My radical playoff format idea

[DredJAw]

I discussed this with a friend and we thought it was pretty interesting.

Let's say we stuck with the top 8 format. Why not let the first seed PICK their opponent? You want to talk about rivalry? This would INSTANTLY fuel one. On the spot.

"Hey, we're the Bruins, we're the first place team... even though the Leafs finished 5th in the East, we own them. We spit them out. WE WANT THEM."

It gives the first place team an 'additional' advantage because they pick.

ALSO! Sometimes the 1st place team gets stuck playing the 8th place team who has been on FIRE the last month of the season just to make the playoffs. They literally won 9 of 10 to make the playoffs, are firing on all cylanders, etc. But here we have the 7th place team who has lost 5 of 6, and have an injury to a key player. Here the reward for finishing 1st is to play the hottest team in the NHL!?! Instead of the falling 7th seed?


Again, you want to create instantly rivalry? You want bulletin board material? You want teams to hate each other before even playing 1 second? Allow the 1st place team to pick their opponent, then the 2nd place, etc, etc.


Imagine having a 'pick em' show where all the playoff GM's are in a room and they announce, 1 by 1, who they want to play? That would be MUST SEE TV. You'd have non-hockey fans tunning in to see who, for example, the Bruins select they want to play. Picture all the GM's in a room.

"The Boston Bruins select.... the Toronto Maple Leafs as their first round opponent."

People LOVE how in Boxing and UFC they call out their opponents. This is the same thing.

There is very little, if any, downside to this. Instant "eff yous" heard around the league

 

[hederman]

You're basically giving the tops seeds an even easier ride to the finals than they already have. One thing I like about sports is the underdog aspect and this kind of ruins it.

Many new rivalries are created IN the playoffs, they shouldn't be created FOR the playoffs.

 

[DredJAw]

You're basically giving the tops seeds an even easier ride to the finals than they already have. One thing I like about sports is the underdog aspect and this kind of ruins it.

I don't think this does that at all.

If in my example the Bruins selected the Leafs, they technically are playing the harder team. You know, 5th seed (Leafs) as opposed to 8th seed.

Well, basically, any time the first seed selects someone other than the 8th seed, they would be playing a team who, in 82 games, has established a gap where as they are considered "better" than the 8th place team (know what I'm trying to say?).

 

[27Leafs27]

This rewards the top seeds for their efforts to finish first. Makes the regular season mean a helluva lot more in my opinion. The underdogs just have to fight that much harder. There will almost always be that team that fight and claws it's way up the ladder, no mater the format.
Ernie for commissioner, I love this idea.
Dan.

 

[hederman]

I don't think this does that at all.

If in my example the Bruins selected the Leafs, they technically are playing the harder team. You know, 5th seed (Leafs) as opposed to 8th seed.

Well, basically, any time the first seed selects someone other than the 8th seed, they would be playing a team who, in 82 games, has established a gap where as they are considered "better" than the 8th place team (know what I'm trying to say?).

Unless, the Leafs are one of the hottest teams in the league going into the playoffs, then the Bruins won't pick them regardless of how badly they beat them in the regular season. I don't think top teams would choose rivals, they will choose the perceived weakest team such as the ones who have been losing lately or have injuries.

Hypothetical: Let's say Boston finishes 1st and Florida finishes 5rd, BUT Weiss or Fleischmann are injured and they've lost 5 of their last 6. Do you really think Boston would pass that up? Is it fair for Florida to have to play the top seed in the first round when they finished that high?

If were going to start making seeding this arbitrary then just do away with the playoff system, take the top two seeds from each conference and have a final four.

 

[Wickabee]

I'm with Hederman on this. I think anything that puts a decision like that in the hands of a few teams instead of in league rules is a bad thing.
It is an interesting "outside-the-box" idea though.

 

[troyjk]

I think it is a cool idea... you know there would be a few teams out there who would pick a high seeded team that they consider their beggest threat. So if they had the chance to knock them out in the first round they would go for it. Neat idea anyway.

 

[gretzky99]

i like it a lot. the regular season is 82 games long - in my opinion you can't give enough of an advantage to teams that finish at the top of the league. too many times a team gets in on the last day playing great hockey and they knock out a high seed. it's far too random and more than a few times it was a disadvantage to finish higher in the standings.

and then talk about tension rising before a series. if there is ever a way to make the playoffs even more intense this would be it.

I discussed this with a friend and we thought it was pretty interesting.

Let's say we stuck with the top 8 format. Why not let the first seed PICK their opponent? You want to talk about rivalry? This would INSTANTLY fuel one. On the spot.

"Hey, we're the Bruins, we're the first place team... even though the Leafs finished 5th in the East, we own them. We spit them out. WE WANT THEM."

It gives the first place team an 'additional' advantage because they pick.

ALSO! Sometimes the 1st place team gets stuck playing the 8th place team who has been on FIRE the last month of the season just to make the playoffs. They literally won 9 of 10 to make the playoffs, are firing on all cylanders, etc. But here we have the 7th place team who has lost 5 of 6, and have an injury to a key player. Here the reward for finishing 1st is to play the hottest team in the NHL!?! Instead of the falling 7th seed?


Again, you want to create instantly rivalry? You want bulletin board material? You want teams to hate each other before even playing 1 second? Allow the 1st place team to pick their opponent, then the 2nd place, etc, etc.


Imagine having a 'pick em' show where all the playoff GM's are in a room and they announce, 1 by 1, who they want to play? That would be MUST SEE TV. You'd have non-hockey fans tunning in to see who, for example, the Bruins select they want to play. Picture all the GM's in a room.

"The Boston Bruins select.... the Toronto Maple Leafs as their first round opponent."

People LOVE how in Boxing and UFC they call out their opponents. This is the same thing.

There is very little, if any, downside to this. Instant "eff yous" heard around the league

 

[will-411]

There is not a single GM or team that would go for the idea. What do you do if you're the Bruins, you pick the Leafs, and you LOSE? Nothing like creating your own media coffin to try and dig out of...

No #1 seed should be scared of any 8 seed, no matter how they match up. It's a 7 game series, and if you can't beat a team in a 7 game series that finished 15 to 20 points below you, you shouldn't be in he playoffs.

Thinking on it reminds me of when I got to meet John Chabot, who was working with the Islanders at the time, just prior to John Tavares getting drafted... he said the team had no choice but to draft Tavares, because of the hype and expectations of the media. I see that happening with this... no #1 would pick anything but the 8th...

Sorry Ernie - I just can't see it having any legs, but I will give you the point that it would be as interesting as all heck to watch... doesn't hockey already have the most TV spectacles that don't involve actually playing the game?

Cory