The NHL got exactly what it wanted with the second round of this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs. Each of the four second round series is a de facto division championship, which is what they were aiming for when they introduced this format. A format that virtually everyone agrees is stupid, but the NHL is (stubbornly) in no hurry to change.
As a result of this idiotic format, we're going to see one of the top two teams in each conference eliminated in this round. Why? Because Tampa Bay and Boston, the two best teams in the East, are in the same division. So are Nashville and Winnipeg, the two best teams in the West. This is the third straight year in which this has happened, after Washington and Pittsburgh were in the same situation twice in a row.
There was an article on ESPN.com where an NHL executive was quoted as saying this is an "anomaly." If it was once or twice, fine, you can chalk it up to an anomaly. But three years in a row, with it affecting both conferences this year? That's more than an anomaly!
Among the many problems with the NHL's division-based format that the league conveniently chooses to ignore is the fact that not all of the divisions are equal. This is especially true in the East, where the Metropolitan is significantly stronger than the Atlantic. We knew at the All-Star Break that Tampa Bay, Boston and Toronto were all going to make the playoffs because they were so far ahead of the other Atlantic teams. Meanwhile, the Met was a dogfight until the end. And, just to show the divisions' strength relative to each other, the last-place Rangers finished ahead of four Atlantic teams in the overall Eastern Conference standings.
It's even worse in the NHL. Nashville and Winnipeg were the two best teams in hockey this season. The Predators won the President's Trophy with 117 points. The Jets had 114. Sure, it's rare that the two best teams in the league play in the same division. But it's also completely asinine that being in the same division trumps being the two best teams. The two best teams should meet in the Conference Finals. Not in the second round.
So many people hate this format, but the owners don't, so it's not a priority for them. As a result, we're stuck with it for at least two more seasons. But count the players among those who dislike the format. The NHLPA would like to see it changed, and they're hoping they can get it to coincide with Seattle's entry into the league (whenever that may be).
Contrast that to the NBA, where they flat out ignore divisions when it comes to playoff seeding. The top three seeds in the East this season are Toronto, Boston and Philadelphia, who all play in the Atlantic Division. Miami, meanwhile, won the Southeast and was only No. 6. I'm not sure if they actually implemented this rule or not, but I remember Adam Silver talking a year or so ago about not even guaranteeing division winners a playoff berth.
In the NBA, it's been this way in one shape or another for the last few years. I think it was probably around 10 years ago when San Antonio and Dallas were both really good and they ended up playing in the second round because the Mavericks were the 4-seed since they didn't win the division. The next year they changed the rule that division winners were only guaranteed a top four seed, but could be displaced by a second-place team with a better record. Which I think is the format they used until the current one.
I'm not saying the NBA's format is perfect. I didn't think they needed to get away from the old format, and I think there needs to be some sort of tangible benefit for winning your division (even if it's a crappy one). In football, division winners get a home game. In baseball, they avoid the one-game playoff. In basketball, they get nothing. That doesn't seem right.
Now, the set bracket and three-division set up are the real culprits in the NBA. With six divisions, there's likely going to be a bad one, which means there's probably going to be a second-place finisher with a better record than a division winner. So, I kinda get the NBA's thought process. But I don't like the idea of winning your division being essentially meaningless. There has to be some sort of compromise. Maybe it's reseeding the way the NFL does and the way the NHL used to.
At least the NBA is proactive about "problems" with its playoff format, even if they are anomalies (which, in the NBA's case, I think they were). And, this year, it worked out for them. Because the three Atlantic Division teams that got the top three seeds all won their first-round series. Whereas if they gave the division winners the 1-, 2- and 3-seeds, Boston-Philadelphia would've been in the first round instead of the second.
This year, the top two teams in the NBA's Eastern Conference happened to be the Raptors and Celtics, who both play in the same division. To the league, that's important, so they figured out a way to have the two best teams avoid facing each other until the Conference Finals at the earliest. If only the NHL could do the same...
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