Comments on: Realignment fever!: Better or worse?

By: dumbassdoorman

dumbassdoorman — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:55:39 +0000

What would anyone think of doing a 1-16 type bracket system? This would allow for dream Stanley Cup possibilites.

By: mojo19

mojo19 — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:04:17 +0000

true! Re-seed after the 1st round to allow for any possible Stanley Cup final. That's the best idea I've heard yet.

By: Steven_Leafs

Steven_Leafs — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:34:02 +0000

I know they want less travel in the playoffs but why not just re-seed after the first round. Give the NHL a chance for any Stanley Cup championship. The NHL is already going to have 2 rounds with a lot of travel anyway, just make it 3.

By: Steven_Leafs

Steven_Leafs — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:26:07 +0000

yes although there will be one team making the playoffs with less points than a team in another conference who misses the playoffs, it wont be as bad back in the early 90s. Back then only 1-2 teams per conference missed the playoffs, now we have 3-4. I don't think this is a big deal anyway, we do this now with our 2 conference system.

By: leafmeister

leafmeister — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:19:11 +0000

It may be a situation of just waiting until Chara retires, or cloning Kessel. (Bobby Ryan anyone?)

By: mojo19

mojo19 — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:33:35 +0000

i get why people don't like the new system.

This leaves for a potentially strong division with 5, 6, maybe even 7 playoff worth teams on any given year, but only 4 of them can make it. Meanwhile, there's a weak division with only 1 or 2 playoff worthy teams, and 2 or 3 shitty teams get to make it.

In theory, the perfect system would be to have no divisions/conferences. 1 big 30 team league, the top 16 teams make the playoffs. No "strong conference" teams getting F-'d over in that case.

But on the flip side, this puts so much more emphasis on the importance of divisional games. It adds so much more excitement when you play a team within your own conference in the regular season because those points are so much more valuable, and there is so much at stake. For this reason, I really dig the new system. It will be a new world of rivalries. Now hopefully the Leafs can solve this Bruins situation, haha.

By: TheOnlyIslesFan

TheOnlyIslesFan — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 21:30:26 +0000

Joel I'm not sure how old you are but this format is going back to the old school format before Bettman I like the four conference idea and in fact I have already picked out the names for them.

The Adams Conference

The Patrick Conference

The Norris Conference

The Smythe Conference

Let's be honest the old playoff seeding system was flawed from the beginning I couldn't stand as a fan sitting back and seeing Carolina or Washington make the playoffs with home ice advantage with 80 points when there were teams missing the playoffs with nrealy 90 points,

Yes this will still happen with the new system but this does take the game back to the glory days of the 80's...let me show you what a typical NHL season looked like with 21 teams and the standings.

we'll use the 90-91 NHL Season as a prime example.

The Hartford Whalers finished the 91-92 Season with 65 points and this terrible season earned them a trip to the first round of the playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens - while two teams in the Patrick division had more points and better records and finished out of the playoffs in the Islanders with 79 and the Flyers with 75 points.

It is what it is - and this happened on a fairly regular basis, I personally think this is the best move Bettman has introduced for Hockey...we'll see though I can't wait to see how a team in Miami fits in the North East but hey...