Top four teams per conference seeded 1-4 in each conference - as the Count suggests.
Any 4th seed with less pts than any otherwise non-playoff team would host a one-game wild-card play-in game against the top ranked non-playoff team (regardless of conference). If more than one 4th seeds then there may be up to three of these games (ie #4 in the Smythe vs #5 in the Adams; #4 in the Norris vs #6 in the Adams; #4 in the Patrick vs #7 in the Adams - assuming that teams 5-7 in the Adams have more pts than the #4 in all three other conferences).
Should a 5th or subsequent placed team from another conference win their way into a conference's playoff bracket - the top team can select to play the #3-ranked team instead.
Finishing 4th in a conference gives you a minimum one guaranteed playoff game (the Wild-card) and the players get the potential for more revenue to be divided.
Wild-cards would not come into play every year but were the proposed conferences to be in place right now (typing as of the afternoon of Dec 6th) things would be as follows:
Adams Boston 35 Florida 34 Toronto 33 Buffalo 29 --- Ottawa 29 Montral 28 Tampa Bay 24
Patrick Pittsburg 36 NY Rangers 33 Philadelphia 33 Washington 27* --- New Jersey 27 NY Islanders 23 Carolina 20
Norris Minnesota 39 Chicago 36 Detroit 33 St. Louis 33 --- Dallas 31* Nashville 28 Winnepeg 20 Columbus 19
Smythe Vancouver 33 Phoenix 33 Los Angeles 30 San Jose 29 --- Edmonton 29 Colorado 27 Calgary 26 Anaheim 21
Washington hosts Dallas in Wild-Card. If Dallas wins, Pittsburg has option to play Philadelphia in first round.
the wild card idea is interesting...
ReplyDeleteI have a modified wild-card proposal as follow:
ReplyDeleteTop four teams per conference seeded 1-4 in each conference - as the Count suggests.
Any 4th seed with less pts than any otherwise non-playoff team would host a one-game wild-card play-in game against the top ranked non-playoff team (regardless of conference). If more than one 4th seeds then there may be up to three of these games (ie #4 in the Smythe vs #5 in the Adams; #4 in the Norris vs #6 in the Adams; #4 in the Patrick vs #7 in the Adams - assuming that teams 5-7 in the Adams have more pts than the #4 in all three other conferences).
Should a 5th or subsequent placed team from another conference win their way into a conference's playoff bracket - the top team can select to play the #3-ranked team instead.
Finishing 4th in a conference gives you a minimum one guaranteed playoff game (the Wild-card) and the players get the potential for more revenue to be divided.
Wild-cards would not come into play every year but were the proposed conferences to be in place right now (typing as of the afternoon of Dec 6th) things would be as follows:
Adams
Boston 35
Florida 34
Toronto 33
Buffalo 29
---
Ottawa 29
Montral 28
Tampa Bay 24
Patrick
Pittsburg 36
NY Rangers 33
Philadelphia 33
Washington 27*
---
New Jersey 27
NY Islanders 23
Carolina 20
Norris
Minnesota 39
Chicago 36
Detroit 33
St. Louis 33
---
Dallas 31*
Nashville 28
Winnepeg 20
Columbus 19
Smythe
Vancouver 33
Phoenix 33
Los Angeles 30
San Jose 29
---
Edmonton 29
Colorado 27
Calgary 26
Anaheim 21
Washington hosts Dallas in Wild-Card. If Dallas wins, Pittsburg has option to play Philadelphia in first round.