The Minnesota Wild are almost assured a spot in the playoffs this season, but online betting odds have them as the least likely team to win the Stanley Cup. The reason they are the least likely team to win it all is because they are the 17th best team in the NHL right now.
With the Wild almost certain to make the postseason, NHL fans are wondering if the current playoff format needs to be changed to make it fair to all the teams in the league.
Right now, the format being used by the league takes the best eight teams from each conference to complete the playoff field of 16. Critics are calling for a change that will base the playoff teams on their record during the regular season instead of using the top eight teams from each conference. If that system was being used today, the Wild would be on the outside looking in.
The debate about the playoff format is one that has gone on for a while because some teams that deserve to be in the playoffs get left out. The NHL isn’t the only sports league affected by this, there have been similar complaints made by NFL and NBA fans.
One of the reasons that the format has stayed the same over the years is due to long standing rivalries between teams. The NHL is divided into the Eastern and Western Conference because having teams in the same geographical regions play against each other makes traveling easier, creating less fatigue for the players.
Cities like New York and Boston have rivalries that transcend sports, which also makes their playoff games against each other more compelling to watch than a game between New York and Phoenix. If the best 16 teams in the NHL make the playoffs every year, it will come at the expense of some of the greatest rivalries in the sport because the chances of a series between two rivals happening will decrease with the new format.
The other side of the coin in this debate is the current system will cost either the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, or Detroit Red Wings a chance to make the playoffs despite having better records than Minnesota. Red Wings fans have even more reason to be upset because their team’s 25-year playoff streak is in jeopardy of ending this year thanks to the current format being used.
While Red Wings fans have every reason to be upset that their playoff streak might come to an end due to a technicality, they should be more upset with their team for putting themselves in the situation they currently find themselves, which could have been avoided if they played better during the season.
So, what should the league do about the playoff system it currently uses? A 1-16 format has been discussed as an option in the past. They use it in the QMJHL and it made for some seriously one-sided first round series. In the end, the current format works.
Fans have grown to like the format used by the league because it the potential for rivalries adds a little intrigue and its more interesting watching your team play a team it has faced a few times during the regular season. It’s also seems fitting to have the two best teams from each conference playing each other in the Stanley Cup Finals at the end of the year.
