Ten days ago, Colorado Avalanche superstar Cale Makar spoke highly of players wanting the NHL to return to the 1-8 playoff format. After the 2013 playoffs, the NHL changed the playoff format.
From three divisions, to two divisions in each conference. The top three seeds in each conference would get a guaranteed playoff spot, then two Wild Card seeds remain. The old format was the top three seeds would be the division winners, then the 4-8 seeds were whichever team had the most points.
Since the playoff format changed, the Ottawa Senators have made the playoffs three times. The most memorable of the three was the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals appearance, which resulted in the heartbreaking seven-game series loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, if the playoff format wasn't changed, it could've been unsure if the Senators would've made the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals in the first place.
Would Senators really have made 2017 ECF if the playoff format wasn't changed?
Looking back at the NHL standings from 2017, the Senators finished with the sixth best record in the Eastern Conference with 98 points. If teams were to face each other in the playoffs based on points, and had the 1-8 format been by overall record, the Senators would've been matched up against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round.
A potential idea by some for a new playoff format if the 1-8 format was to return is to have the top two seeds in each conference be the division winners. Then, the 3-8 seeds are the teams with the highest point total.
If that was to be a potential 1-8 format back in the 2017 playoffs, the Senators wouldn't have matched up with the Blue Jackets in the first round. In 2017, the three best overall teams in the Eastern Conference were from the Metropolitan Division:
1. Washington Capitals (President's Trophy winner, 117 points)
2. Pittsburgh Penguins (111 points)
3. Columbus Blue Jackets (108 points)
The second seed would've been the Montreal Canadiens, who won the Atlantic Division with 103 points. Therefore, the Capitals would've been the first seed and the Canadiens would've been the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. So, who would've been the third seed and matched up against the Senators in the first round based on the standings then?
The Penguins.
The Senators-Penguins Eastern Conference Finals series was a classic with the series going to seven games. Two of the seven games went into overtime.
The Senators showed resiliency by winning Game 6 when they trailed the series 3-2 to force a Game 7 back in Pittsburgh. Game 7 resulted in heartbreak when Chris Kunitz scored in double overtime to send the Penguins to the Stanley Cup Finals, which the Penguins eventually won their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
However, if a 1-8 format was to happen in 2017 with the proposed idea mentioned earlier, the Senators' run to the Eastern Conference Finals may not have even happened. If fans were to ask about the old playoff format with the top three division winners making the playoffs, then the Blue Jackets may not have been an opponent, considering the Blue Jackets were in the Western Conference before the NHL realigned the divisions and playoff format.