Recent rumors of impending NHL expansion are getting attention this summer. Prognosticators and league insiders seem to agree that Atlanta and either Houston or Austin are the likely frontrunners for new franchises. If a new club lands anywhere in Texas, that would put themsquarely in the Central Divisionalongside the Colorado Avalanche.
The division is already jam-packed. Each of the four divisions are home to eight clubs at the current construction. This also means that adding just one would imbalance the Western or Eastern Conference.
Thus announcing two franchises at once seems to be the fair move. While organizing the hypothetical fallout from a potential 34 team NHL seems like a discussion worthy of its own article; I will hold off on that topic for now, Since we don’t have the clubs confirmed, I’ll save myself the headache that comes with flight-time calculations for figuring equitable scheduling.
What really raised my eyebrow at expansion talk is the possibility that it could be the ideal time to consider overhauling the playoff format.
1v8 seeding is the way forward
The current division-centric system is unpopular and stale. In fact, in a fan survey conducted by The Athletic (subscription required), fans were split on if expansion was a good idea. When asked what single change they would make if granted commissioner power for a day, one answer was overwhelming. The fans want the old playoff format back!
Sadly, it seems the one person who disagrees is commissioner Gary Bettman. Bettman is technically the only commissioner in NHL history, since before his appointment to the post in 1993, they had Presidents. Those semantics aside, Bettman has held the position for over 30 years at this point.
It’s fair to say that Bettman’s tenure as a top decision-maker in hockey has been a success. The game has grown under his stewardship exponentially. But the one blunder that sticks out like a sore thumb is fiddling with postseason format.
The major change came in 2013-14, also with conference realignment. So you can perhaps see why a major shakeup is the perfect time to revisit such a big question. The long history of minor changescan be viewed on the league’s official site.
In the current format where division is prioritized, the condensed 1-4 brackets greatly disadvantage teams if they don’t finish first-overall in their conference. My colleague Nestor broke down why this is bad earlier this year.
The argument for the current format is based on a faulty premise. Or, at best, one that is half-baked. Bettman insists that keeping the majority of early matchups within divisions promotes meaningful rivalries. That might be true to an extent, since familiaritiy breeds a kind of animosity. But it also guarantees higher seeds are eliminated sooner.
Switching back to a traditional 1v8 seeding system would clearly reward teams for consistency in a gruelling regular season schedule. A regular season that I will add, is about to tack on two more games, from 82 to 84. Another minor change that cuts an already short preseason by the two corresponding matchups.
As it is now, you have maybe three clubs per conference who have a chance to realistically aim for a top seed. As the season progresses, even more teams fall away from that hope. What this means in practice is that most teams end up planning for their middle-ground seeding early.
Yes, maybe you eye a division rival extra close, as you can narrow down opponents easily. But shouldn’t a real three seed have more advantage built-in? In a traditional bracket, a 3 seed is desired and comes with at least one series with home-ice advantage. Right now, in the NHL, it’s maybe the last position you want. Not only does it designate you a first round matchup with disadvantage, it sets you up to for a probable top opponent the following round as well.
The current system actively hurts the best divisions by design. In cases like last season, where Colorado, Dallas and Minnesota all represent the same division, it guaranteed a first-round exit for at least one.
Sure, I enjoyed that last year. But even at my most petty, I can see why such a circumstance was bad for hockey at large. The truth is that staying with the present format produces repeat matchups that often produce repeat results.
Rivalries are at their most intense the later they occur in the postseason. This is so obvoious I shouldn’t have to write it out. The league knew they were killing an all-time rivalry when they moved Detroit to the Eastern Conference in the realignment. Heck, that was probably a major consideration when they came up with this division reliant model in the first place.
The old Avalanche vs Red Wings rivalry is a perfect example of my point. The clubs met six times in postseason series. The Avalanche won two out of three times they matched up in the semifinals. Colorado unfortunately lost two out of three times they met in the Conference Finals. Even though the Avalanche lost twice in the later round, few fans would quibble about which series meant more in the moment.
Simply put, the best rivilaries flourish in the later rounds. Having the feeling that the second roundis everything to a fanbase is flat out weird. That is precisely the mindset Avalanche fans have been living with during this current era.
Obviously, Colorado’s exit against Vegas belies that thinking for shortsightedness. Even so, I do believe it is a fair assessment of how actual players saw their situation. Cale Makar didn’t mince words when he spoke about the playoff system candidly in 2025.
Playoff hockey is incredible entertainment, that much is beyond dispute. It will continue to be amazing television, even in a stunted format. Every year it seems there is this narrative of new fans ‘discovering’ that playoff hockey rules. There was an advertising campaign around this idea in 2026.
But wouldn’t it be better if the league put stock into the idea that the best matchups should be built towards in the latest possible rounds? You know, just like every other sport does it. The fans want it. The vast majority of players agree.
It seems the lone holdout is Bettman. If hockey fans have any hope of seeing a change, the coming expansion is the perfect moment to fix the game’s most annoying flaw.
