What are peoples thoughts on the current playoff format?
Since the Flames have been a periodic participant since this new format was adopted and have never been in the thick of it for the division, I really didn't give too much thought to it. IMO though it definitely needs to be revisited and discussed.
Currently two divisions really see the short end of the stick (Pacific and Atlantic):
- Both Boston and Toronto (tiebreaker) are ahead of Washington but would have to face off against each other, while the Caps get WC1
- Both Calgary and San Jose are significantly ahead of Winnipeg but would have to face off against the Knights, while the Jets get WC1
Granted winning your division is important and they are trying to promote rivalries, so although I'm not a fan of this I can understand.
What really is terrible, from what I understand, is should the Flames/Sharks (whoever finishes 2nd) and Jets make it to the Western Conference Final, the Jets would have home ice despite potentially finishing 10 points behind. Correct me if I'm wrong?
The whole idea around creating wild card spots was to give teams who don't necessarily finish top 3 in the division equal opportunity to make the playoffs vs the opposing division. The last thing they wanted to see was a weaker team qualify over a stronger team just because they didn't play in the same division, yet they are awarding a division winner with home ice in the playoffs in a series against a team that ranked higher but didn't win their division
