The NHL’s current playoff format is bad, but here’s how to fix it

Under league rules, teams with more points may actually be left out of the postseason.

There’s no professional sports league in America that does their standings the way the NHL does. The NBA, NFL, and MLB all categorize their standings by a team’s win-loss total, the easiest way to identify which teams are good and which are bad. By comparison, the NHL assigns point values to regulation wins and overtime/shoot out losses, giving you strange record lines like the Penguins’ 15-11-3 record as of Thursday.

Not only is the format hard to read, it also makes the playoff standings about point totals instead of the raw win-loss system. Normally, points over a record would make more sense as to why one team gets in over another in a playoff spot, but the current format the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs take is confusing, and ultimately punishes good teams.

Currently, the NHL is split into four divisions (Atlantic, Metropolitan, Pacific, and Central) across two conferences (East and West). Thanks to the recent realignment, the NHL introduced the idea of wild cards, much like the NFL has, where the top three teams in each division get in, and the two runner ups in the conference behind them also make it.

The idea was meant to draw more competition in one’s division, and make the last few days of an NHL season more exciting when teams on the bubble are jockeying for position. The results of the new format, however, have made it so better NHL teams have a higher chance of being knocked out of the opening round or just pace good teams out of the postseason entirely.

The argument against the former came into play last season, where two of the Eastern Conference’s top three teams (Penguins, Blue Jackets, Capitals) would play each other in the opening round. Columbus met an unfortunate end against the Penguins in the opening round despite gaining more points than any Atlantic Division team.

This season, however, we could see the latter come into play, where a higher point team is left out of the postseason thanks to the wild card format. Under previous rules, the top eight teams in each conference made it in, no exceptions. In that format, there was no controversy as the teams that had the highest point totals all were in.

Now, we could see a heavyweight team miss the postseason due to the strangeness of this format. Take the Eastern Conference for example, where the New York Rangers have three more points than the third place team in the Atlantic Division, but sit outside of the playoff bubble thanks to being the sixth-best team in an extremely talented Metropolitan Division.

If the Metropolitan Division continues to dominate the way it has, then a team that has more points than one in the Atlantic Division will likely be left on the outside looking in come April.

The current format is an unnecessary gimmick to initiate rivalry matches in the opening round at the expense of a fair system. We’ll likely hear more complaints as the season comes to an end, so here are some alternative methods the NHL could use to make the system more fair to their better teams.

Go back to the old NHL playoff format

Two groupings of the top eight teams in each conference basically gets rid of the need for divisions in the standings, but going back to the previous format prioritizes the point system once more. Plus, it’s more fair to the higher-seeded teams, as this format utilizes the No. 1-vs.-No. 8 seeding pattern.

Upsets and intense matches would still be common in this format, as it used to be before the realignment, but the system as a whole would be more fair to the league’s teams.

Get rid of the point system and format by record

This would mean ditching the NHL’s point system that has defined the league, but would stop the league from valuing regulation wins the same way as overtime or shootout wins, along with the overtime/shootout loss “loser point.” Instead, the NHL would be organized strictly based on wins and losses, and would require a complete overhaul of the way the league operates.

Of course, there are positives and negatives to every option. The NHL may lose the parity it gains with the point system, but it would create a fairer playing field for playoff combatants. It’s the system the NBA, NFL, and MLB all utilize to varying degrees of wild cards, and it’s one that causes less confusion to casual sports fans, but sacrifices an aspect that makes the NHL unique.

Have a “pick your opponent” format

This season, a minor hockey league is going with a “pick your opponent” format for the first round of their postseason. Under this format, which would make use of a seeded playoff system:

The No. 1-3 seeds for the eight-team playoffs will be able to select their first-round opponents from the No. 5-8 seeds. The No. 1 seed will get first choice, followed by the No. 2 seed, then the No. 3 seed. The No. 4 seed will play the team that goes unselected by the first three seeds.

This format would give power back to the league’s top seeds, making winning in the regular season mean more than just home-ice advantage. There are downsides to the idea, like creating a proper balance between fun and fair, but it’s one to consider just for the sheer madness that could ensue.