In a cruel twist of the NHL’s divisional playoff format, say goodbye to one of the three best teams in the league in the first round.
“I don’t think it was designed for this,” Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. “I don’t think it was intended for this to happen.”
The Blue Jackets, Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins could finish 1-2-3 in points, but because they all play in the Metropolitan Division, the second- and third-place teams will face off in the first round. It’s not the first time a loaded division has caused consternation about this playoff format – ask teams in the Central Division – but the groans are getting louder now with no end in sight.
“It’s stupid. It’s the stupidest thing ever,” Capitals forward Daniel Winnik said. “It doesn’t work. It doesn’t make sense.”
The NHL adopted this format four years ago where the top three teams make it in each division and two wild cards from each conference, a throwback to 1981-82 to 1992-93 when the playoffs included four teams from each division needing to go through each other to advance. From 1993-94 through 2013, the Eastern and Western Conferences teams were ranked 1-8 and re-seeded each round to reward regular-season success.