NHL fans are tired of first-round reruns. Is it time to repair the league's broken playoff system?

It's playoff season in the NHL—so roll out the usual soundtrack: Leafs vs Bruins. Kings vs Oilers. Forever and ever again.

What is supposed to be the most thrilling run of the hockey schedule has started to resemble a rerun festival on sports television. And viewers are taking notice. So are players. And they are alle hungry for a different act.

How did the NHL playoffs become so predictable?


To see how we wound up stuck in this loop, flash back to 2014. That's when the NHL re-organized its divisional alignment and playoff system. The idea? Reduce travel, enhance TV matchmaking, and make rivalries stronger by ensuring divisional rivals meet more frequently.

This is how it works today:

• The first three teams in each division qualify outright.
  
• Two wild-card spots are awarded to the next-best two teams in each conference (without regard to division).
  
• In Round 1, division winners face a wild card team, and the second- and third-place teams in each division face off against each other.
  
• Sounds fine in theory—until you consider that this format promises repeat matchups
  

“Stupidest thing ever”— NHL players don't hold back

As early as 2017, Washington's Daniel Winnik blasted the format: "It's the stupidest thing ever." He, along with many others, liked the old-fashioned 1-through-8 system: straightforward, equitable, and solely based on regular-season points. No division gimmicks. Just the best against the rest.

And while NHL commissioner Gary Bettman still stands by the current format, saying it creates drama and creates ‘play-in’ intensity, fans on Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) are tired.

One Reddit user put it bluntly: “Anybody else hate the divisional format?” The top comment? “Pretty sure literally everyone does.”

The rivalry argument doesn't hold up anymore

Gary Bettman's initial argument was that divisional playoffs would create rivalries. But can something really be a rivalry if it occurs on repeat, with little drama?

The Maple Leafs, for instance, have faced either Boston or Tampa Bay in the first round five times since 2018. It's a nightmare for fans hoping for something different. Predictability has taken over excitement. Rivalries are meant to build, not fizzle out.

As Winnipeg forward Gabriel Vilardi explained, “You can’t make rivalries. They just happen naturally.”

Would the 3-2-1 points system save the playoffs?

Some suggest the NHL's actual issue lies in its points system for the regular season. As it now stands:

• 2 points for a win (any type),
  
• 1 point for an overtime/shootout loss,
  
• 0 for a regulation loss.
  

The proposed 3-2-1 system employed recently in the Four Nations Tournament rewards:

• 3 points for a regulation win,
  
• 2 for an OT/SO win,
  
• 1 for an OT/SO loss,
  
• 0 for a regulation loss.
  

That would reward teams for finishing games in 60 minutes—and possibly shake up standings.

But would it change the matchups? Maybe not. In simulations, Edmonton and LA still end up facing each other. Toronto wouldn’t draw Ottawa, as it does this year, but… Tampa again. So even if the math changed, the problem would persist.

What if we got something new this year?

Despite the stale packaging, there is a spark of new hope in this year's bracket. Some are calling for a Toronto vs. Winnipeg Stanley Cup Final—a battle that would end Canada's 35-year Cup drought. It'd be a battle of storyline vs nerves.

And yet… this is the NHL. Good sports have no scripts. When the bracket is a spoiler, everybody loses. The sole real rivalry now is fans versus the playoff format.

Also read: 2025 NHL Playoffs: Winnipeg Jets ticket guide, full schedule, and key matchups for Stanley Cup run

Would you like a 1-to-8 playoff seeding? Or do you enjoy divisional rivalries in the first round?