New Playoff Format

[danlaurin]

Published on Feb 15, 2020


Winners of each division get the #1 & #2 seeds, the remaining slots go to highest points no matter of what division. Semis played on Saturday, the next day (Sunday) #1 seed chooses which team to play in the finals between the winners of the semis.

[Hugoagogo]

Re: New Playoff Format

I was under the impression this was a proposal and still not locked in??? Perhaps I got incorrect info.
Personally, unless there is a balanced schedule, I'm not a fan of rewarding a team that could very easily have a less demanding schedule against lesser division opponents (looking at you East Division)
I think this is a gimmick that doesn't need to be implemented.
Just my two cents.

[Deathsdoorstep]

Re: New Playoff Format

The schedules are exactly the same for 16 of 18 games. Just do away with the divisions altogether and the top 6 are in. They'll never do that, though. It makes too much sense.

[boydo]

Re: New Playoff Format

I'm all for the one division and the top six getting a playoff spot. Agreed it does make a lot of sense, and won't happen until the 10th team is in place.

[nafnikufesin]

Re: New Playoff Format

Yeah, 10 teams, home and home against every team, one division. Maybe this proposed format is a step towards that in preparation for a Maritimes team?

[Moon1]

Re: New Playoff Format

tinker tinker tinker tinker .... snap
oops

[bone]

Re: New Playoff Format

I was under the impression this was a proposal and still not locked in??? Perhaps I got incorrect info.
Personally, unless there is a balanced schedule, I'm not a fan of rewarding a team that could very easily have a less demanding schedule against lesser division opponents (looking at you East Division)
I think this is a gimmick that doesn't need to be implemented.
Just my two cents.

The schedule is already pretty balanced. Every team in the league plays exactly 8 games vs. the East and 10 games vs. the West. Every team plays each other twice with the two extra games being against a local (divisional) rival. Is there a bit of imbalance, sure, but it's a lot less than people have argued. I'd argue on average the best East teams only get see about a one win advantage as a result of that small imbalance.

For me, any format that lessens the chance of getting a better playoff position with a lesser record is welcome.

Not sure I like the choose your opponent part, but small price to pay to stop the current imbalance in playoff opposition in the semi-finals. It's likely a much lesser issue with only the divisional leader getting through as there is usually at least one genuinely good team in the east.

PS. I'm a huge fan of trying the Saturday option for the semi-final. Improves chances for people to travel to games. Can help create a more engaged in stadium experience knowing many of the attendees aren't working the next day. It may prove to not be of much help, but I suspect after a couple years, they may even move the Finals to Saturdays.