One of my biggest complaints about the state of hockey today is the lack of hate between teams today. There are not nearly as many great rivalries as we once had. I think I have a possible solution to fix that. Divisional Playoffs. Which was not practical in a unbalanced league but with Seattle set to become the NHL's 32nd franchise the league will have balance between divisions and even conferences so the setup is perfect to reintroduce the format.
As a added bonus I'm also adding a 'play in game' between the 4th and 5th placed teams in every division so we are still keeping the hopes of teams alive that they could get in and should increase the excitement of trying to get into the playoffs. Lets take a look at all of the divisions as of Feb 2 2010 and see what we have.
Starting in the Atlantic we actually have our hardest case for the system as a couple teams are just awful but the potential playoff match ups are compelling.
I would say it is a pretty safe bet that the Tampa Bay Lightning are the class of the division and will win top spot. Who will they play in the first round though? Right now I have no idea. To find out who would be playing in our 'play in' game it could be anyone of Toronto, Montreal, or Boston hosting likely Buffalo or Florida, maybe even Detroit if they go on a run. Earning them the right to play the Lightning in the first round. For arguments sake lets say we get Boston vs Buffalo. Can you imagine the emotion in that game? Not even the emotions of the three teams trying to avoid finishing 4th and have to host that game!
After that play in game we get Tampa vs Boston or Buffalo in round 1 and we get a Toronto/Montreal series which would be carnage! In the second round we get Tampa (giving them the win here) vs the survivor of a wild Leafs/Habs series. Both teams could give the Lightning a great series but we'll let Tampa come out of the Atlantic this time.
Now on to the Metro Division. and here is where we are going to have some fun!
Lets start at the bottom and work up here. The Devils are likely out of it and can go into full seller mode.Which puts the Devils and the Senators as the only two teams in the East that are truly out of it and will have a chance to stock the shelves because there are so many teams still in the playoff hunts.When we hit the 4/5 game it gets really compelling. The Rangers and Flyers are desperately trying to get to the fifth spot and are only five and seven points out of getting into the play in game whereas under the current format they are both done and in full seller mode. Then we look at Pittsburgh and Carolina who would both be desperately be trying to catch Columbus to avoid having to play in a one game play in matchup, not only that they are also likely going to play each other in that play in game and who gets home ice is big! At the top of the division the Isles, Caps, and Blue Jackets all have a very real shot of winning the division and want to avoid playing each other in the first round! Lets give the Isles the division and assume they play the winner of the Penguins/Hurricanes play in game. The extra day or two of rest could be a difference maker in the first round match up. Now we get Washington and Columbus who not only fought for home ice (and the division probably) but now get to face each other in the first round and the bad blood is very likely flowing a deep crimson red with the winner getting to play the Isles to get out of the Metro. For this story we'll let the Islanders hang up a division banner due to their team defense and goaltending!
Now onto the Central and this will be a lot of fun for the entire division!
Winnipeg and Nashville are going to finish 1/2 and the fight for the division crown should be great! But lets look at three through eight. Everyone is still in the fight. Even Chicago is only eight points out of home ice advantage in the first round! Obviously we have any number of combinations possible for playoff positioning and adding the Coyotes to the mix will just muddy things up further, so trying to guess who would play who is pointless but it would be a war of attrition for every team fighting to get in. Even at the top of the division the Jets and Preds would be scratching and clawing to finish first to have home ice in the second round in that anticipated match up. With the divisional playoff format we literally have all eight teams that will suddenly have a large hate for each other and that is incredible for hockey fans. The play in game and first two rounds in the Central would be amazing to watch! We'll let the Jets come out of the division battered and bruised for the Conference final appearance.
Finally the Pacific Division and we get to see divisional playoffs in a different way.
The Pacific is going to have a twist on how divisional playoffs work. It sure looks like it will be Calgary and San Jose fighting for first and potential home ice in the second round against each other much like the Central except you really don't want to finish second and have the prospect of playing Vegas in the first round. Speaking of the Golden Knights they could be in full buyer mode at the deadline as it seems like they will settle into third and have a chance to rest some key players going into a first round match up against one of the two best teams in the division! Seattle will come into the division and replace the Coyotes and we'll assume their record will be similar to Arizona for this experiment. Which leaves us with five teams fighting for two spots in a play in game that could go down to the last day of the season, which is another reason the Flames and Sharks would be desperate to win the division in order to play whichever beat up team survives the train wreck that will be the last couple weeks of the season. Also could you picture a first round match up between the Flames and Oilers or Canucks? Let the hate flow! I'm going to go homer and let Calgary escape the Pacific in this case.
So we end up with the Lightning and Islanders vying for the Eastern Conference and a meeting in the Western Conference between the Jets and Flames. Both of which should be a lot of fun and lead us to a Lightning/Islanders vs Flames/Jets Stanley Cup Final. All of these match ups could be very compelling and great hockey which is what we want and whoever wins would have unquestionably earned it, and the playoffs and hunt to get in would lead to some more great rivalries that is only great for the league!
So that's my case for the NHL to adopt the Divisional playoff format once they get to 32 teams. 20 teams will get in every year so there should be hope in every market every year that your team might just squeeze in and as we all know once you have a chip and a chair in the dance anything can happen!
Have a good one! Also feel free to leave a comment here to share your ideas and you can always follow me on twitter @ShaneHoopfer