Fansided

How the NHL can fix the Stanley Cup playoffs format

By David Rouben

WINNIPEG, MB - MARCH 25: Ben Chiarot #7 of the Winnipeg Jets and Miikka Salomaki #20 of the Nashville Predators battle in front of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck #37 during third period action at the Bell MTS Place on March 25, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Jets defeated the Preds 5-4 in the shootout. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB - MARCH 25: Ben Chiarot #7 of the Winnipeg Jets and Miikka Salomaki #20 of the Nashville Predators battle in front of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck #37 during third period action at the Bell MTS Place on March 25, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Jets defeated the Preds 5-4 in the shootout. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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There are few topics that have grown to be more divisive than the Stanley Cup playoffs format. Here are a few suggestions for the NHL on how to fix it.

Hockey Twitter can be a very toxic environment at this time of the year. When people aren’t arguing over the semantics of the Hart trophy race, or goalie interference, they’re yelling over how flawed the NHL playoff format is.

As presently constituted, the fourth-best team in the East — the Toronto Maple Leafs — has to face the two best teams in the first two rounds. Although, in the old format, they’d be facing the Pittsburgh Penguins, so pick your poison Leafs fans.

A No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the West between the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators can only take place in the second-round, as opposed to the Conference Finals, although the Jets may well have gotten an easier first round opponent in the Minnesota Wild as opposed to the Anaheim Ducks.

And for the past two seasons, the Presidents’ Trophy winning Washington Capitals have been eliminated in the second-round because they’ve been stuck with playing the Penguins. So much for rewarding the league’s best teams.

It’s a big problem, to be sure, but fans will stop talking about the format once the playoffs start and instead become united in reminding everyone that hockey playoffs are the best in all of sports and that there is no comparison. However, people still want a fix so that’s what we’re here to provide. Here are a few solutions for fixing the NHL’s playoff system.

Go back to the old format

Even with a concept as simple as the old format — No. 1 vs. No. 8, No. 2 vs. No. 7, No. 3 vs. No. 6, No. 4 vs. No. 5 — the NHL still found a way to over-complicate things. All three division winners were assured of getting the top three seeds, and matchups were re-seeded after the first round. It made no sense, so the NHL’s solution was to go to a model that made even less sense after they overhauled the divisions.

Not only does the conference format make way more sense, the NHL should go back to the basics. What the NBA does — 1-8 vs. 4-5, 2-7 vs. 3-6 — is easy to follow, and you don’t see anyone complaining about it. While we’d be robbed of traditional “rivalries” such as a first-round Kings vs. Sharks matchup, it would ensure that the top two teams in the conference don’t meet until the finals, if they make it that far.

Screw conferences, let the top 16 teams duke it out

This is an idea that’s been floated around in the NBA, and the fact that it’s been discussed this heavily means we might see it implemented sooner rather than later. The idea behind it is simple — it gets rid of conference imbalance, while the two best teams in the league won’t meet until the Final. First-round matchups would be as follows: 1-16 vs. 8-9, 4-13 vs. 5-12, 2-15 vs. 7-10, 3-14 vs. 6-11.

Of course, the conferences in the NHL are much closer than in the NBA, and there is a real concern about this format. If Boston and LA were to face each other, the travel for that series would be brutal, and if they end up facing the winner of an all-East matchup, whoever wins that series would already be at a disadvantage. One solution to that problem would be resorting to a 2-3-2 system for home games — baseball does that since the AL and NL aren’t separated by geographic location.

This format could be the hardest to get owners to agree upon, but it could result in the best matchups (side note: even with this format, the Leafs would still be facing the Penguins in Round 1. That franchise just can’t catch a break).

Make the first round a best-of-five

This might be the most unpopular option out of the three. After all, Game 7s are the best thing ever, and getting rid of one is inherently a bad thing. But there’s no reason for the playoffs to last two months and end in the middle of June. And there is some good in having a first round best-of-five.

For one, it places a greater emphasis on home ice advantage, because if the road team drops the first two games, they’re screwed going back home to Game 3. On the other hand, if the road team earns a split or wins the first two games, they go back home with all the momentum in the world.

Player safety should also be a bigger concern around the league. Whenever teams get eliminated and the coach lists off all the injuries their players have been playing through, that should set off more alarm bells. Switching to a best-of-five first round keeps star players fresh for the later rounds and ensures that the teams that make it to the Cup Final aren’t a shell of themselves.

“Wild card” ideas

Writers have been proposing changes to the playoff format ever since it switched to the current one. There have been some off-the-wall ideas out there, including having a play-in game and a system in which every team gets into the playoffs.

Next: 10 reasons Stanley Cup Playoffs are better than NBA Playoffs

Whatever the owners decide on, any system — within reason — would be better than the one currently in place. While this format shouldn’t, and won’t, interfere with fans’ enjoyment of the playoffs, you’d be hard pressed to find teams that aren’t getting screwed by it. If change is coming, it had better come soon.