Does the NHL need to revamp their playoff format?

With Colorado and Dallas on a collision course for a first-round matchup, one Cup-contending team is guaranteed a round one exit, but does it have to be that way?

With the playoffs right around the corner, there’s been no shortage of people focusing on round-one matchups, as a fair amount of them are all but set in stone. Along with that, there’s been, what I find to be, a really interesting conversation going on around the NHL’s current playoff format, and whether or not it needs to be changed.

As many fans have pointed out, with the current playoff format, a top-5 team in the NHL is guaranteed to go home in round one becuase of the current format, and one of those teams is going to be either the Dallas Stars or the Colorado Avalanche, as mentioned above. Knowing that, for me that begs the question; why does it have to be that way?

If the NHL playoffs were to start today, the matchups would be as follows:

Eastern:
Toronto vs. Ottawa
Tampa Bay vs. Florida
Washington vs. Montreal
Carolina vs. New Jersey

Western:
Winnipeg vs. Minnesota
Dallas vs. Colorado
Vegas vs. St. Louis
Los Angeles vs. Edmonton

Looking beyond the Dallas and Colorado matchup, I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m not all that thrilled to watch an LA and Edmonton series for what feels like the 1000th time in a row, no offense to either of those teams, it’s just getting boring and old watching it year after year. So you get stale matchups, and a top-5 team for sure going home in round one this year with the current format.

I know fans still had issues with the playoff format back when the NHL had their 1 vs. 8 format, but if they were to bring back that format, this is what the matchups would look like compared to what they would be this year if the season ended today, given the current format:

Eastern:
Washington (1) vs. Montral (8)
Toronto (2) vs. New Jersey (7)
Carolina (3) vs. Ottawa (6)
Tampa Bay (4) vs. Florida (5)

Western:
Winnipeg (1) vs. Minnesota (8)
Vegas* (2) vs. St. Louis (7) *(division winner takes two seed)
Dallas (3) vs. Edmonton (6)
Colorado (4) vs. Los Angeles (5)

After doing that little exercise, there are a couple of things that stand out to me. First, going back to the 1 vs. 8 format would not change a handful of the matchups, namely the matchups that Winnipeg and Washington would play would stay the same. That being said, if the NHL does bring back this format, the matchups seem far more balanced, for lack of a better term. You don’t have a top-5 team in the NHL for sure going home in round one anymore. Sure, either of those teams could still absolutely go home, but that’s not a sure thing anymore with this format.

Furthermore, you get fresh mathups and you don’t have to watch LA and Edmonton for a fourth year in a row, so there’s certainly multiple advantages to them going back to this playoff format. It would also make the regular season more meaningful down the stretch. With Colorado essentially locked into the third seed now and most likely playing Dallas even if they managed to win out and grab the second seed, there is not much to play for in the current setup. In the 1-8 format there would be much more incentive to play meaningful hockey if there was jockeying for position among the Pacific teams.

Despite fans not liking the current format, it sounds like the NHL commissioner is perfectly fine with it as of right now, so no changes to the playoff format seems to be on the horizon, which could be for better or for worse, depending on how you feel about the current format and the 1 vs. 8 format.

So, does the NHL need to change their playoff format and go back to 1 vs. 8, or try a different format all together? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!