(Can't quote) Good luck convincing Bettman

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

No matter how it could be done

5 game series ..NOOOOOOOOOOO
Byes for 1st place finishers....NOOOOOOOOOOOOO


Only change that should be made is 1-8 per conference. 1 plays 8 and so on.

NO!
And Re-seed after each round inside the playoffs, the current format of not reseeding is horrendous

NO!
And Re-seed after each round inside the playoffs, the current format of not reseeding is horrendous
- MiloslavHorava

Exactly. How Pitt and Caps met in 2nd round was ridiculous

1 doesn't play 8 currently. The NHL moved a divisional format following the last realignment of conferences & divisions. To put that into perspective for you never mind conference placings. in the 1st round this season we had the 5th best team in the entire NHL Chi play the 3rd best StL. In the 2nd round we had the 3rd best team in the entire NHL StL play Dal the 2nd best team. In the East in the 2nd round we had the 4th best team in the entire NHL, Pittsburgh, play the 1st placed team Washington.

Your behind the times.
- striker777

Really?
#1 Washington played #8 Philly
#1 Dallas played #8 Minnesota

Really?
#1 Washington played #8 Philly
#1 Dallas played #8 Minnesota
- Crushers68

I think what was meant is that 1/8, 2/7, 3/6, 4/5
Decided by reg. season pts. and not simply division standings.

Really?
#1 Washington played #8 Philly
#1 Dallas played #8 Minnesota
- Crushers68

Considering the Flyers had 96 pts.
The Wings only had 93 pts.

I'm going to go ahead and say, nope. The #1 didn't play the true #8.

Really?
#1 Washington played #8 Philly
#1 Dallas played #8 Minnesota
- Crushers68

The current format doesn't reward teams for winning their division/conference. As someone already said, the Wings should have been 8th playing the Caps, not bumped up (backed in) to 3rd in the division. Consider this. We are currently watching match ups that should have taken place in the 2nd round if they reseeded and the highest played the lowest-- 2nd round should have been Stars v Preds, Blues v Sharks, Caps v Isles, Pens v Tampa. Due to the current format, the Lightening had the easiest route to the conference finals without winning their own division, let alone the conference.

Ohh I have an idea. Why don't the play some sort of tournament, to get in to the play-offs. It could be round robin or some form of knock-out style or even one where teams are rewarded points for wins and ties (or shoot-out wins). This could happen between October and April. Why don't we call it "THE REGULAR SEASON".

The current format doesn't reward teams for winning their division/conference. As someone already said, the Wings should have been 8th playing the Caps, not bumped up (backed in) to 3rd in the division. Consider this. We are currently watching match ups that should have taken place in the 2nd round if they reseeded and the highest played the lowest-- 2nd round should have been Stars v Preds, Blues v Sharks, Caps v Isles, Pens v Tampa. Due to the current format, the Lightening had the easiest route to the conference finals without winning their own division, let alone the conference.
- Bren4Wings

The point of setting the playoffs up in their current format was not to reward teams for winning their divisions, but to create stronger post-season rivalries in the first two rounds.

NO, and I hate the seeding with the wildcard teams...

Why not have some sort of loser bracket"playoff" for the other 16 teams, with the prize being the #1 overall pick in the upcoming draft?

In theory, this would end the concept of tanking and allow teams extra practice time to improve their youth and provide them with extra revenue streams as well.

In reality, I doubt most of the general public has the required appetite to buy tickets to an NHL event for also rans.... But it is a better idea than expanding the current playoff system

no. half the teams in about half out, This isnt the special olympics, you want to be in the playoffs, get good