{"id":795070,"date":"2019-04-22T21:20:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-23T03:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/ap-cp-survey-48-percent-of-nhlpa-reps-favor-playoff-change\/"},"modified":"2019-04-22T21:20:00","modified_gmt":"2019-04-23T03:20:00","slug":"ap-cp-survey-48-percent-of-nhlpa-reps-favor-playoff-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/ap-cp-survey-48-percent-of-nhlpa-reps-favor-playoff-change\/","title":{"rendered":"AP\/CP Survey: 48 percent of NHLPA reps favor playoff change"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.756358768407\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-364818-422\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/Blue_Jackets_Lightning_Hockey_80643-ea0b7-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/Blue_Jackets_Lightning_Hockey_80643-ea0b7.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"AP | AP | Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Artemi Panarin (9) celebrates his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning with defenseman David Savard (58) during the third period of Game 2 of an NHL Eastern Conference first-round hockey playoff series Friday, April 12, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo\/Chris O'Meara)\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"9.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/Blue_Jackets_Lightning_Hockey_80643-ea0b7.jpg\" alt=\"Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Artemi Panarin (9) celebrates his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning with defenseman David Savard (58) during the third period of Game 2 of an NHL Eastern Conference first-round hockey playoff series Friday, April 12, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo\/Chris O'Meara)\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"14\">\n<p><strong>Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Artemi Panarin (9) celebrates his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning with defenseman David Savard (58) during the third period of Game 2 of an NHL Eastern Conference first-round hockey playoff series Friday, April 12, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo\/Chris O&#8217;Meara)<\/strong><br \/>AP | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/Blue_Jackets_Lightning_Hockey_80643-ea0b7-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/Blue_Jackets_Lightning_Hockey_80643-ea0b7-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"AP | AP | In this Oct. 1, 2013, photo, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith carries out the Stanley Cup during a banner raising ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Blackhawks and the Washington Capitals in Chicago. In an Associated Press and Canadian Press survey of player representatives from all 31 NHL teams, 48 percent favor changing the current divisional playoff format. (AP Photo\/Nam Y. Huh)\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"9.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/04\/Blue_Jackets_Lightning_Hockey_80643-ea0b7-1.jpg\" alt=\"In this Oct. 1, 2013, photo, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith carries out the Stanley Cup during a banner raising ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Blackhawks and the Washington Capitals in Chicago. In an Associated Press and Canadian Press survey of player representatives from all 31 NHL teams, 48 percent favor changing the current divisional playoff format. (AP Photo\/Nam Y. Huh)\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"14\">\n<p><strong>In this Oct. 1, 2013, photo, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith carries out the Stanley Cup during a banner raising ceremony before an NHL hockey game between the Blackhawks and the Washington Capitals in Chicago. In an Associated Press and Canadian Press survey of player representatives from all 31 NHL teams, 48 percent favor changing the current divisional playoff format. (AP Photo\/Nam Y. Huh)<\/strong><br \/>AP | AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/ap-cp-survey-48-percent-of-nhlpa-reps-favor-playoff-change\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/ap-cp-survey-48-percent-of-nhlpa-reps-favor-playoff-change\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Hockey players are conditioned to think that winning the Stanley Cup means going through the best teams to be the best team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">That doesn\u2019t mean they are blind to some of the inequalities of the NHL\u2019s current divisional playoff format. An Associated Press\/Canadian Press survey of NHLPA representatives from all 31 teams shows that almost half favor changing the format \u2014 and most support going back to seeding the Eastern and Western Conferences 1 through 8, the structure that was used from 1994-2013.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">This is the sixth playoffs where each division\u2019s top three teams and a wild card are bracketed together with no reseeding by round. A year ago, Nashville and Winnipeg finished first and second in the league in points and had to meet in the second round. The same thing happened with Washington and Pittsburgh in 2017.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s kind of tough the fact that a lot of good teams are going out first or second rounds,\u201d Columbus defenseman David Savard said. \u201cI think maybe we need to look back at maybe 1 against 8 and play that format.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Savard was among 15 players (48.4%) who said the divisional format should be changed. Seven (22.6%) said it should stay the same and the other nine (29%) were noncommittal. The players were surveyed March 7 through April 4, before the playoff matchups for this year were fully set.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The NHL went to back to a divisional structure similar to what it used from 1982-93 in large part to create or revive rivalries. Toronto and Boston are meeting in the first round for the second consecutive year, while the Capitals and Penguins met in the playoffs three times in a row.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">There is little doubt those teams dislike each other a lot more now than they did before this playoff format.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI think it\u2019s good for the rivalries,\u201d said New Jersey goaltender Cory Schneider, who supports the current format. \u201cI think it\u2019s good for the teams seeing each other year after year. You can cry what\u2019s fair or not fair, the two best teams meeting in the second round, but it\u2019s going to be great hockey one way or another. I think that\u2019s the best part about the playoffs is that it\u2019s a two-month gladiator event where everyone just beats the crap out of each other.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Presidents\u2019 Trophy winner Tampa Bay losing in the first round to eighth-seeded Columbus is more of a Lightning problem than a format problem. If the Lightning had gotten past the Blue Jackets, a potential second-round series against the Bruins would have guaranteed to knock out one of the top three teams in the league before the conference finals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Travel is the biggest concern among players when it comes to a playoff format, and it\u2019s much more of an issue in the spread-out West. Grouping by divisions is designed to limit those issues, but the wild-card system means a team like Nashville could have to face a team from California, Vancouver, Edmonton or Calgary in the first round if it lines up that way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe biggest issue is probably the travel for the Western Conference,\u201d said Predators defenseman Yannick Weber, who did not indicate a preference either way for changing the format. \u201cIf we have to go to California for each round and Eastern teams have a little bit of an easier schedule, I think that\u2019s the only downside from it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The most equitable format is seeding playoff teams 1 through 16, which the NHL tried in 1981 and 1982. The potential for cross-continent travel in each round is the biggest impediment to making that leap.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Southern Professional Hockey League has tested a \u201cchallenge round\u201d format where the top three seeds in each conference get to pick their first-round opponent from seeds 5-8. Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle suggested that for the NHL in a recent interview with Sportsnet in Canada.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A pick-your-opponent format would create plenty of bulletin-board material for lower-seeded teams. But in a sport where matchup advantages, injuries and momentum matter more than the results of an 82-game regular season, it could silence complaints that the current format devalues everything from October through March.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt almost gets to a point that the regular season doesn\u2019t really mean anything because you see those divisions, there\u2019s such a big difference between them,\u201d Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang said. \u201cIf you have to cross over and now you\u2019re facing an easier division because you\u2019re a wild card, doesn\u2019t seem to be fair for me. The whole regular season needs to have a bigger effect on the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">That\u2019s where the argument comes in that the NHL should move to a play-in system like baseball, perhaps where the Nos. 7 and 10 seeds and Nos. 8 and 9 seeds in each conference play once to see who gets in. That would theoretically give more of a boost to the top two teams in the East and West.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Colorado\u2019s Ian Cole, who played twice in the recent Penguins-Capitals playoff trilogy, supports the division rivalry format because it\u2019s doing what it intended: generate interest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe were actually talking about it the other day in the locker room: As much as you\u2019d like to see one through eight or one through 16, then you\u2019re having Calgary playing Florida, for instance, in the first round,\u201d Cole said. \u201cDoes that move the needle, as opposed to Boston versus Montreal, which certainly does move the needle?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">This format is locked in through at least next season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI think there was some good thought behind it and yeah, sure, there are going to be some divisions stronger than others,\u201d he said. \u201cSome teams are going to get left out because of that or get in because of that,\u201d Cole said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things that this is the current format and we work with it the best we can.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/news\/sports\/ap-cp-survey-48-percent-of-nhlpa-reps-favor-playoff-change\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Artemi Panarin (9) celebrates his goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning with defenseman David Savard (58) during the third period of Game 2 of an NHL Eastern Conference first-round hockey playoff series Friday, April 12, 2019, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo\/Chris O&#8217;Meara)AP | AP In this Oct. 1, 2013, photo, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-795070","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-14 19:43:27","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=795070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/795070\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=795070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=795070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=795070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}