The Colorado Avalanche’s early playoff exit has rekindled a recurring discussion among NHL circles. That discussion centers on the seemingly unfairness of the current playoff format.
As it stands, the playoff format automatically places division winners as the top two seeds in each conference. Then, the second and third-place winners in each division are pitted against one another.
As a “reward,” the division winners get to play the wild card teams, which could be considered relatively inferior to the division winners.
But as we saw in this year’s playoffs, a wild card team like the St. Louis Blues can push a top seed to the brink of elimination. But it’s the second and third-place matchups that continue to raise eyebrows throughout the league.
In the East, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers went to five games, with the Panthers barely breaking a sweat. The series was believed to be closer. But it was practically a no-contest.
In the West, two of the league’s best teams went at it in one of the most epic series we’ve seen in a while. It was certainly tops on the list of playoff series in the post-COVID era. But what has some fans turning up their noses at the outcome was that this series should have happened in the Western Conference Final, not the first round.
There’s some validity to that point.
In the past, playoff series were set as 1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, and so on. That seeding worked for a while, but the league’s need for re-alignment following aggressive expansion brought forth the idea of establishing a playoff system that could foster rivalries.
Those rivalries, however, have degraded into boredom and non-conformity. For example, the Los Angeles Kings are stuck in a perpetual cycle of first-round exits at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers. The solution for LA would be to win the division or land as a wild card team next season.
So, is there an alternative to the current NHL playoff seeding system? I think there is.
The Colorado Avalanche would benefit from a system similar to MLB or NBA
In baseball, each of the six division winners land automatic seeds to the playoffs. Three wild card teams make it to the postseason.
But here’s the catch:
The top two division winners get automatic byes into the Division Series. The third division winner and three wild card teams play a best-of-three series to determine who will play the other two division winners.
Now, that’s only six teams. The current NHL format has eight.
Well, that’s where the NHL could actually expand the playoff format. Why not reward division winners with automatic byes? Wouldn’t that add a little extra motivation for contenders to win their divisions?
For the Toronto Maple Leafs, it would have meant skipping the dreaded first round altogether. For the Avalanche, it would have meant playing anyone else than the Dallas Stars.
Of course, this idea is only a rough sketch of what it could actually look like in practice. But the NHL could take a page out of the NBA and MLB and expand the number of teams in contention for postseason spots.
During the 2020 playoffs, the play-in round seemed to work well. Teams that really didn’t have a shot at making the playoffs got a one-off shot at making it. So, why not test an idea like that? It could be piloted in the AHL and eventually instituted in the NHL.
The league will need to address its current playoff format at some point. In my estimation, I don’t see how this format can survive much longer without fanbases becoming completely frustrated.
The Kings and Maple Leafs are just two examples. Colorado seems next in line. In the meantime, the only thing teams can do is stock up on talent and hope that next year will be their year.