Toronto Maple Leafs: Time to fix the NHL’s broken playoff format

Count the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Nazem Kadri among those who believe the current NHL playoff format needs to be changed, but how should it be modified?

The NHL playoff format is broken, but don’t just take our word for it. Listen to the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ Nazem Kadri, speaking on Wednesday to Sportsnet‘s Chris Johnston:

"“Our division is pretty deadly at this point. Obviously that’s kind of at a disadvantage for us — it’d be nicer to play a seven or eight seed.”"

Kadri was referring to the scenario that if the playoffs started today, the Leafs would face the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the playoffs. This is despite the fact they have the second and third most points respectively in the Eastern Conference, entering Saturday’s slate of games.

From the Sabres’ perspective, they would also not have homefield advantage at least for the first round. Again, this is despite currently having the third most points in the East.

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Let’s assume the Leafs won the matchup with the Sabres, they would then theoretically meet the Tampa Bay Lightening, who are presently the top team in the entire NHL. As such, you would have the two teams with the most points in the East meeting in the second round; it’s time for change.

Of course, there’s nothing that can be done as of right now. The issues which have plagued the current playoff system will again likely be at the forefront of discussions, once the 2018-19 regular season concludes.

However, now is the time to at least begin discussing the future, with Seattle set to join the league for the start of the 2021-22 campaign. At that stage, the NHL will have 32 teams, to help add more balance to the setup.

We’re not among those who propose adding a play-in round, which would see 10 teams qualifying from each conference. The current number of 16 qualifiers is more than enough.

As such, we propose making things as simple as possible. The easiest thing would be to go back to the previous system, where the first round consisted of 1-8/2-7/3-6/4-5 matchups in each conference.

To be clear, this is our first choice; about the only modification we would even consider to this, is to seed the division winners first and second in each conference. Then rank the other six teams in the respective conferences, based on their points totals during the regulars season.

This would then ensure there was still some meaning to having divisions. Otherwise, if teams are just seeded purely based on points, you could make an argument for doing away with the divisions altogether, and just have the two conferences.

Of course, we understand seeding the division winners, could still lead to a scenario where the top two teams in each conference — based on points — meet each other in the second round. In addition, there is still the potential of a team with fewer points in one conference qualifying for the playoffs, over someone from the opposing conference with a better regular season record.

In theory, the best solution to this would be to then scrap the conferences and just have a 32-team league. But where do you stop?

How far do you take matters, in theoretically rewarding those who total the most points over the course of a regular season? Maybe the team with fewer points which qualified, had a tougher schedule than the one which missed out in the other conference despite having a better record.

And really, this leads to the reality that no matter what system you deploy, it won’t be perfect. There will always be those who don’t agree with whatever format you apply. (In this respect, as per the saying, while sport is meant to offer some escapism from the real world, it often reflects society.)

Ultimately though, there has to be a better way for the league to set up the playoff system, compared to its current setup. Whether NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and company are open to changing it however, is another matter altogether.

Do you agree with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Kadri, about the disadvantage of the current playoff format? If so, how would you modify it? Or are you in favour of the present setup and if so, why? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.