Divisions

[Penguinsfanatic 0]

I don't know if this has been discussed I searched and don't know if I missed it or what but here it goes...

Does anyone else think that the NHL is in dire need to redraft their divisions? Everyone and their brother knows that the Southwest division is the weakest division by far, and that it is unfair that they are always getting the number 3 seed year after year in the playoffs. I think the NHL should bring back 2 divisions for every conference and the top 8 are seeded according to points make the playoffs, I just think its a bunch of shit that a team with well over 90 points could ultimately miss the playoffs because a divisional leader gets an automatic bid for the 1-3 seed. This problem was getting better the past couple of years with Tampa Bay and Carolina getting more competitive but the way things are going now it seems like it is starting to take that turn to the way it used to be

[lee92 2]

I don't think re-arranging the divisions would work, as in a few years, the crap teams flip and become contenders. There's too much turnaround in the league now. It's not like there are teams who remain crap, year after year.

[Hidious 0]

I'd just get rid of the division leaders rule.

[Rustpot 1]

It's not like there are teams who remain crap, year after year.

That's funny. I think we could name several teams that haven't made playoff appearances in 4+ years.

[cxo 0]

We did already partly discuss that a weak division leader shouldn't be deserving of a #3 seeding, though they should still get a spot. I believe it was in the Caps 2007-08 thread. Not to mention that the divisions aren't really set to be even, they're simply geographically selected in the first place.

[Penguinsfanatic 0]

Florida, Phoenix, and L.A. just to hit on a couple. I know the divisions are strictly geographical but I just think that they should be divided equally so teams don't get screwed out of a playoff spot ya know

[cxo 0]

As much as I don't like the #3 seeding rule, I still don't think that very many teams get royally screwed on playoff spots. More than half of the teams qualify, so I don't think there's a ton of room for them to complain. You can be under .500 and make it.

[Krev 86]

Florida, Phoenix, and L.A. just to hit on a couple. I know the divisions are strictly geographical but I just think that they should be divided equally so teams don't get screwed out of a playoff spot ya know

St. Louis

[Penguinsfanatic 0]

you have to think that some of those teams that are the 3 seed should be around the 6, 7, or 8 seed in the playoffs and it would change who plays who ya know

[cxo 0]

you have to think that some of those teams that are the 3 seed should be around the 6, 7, or 8 seed in the playoffs and it would change who plays who ya know

Right, that's exactly thepoint I'm trying to make. Why give a weak team an easy first round? Make them work for it. I think it would only make later rounds better.

[lee92 2]

you have to think that some of those teams that are the 3 seed should be around the 6, 7, or 8 seed in the playoffs and it would change who plays who ya know

Right, that's exactly thepoint I'm trying to make. Why give a weak team an easy first round? Make them work for it. I think it would only make later rounds better.

It's not like top seeds are getting easy first rounds now though. How many times has an 8th seed upset and gone all the way? Calgary...Edmonton...Anyone can pull it off. I don't think the gap in talent from 1st to 8th is that great anymore, or at least that noticeable.

[chippa13 1844]

I don't know if this has been discussed I searched and don't know if I missed it or what but here it goes...

Does anyone else think that the NHL is in dire need to redraft their divisions? Everyone and their brother knows that the Southwest division is the weakest division by far, and that it is unfair that they are always getting the number 3 seed year after year in the playoffs. I think the NHL should bring back 2 divisions for every conference and the top 8 are seeded according to points make the playoffs, I just think its a bunch of shit that a team with well over 90 points could ultimately miss the playoffs because a divisional leader gets an automatic bid for the 1-3 seed. This problem was getting better the past couple of years with Tampa Bay and Carolina getting more competitive but the way things are going now it seems like it is starting to take that turn to the way it used to be

Did the NHL add a 7th division when I wasn't looking?

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

We did already partly discuss that a weak division leader shouldn't be deserving of a #3 seeding, though they should still get a spot. I believe it was in the Caps 2007-08 thread. Not to mention that the divisions aren't really set to be even, they're simply geographically selected in the first place.

But even thats all messed up.

Washington is closer to philly than pittsburgh by over 150 miles.

Nashville is closer to most of the southeast teams than washington is.

It's a pile of crap.

You go to the verizon center when they have a team from the old patrick division there, the pens, rags, flyers, there is always a full house and plenty of hatred aimed at the teams.

You come in for a florida game, whoop tee doo. At least you don't have to lineup for beers.

I think the caps really got shafted with the realignment of the divisions in terms of moving them out of divisions with historic rivalries, in both the playoffs and regular season.

When the NFL realigned they recognised the value in keeping rivals together, which is why Dallas play in the east.

The atmosphere at the caps games when it's the old teams is fantastic. I can't wait/hope for realignment again

[chippa13 1844]

We did already partly discuss that a weak division leader shouldn't be deserving of a #3 seeding, though they should still get a spot. I believe it was in the Caps 2007-08 thread. Not to mention that the divisions aren't really set to be even, they're simply geographically selected in the first place.

But even thats all messed up.

Washington is closer to philly than pittsburgh by over 150 miles.

Nashville is closer to most of the southeast teams than washington is.

It's a pile of crap.

You go to the verizon center when they have a team from the old patrick division there, the pens, rags, flyers, there is always a full house and plenty of hatred aimed at the teams.

You come in for a florida game, whoop tee doo. At least you don't have to lineup for beers.

I think the caps really got shafted with the realignment of the divisions in terms of moving them out of divisions with historic rivalries, in both the playoffs and regular season.

When the NFL realigned they recognised the value in keeping rivals together, which is why Dallas play in the east.

The atmosphere at the caps games when it's the old teams is fantastic. I can't wait/hope for realignment again

How is it messed up? The groupings have teams from an area lumped together. If you take Washington out of the Southeast then what team do you add to it? The regions have to be broken up somehow. Heck, you should be happy where the Caps are in the divisions, otherwise, they wouldn't have the chance they do at a good playoff position.

[avernus78 0]

It seems like the NHL followed the NFL on how to align each division. I remember one of the main reasons for the realignment of the NHL divisions was to save teams travel expenses. I think the way it's setup now is just fine.

How teams get selected for playoffs is probably the best way to select teams. No matter what process is used for playoff selection someone will not like it. Using the division winners for the top three seeds gives some sense of rivalry among each team inside that division. I would expect that the NHL wants this so people would come out to let's sayyyy a Nashville vs Columbus game.

[chippa13 1844]

Another point to remember, with the three divisions in each conference, it keeps more teams in the playoff hunt later into the season.

[Chadd 916]

We did already partly discuss that a weak division leader shouldn't be deserving of a #3 seeding, though they should still get a spot. I believe it was in the Caps 2007-08 thread. Not to mention that the divisions aren't really set to be even, they're simply geographically selected in the first place.

But even thats all messed up.

Washington is closer to philly than pittsburgh by over 150 miles.

Nashville is closer to most of the southeast teams than washington is.

It's a pile of crap.

You go to the verizon center when they have a team from the old patrick division there, the pens, rags, flyers, there is always a full house and plenty of hatred aimed at the teams.

You come in for a florida game, whoop tee doo. At least you don't have to lineup for beers.

I think the caps really got shafted with the realignment of the divisions in terms of moving them out of divisions with historic rivalries, in both the playoffs and regular season.

When the NFL realigned they recognised the value in keeping rivals together, which is why Dallas play in the east.

The atmosphere at the caps games when it's the old teams is fantastic. I can't wait/hope for realignment again

How is it messed up? The groupings have teams from an area lumped together. If you take Washington out of the Southeast then what team do you add to it? The regions have to be broken up somehow. Heck, you should be happy where the Caps are in the divisions, otherwise, they wouldn't have the chance they do at a good playoff position.

Had Pittsburgh not used the slot machine money to build a new arena and the team moved west it would have fixed a lot of the problems. Washington moves to the Atlantic, Nashville to the Southeast and the west changes would have been dependent upon where the Pens ended up.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

How is it messed up? The groupings have teams from an area lumped together. If you take Washington out of the Southeast then what team do you add to it? The regions have to be broken up somehow. Heck, you should be happy where the Caps are in the divisions, otherwise, they wouldn't have the chance they do at a good playoff position.

If the groupings from an area were lumped together, then Nashville would be in the southeast, seeing as how they are closer to all the other teams than Washington, and washington would be in the atlantic, since it is 150 miles closer to philly, new york, long island and newark than pittsburgh is.

I don't want the caps to be a winner because they are from a soft division.

It's the same as people saying "ovechkin is in the hart conversation since crosby went down"

I want ovechkin and the caps to win because they are the better team. Ovechkin was leading the league in goals and had more points than crosby before crosby went down, but now he will only win the hart because crosby was injured.

The caps can play any team in the league when they are on, but they are young so inconsistent, and played a terrible trap game with skill players before hanlon was fired.

Caps have the 6th best record in the league since they made the coaching change, they swept ottawa this year, the flyers last year, and I would love to see them in the atlantic.

[cxo 0]

It seems like the NHL followed the NFL on how to align each division. I remember one of the main reasons for the realignment of the NHL divisions was to save teams travel expenses. I think the way it's setup now is just fine.

How teams get selected for playoffs is probably the best way to select teams. No matter what process is used for playoff selection someone will not like it.

It's not like I don't understand why they use these seeding rules. I think it would really make the playoffs tougher if you didn't have a weaker team seeded high, playing a weaker team because they're properly seeded. I know this is all speculation really, as we'll never see it materialize, but I think it would have a real impact on the playoff competition if they tweaked the format.

[chippa13 1844]

How is it messed up? The groupings have teams from an area lumped together. If you take Washington out of the Southeast then what team do you add to it? The regions have to be broken up somehow. Heck, you should be happy where the Caps are in the divisions, otherwise, they wouldn't have the chance they do at a good playoff position.

If the groupings from an area were lumped together, then Nashville would be in the southeast, seeing as how they are closer to all the other teams than Washington, and washington would be in the atlantic, since it is 150 miles closer to philly, new york, long island and newark than pittsburgh is.

I don't want the caps to be a winner because they are from a soft division.

It's the same as people saying "ovechkin is in the hart conversation since crosby went down"

I want ovechkin and the caps to win because they are the better team. Ovechkin was leading the league in goals and had more points than crosby before crosby went down, but now he will only win the hart because crosby was injured.

The caps can play any team in the league when they are on, but they are young so inconsistent, and played a terrible trap game with skill players before hanlon was fired.

Caps have the 6th best record in the league since they made the coaching change, they swept ottawa this year, the flyers last year, and I would love to see them in the atlantic.

Were Nashville to be in the Southeast then the conferences wouldn't have an equal number of teams. What team gets bumped to the West? Putting Pittsburgh and Philly in the same division makes too much sense not to since they are in the same state and all.

It seems like the NHL followed the NFL on how to align each division. I remember one of the main reasons for the realignment of the NHL divisions was to save teams travel expenses. I think the way it's setup now is just fine.

How teams get selected for playoffs is probably the best way to select teams. No matter what process is used for playoff selection someone will not like it.

It's not like I don't understand why they use these seeding rules. I think it would really make the playoffs tougher if you didn't have a weaker team seeded high, playing a weaker team because they're properly seeded. I know this is all speculation really, as we'll never see it materialize, but I think it would have a real impact on the playoff competition if they tweaked the format.

The easiest tweak, all of the division leaders make the playoffs but the seedings are based on points.

[Chadd 916]

The easiest tweak, all of the division leaders make the playoffs but the seedings are based on points.

That's the only change I can see them making.

[avernus78 0]

The easiest tweak, all of the division leaders make the playoffs but the seedings are based on points.

That's the only change I can see them making.

Yeah that is a good idea. I guess automatically giving one, two and three seeds to division winners is not the best policy. That way it would keep competition strong inside the division and in the conference.

[cxo 0]

The easiest tweak, all of the division leaders make the playoffs but the seedings are based on points.

That's the only change I can see them making.

I doubt they ever will though. Doesn't seem like too many people are really complaining about it outside myself and the few others here anyway.

[Chadd 916]

The easiest tweak, all of the division leaders make the playoffs but the seedings are based on points.

That's the only change I can see them making.

I doubt they ever will though. Doesn't seem like too many people are really complaining about it outside myself and the few others here anyway.

Wait until the season is over, some poeple will complain. It happens every year, especially when the #3 advances but a lower seed with more points gets knocked out.

[mack 44]

My good ideas never come to fruition so it won't happen.

And if the Predators went to the SE that division would be even worse since it relies on mediocre teams fighting for a division title. It'd still have only one team coming out of it but without the 'tension' of a close division.