Should the NHL go back to this format?
The NHL has probably the most exciting post-season action in all major sports.
Starting in 1993, the NHL revamped its playoff structure to become conference-based rather than division-based. Eight teams in each conference qualified for the playoffs. The first-place teams in each division were seeded first and second, and the following six teams by points were seeded third through eighth. The matchups for the first round would be one vs eight, two vs seven, three vs six and four vs five.
The league switched for the 2013-14 season, with the top three teams in each division making the playoffs and two wild card teams from the Western and Eastern Conferences.
Drew Livingston, a YouTuber for Sportsnet, proposed the question on Twitter: Should the NHL go back to the one to eight playoff format.
With this format, the matchups as of today would be Florida vs Washington, Carolina vs Pittsburgh, Toronto vs Boston and Tampa Bay vs the New York Rangers. *Carolina would move to second as the Metropolitan Division leader*
The matchups as of today with the current format are Florida vs Washington, Carolina vs Boston, Rangers vs Pittsburgh and Toronto vs Tampa Bay.
Florida vs Washington would be the only matchup that stays the same. Either way very good teams would be lost after the first round of the playoffs, but of course, it's a best of best.
Let us know what you think!
| POLL | ||
Should the NHL revert back to the 1 to 8 playoff format? | ||
| Yes | 84 | 60.4 % |
| No | 24 | 17.3 % |
| Doesn't matter | 31 | 22.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
