The NHL should expand the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Just reading that sentence will get blood pressure rising for some people in the hockey community. It can be a pretty controversial topic.
This season, with a glut of mediocre teams vying for two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, has helped a simple anti-playoff expansion argument gain hold in the NHL. There are not more than 16 teams that deserve to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
That argument is correct. This season, there aren’t even 16 teams, honestly. This isn’t about which teams or how many deserve to make the playoffs. This is about taking the best playoff format in North American pro sports and making it a little better, just like the NBA did.
For the non-NBA fans, here is how its play-in format works:
• No. 8 plays at No. 7, winner gets the seventh seed
• No. 10 plays at No. 9 play, loser goes home
• The winner of 9-10 plays at the loser of 7-8, winner gets the eighth seed
Here are the logistics: The NBA regular season ends Sunday, then the play-in tournament games are on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, with the regular playoffs starting on Saturday.
The top six teams in each conference get a few extra days of rest. The top two teams get to play teams that did not rest.
This adds four win-or-go-home games to the schedule, plus two “win to avoid an elimination game” contests as well. It’s proven to be a great appetizer to kick off the playoffs.
The drama those games have provided in the NBA has been excellent, and this season is likely going to be the best play-in tournament yet. With one day remaining in the NBA’s regular season, we know the Lakers, Warriors and Heat will all be in the play-in tournament, and the 76ers might be as well. The ratings are going to be big, and the NBA is going to own the sports news cycle for three nights.
Why should the NHL do this? It’s one of the rare adjustments a pro sports league has made in recent history that was both a benefit to its fans and the league’s collective bottom line. Most things like this these days are solely about the latter. It probably was for the NBA, but a collateral benefit has been great games for the fans to watch, and some added intrigue throughout the regular season.
There will be great drama on the last day of the NBA regular season, as the 76ers try to avoid the play-in tournament, and the top seed is up for grabs in the West in a three-team fight. Finishing in the top six is now a much bigger deal than it was. Getting a top-two seed is more important than it used to be. There are added stakes for several teams in the regular season.
While others have used the mediocrity of the playoff chase in the East this season as a reason why the NHL shouldn’t expand, the teams involved are a great example of why adopting an NBA-style play-in tournament would work.
Given the way the current NHL playoff format works — moving back to just seeding teams 1-8 should happen yesterday but that’s a journal for another day — the fight for the third spot in the Metropolitan Division would be much more significant. That team would avoid the play-in tournament.
A lot can still change in the final week, but let’s just use the current standings. Here’s what the NHL’s play-in tournament would look like:
In the East …
• No. 8 Pittsburgh at No. 7 Tampa Bay
• No. 10 Detroit at No. 9 Washington
In the West …
• No. 8 Vegas at No. 7 Nashville
• No. 10 Minnesota at No. 9 St. Louis
Those 7-8 games would be outstanding. One of the 9-10 involves Alex Ovechkin and Patrick Kane.
We could get Ovechkin versus Sidney Crosby in a winner-take-all showdown. We could get the defending champions in an elimination game. The ratings would be great. The drama would be excellent.
Did you catch a common theme between the two leagues this season? We’ve mentioned the Lakers, Warriors, Penguins, Capitals and Lightning all being teams in the 7-10 range of their respective conferences.
There’s one more added benefit to a play-in tournament: High-stakes games for waning superpowers. Maybe the Lightning or Penguins would pull off an upset in the first round, but way more often than not those teams in the 7-8 range do not.
NBA fans are going to get to see LeBron James and Stephen Curry, potentially against each other, in what could be the last mega-important games on a big stage of their careers. The NHL is getting to that point with Crosby and Ovechkin as well.
Look beyond who deserves to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This is about rewarding the top six teams in each conference, while manufacturing a reason for casual fans to tune in and getting everyone amped for the regular playoffs. It can help improve the regular season as well.
Maybe the NHL doesn’t want to just copy the NBA’s idea. If that’s the case, it’s too bad because it was a good idea that has become a great one after being implemented.
It could be a great one for the NHL as well.
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