely would have to knock off the Blackhawks if they're to win a Cup. Does it really matter if that happens in the first round or the second? Okay, maybe a little, but the best teams don’t need to lean on the intricacies of the post-season format to be acknowledged as the best teams. Sure, they might benefit here and there from an opponent’s collective health not being at its best, but there’s always some obstacle world-class franchises overcome on the road to establishing themselves as such.
Now, if you want to have a debate regarding how the NHL’s points system might alter the landscape of the standings, that’s another story. I’ve been on record for years as favoring a 3-2-1 format that encourages coaches and teams to win games in regulation time (and of course, from the league’s perspective, the system isn’t broken, as it provides the appearance more teams are in the playoff hunt for a longer portion of the regular season) and that would deliver a more honest appraisal of the game’s have and have-not franchises.
But when it comes to the playoffs, I can’t get hung up on the differences between two systems that aren’t all that different anyhow. Some very good teams are going to lose in the first round no matter what the setup looks like, and whether you’re the eighth seed or the Presidents’ Trophy winner before the tournament begins, you still require 16 victories if you want to claim the best trophy in all of sport.
Everything else is just minor detail.
Blogger •NHL Columnist • 
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