Stanley Cup playoffs reformat?
Say the NHL goes to a four-division format. Here's an idea I had to retool the playoffs:
- Top three teams in each division make it, plus next four highest point-totals (wild cards).
- First round would be by division a la pre-1994. Top seed in each bracket would have choice of opponent; highest top seed by points would have first selection of opponent from wild card group OR third-place seed from ONLY its own division, second-highest would have second choice, and so on. Wild Card teams leftover would be placed into missing brackets automatically in reverse point total order (2nd-seed teams don't get to pick their opponent).
- Higher seeds would have the option of having 2-3-2 or 2-2-1-1-1 series format.
- First two rounds are within division brackets; reseed 1-4 for Cup semis and finals and go across league.
I'll use an example - say the NHL realigned like this:
East: BOS, CLB, MTL, NJ, NYI, NYR, PHI, PIT
South: CAR, DAL, FL, NSH, STL, TB, WAS
North: BUF, CHI, DET, MIN, OTT, TOR, WPG
West: ANA, CGY, COL, EDM, LA, PHX, SJ, VAN
Using last year's final season standings, the playoffs would have looked like this:
East bracket: PHI(E1), PIT(E2), BOS(E3), E4 (wild card)
South bracket: WAS(S1), TB(S2), NSH(S3), S4 (WC)
North bracket: DET(N1), CHI(N2), TOR(N3), N4 (WC)
West bracket: VAN(W1), SJ(W2), ANA(W3), W4 (WC)
Wild card pool: PHX, LA, MTL, BUF
The picking order would be VAN, WAS, PHI, DET. VAN would have the choice of playing any of the teams in the wild card pool or the 3rd seed in the West (ANA) in the first round. Say it picks LA - LA would now be 4th team in the West bracket.
WAS has the next pick - it can pick any of the remaining wild card teams (PHX, MTL, BUF) or S3 (NSH). Say they pick NSH as their opponent. The 4th team in the South bracket remains vacant for now.
PHI goes next - it can pick any of the remaining wild card teams (PHX, MTL, BUF) or E3 (BOS). Say they pick BUF - BUF is now in the East bracket as the 4th-seeded team there.
DET goes next - it can pick any of the remaining wild card teams (PHX or MTL) or N3 (TOR). Say they pick TOR - like in the South, the 4th team in the North bracket remains vacant for now.
There are now two vacant spots (S4 and N4) and two wild card teams (PHX and MTL). The 2nd seeds in the open brackets (TB and CHI) are compared by record - TB had a better record, so they get the remaining WC team with the worst record (MTL). MTL is now in the South bracket. Therefore, PHX is placed in the North bracket and faces CHI in the first round.
The brackets would now look like this:
East: (E1)PHI vs. (E4)BUF; (E2)PIT vs. (E3)BOS
South: (S1)WAS vs. (S3)NSH; (S2)TB vs. (S4)MTL
North: (N1)DET vs. (N3)TOR; (N2)CHI vs. (N4)PHX
West: (W1)VAN vs. (W4)LA; (W2)SJ vs. (W3)ANA
Each bracket would produce one winner (say, BOS in the East, TB in the South, DET in the North, VAN in the West). These four would be reseeded by regular season record (VAN-DET-BOS-TB) and play 1v4, 2v3 for the right to play for the Cup.
Pros and Cons as I see them:
+ Allows possibility of any possible pair of teams playing for Cup (i.e., PIT & WAS)
+ Gives incentive for teams to win division and earn higher records, as it gives more rewards for finishing at the top
+ More divisional match-ups on average in playoffs can lead to more developed rivalries, especially for teams with shorter histories
+ Discussion of whom teams should pick (weak team but with long travel or stronger team but shorter trips, different styles of play, etc.) can stir further interest among fans and lead to some tactical decision-making (i.e., picking the third-seed to force the second-seed to travel a long way for its first-round match-up) and perhaps stir some emotions (i.e., picking a weak team could lead to taunts by opposing fans for wimping out)
- Significantly more complicated
- Likely more travel involved overall (partly why I allow the choice of series formats)
- Might be a nightmare for schedulers having to wait until teams get their choices in before they can schedule games
I would like to hear some constructive thoughts on this idea. Is it workable? What could be done to improve it?