A Change To The Format

As a die hard hockey fan, I always hear of the league and players association talking of ways to grow the game especially in the states.  These ideas have ranged over the years from shoot outs, bigger nets, areas where the goalies can’t play the pucks, etc.  Some of these ideas have been put in place and some have been thrown on the scrap heap where they belong. I think the focus of the NHL is in the wrong place.  The game of hockey is fine in its current state.  The outdoor games have been a great success but you can only ride that momentum for so long.  So how do you grown the game? I believe you can grow it from within the fan base you have and also add potential new casual fans by changing the structure of the NHL playoffs.  The change I would make is allow the top 16 teams in the playoffs.  This would allow for the regular season to be more significant then it already does and instead of just battling with your division or conference it would be a league wide battle.  For this little exercise I kept the 6 division winners occupying the top positions and the put teams in order of points and this is what we would have seen;

1) Washington Capitals vs. 16) Calgary Flames - 2) San Jose Sharks vs. 15) St. Louis Blues

3) Chicago Blackhawks vs. 14) Boston Bruins - 4)Vancouver Canucks vs. 13) Ottawa Senators

5) New Jersey Devils vs. 12) Colorado Avalanche - 6)Buffalo Sabres vs. 11) Nashville Predators

7) Phoenix Coyotes vs. 10) Los Angeles Kings  - 8)Detroit Red Wings vs. 9) Pittsburgh Penguins   

This to me as a hockey fan would have been very interesting. Other than the fact of seeing some teams that have never played each other in the playoffs there were some interesting match ups.  For starters one original 6 match up, one all Canadian series that is from opposite conferences, a match up of the last two Stanley Cup finals, and six west conference vs. east conference match-ups.  Other than these first round match ups if this was implemented some very interesting scenarios could play out.  The most intriguing out come of this is not the first round series, it is the potential match-ups that could take place in the finals.  First the big cash cow the league would like to see and a match up that would get some ratings (even in the states) Sid vs. OV.  This would get the NHL as much exposure as possible and be very interesting to the die hard and casual fan.  For the old school fans what about a Montreal vs. Toronto final. A couple of series that would brew up interest in the states how about a  Detroit vs. Colorado final or a battle of New York with the Isles and Rangers. Now for us in this province what about a battle of Alberta to hoist the cup.  There are many more interesting series but the picture has been painted.  Other that the interesting first round and final match-ups that have been presented the new potential rivalries and increased emphasis on the regular season could generate interest.  One more interesting fact that I almost overlooked two teams from the east would not have made the playoffs. The Montreal Canadiens and the Philadelphia Flyers.  The St. Louis Blues and the Calgary Flames finished the regular season with more points that both of these team. This is very interesting because of the east finals this year because these are the two teams vying to play for the cup.  

Also there are some obstacles that would have to be ironed out such as; added travel (especially for the east), balance of schedule, etc.  I believe there are solutions for those issues but those are for another day.  In conclusion I believe that adjusting the playoffs to this format is something the league should consider and if not it makes for some great debate

Martin Bozek