If the 1-8 Conference Playoff Format Was Used Back Then
This is something I thought about when remembering the era of divisional playoff formats from 1982-1993, as well as the screwy playoff formats from 1975-1981 (preliminary rounds, 1-16)
Well, inspired by that, I decided to go a step further.
1974-75 was the first year the NHL instituted multiple divisions per conference- prior to this, from 1968-1974, you had an East and West Division.
1993-94 was the first year of the 'Top 8 teams per conference make playoffs.'
By looking at old NHL conference standings, I figured out how the Stanley Cup Playoffs would have been different from 1974-75 to 1992-93 if it was 1-8 per conference as opposed to divisional or preliminary formats.
One thing, BTW- I won't give the division winners automatic 2 seeds, for there were years when you had a very weak division champ (Smythe Division in 1970s, Norris Division in 1980s), and the idea of say, making a sub.500 1987 Blues team the 2 seed solely because they won the division would have been unfair.
This is solely on overall points, not involving divisions- and remember, this is only an experiment.
We start with 1974-75 to 1978-79, an era which had preliminary playoffs and division champs got first-round byes:
1974-75
Wales Conference
(1) Buffalo vs. (8) California
(2) Montreal vs. (7) Detroit
(3) Los Angeles vs. (6) Toronto
(4) Boston vs. (5) Pittsburgh
Campbell Conference
(1) Philadelphia vs. (8) Minnesota
(2) NY Rangers vs. (7) Chicago
(3) NY Islanders vs. (6) Atlanta
(4) Vancouver vs. (5) St. Louis
1975-76
Wales Conference
(1) Montreal vs. (8) Detroit
(2) Boston vs. (7) California
(3) Buffalo vs. (6) Pittsburgh
(4) Los Angeles vs. (5) Toronto
Campbell Conference
(1) Philadelphia vs. (8) Minnesota
(2) NY Islanders vs. (7) NY Rangers
(3) Atlanta vs. (6) St. Louis
(4) Chicago vs. (5) Vancouver
1976-77
Wales Conference
(1) Montreal vs. (8) Washington
(2) Boston vs. (7) Cleveland
(3) Buffalo vs. (6) Toronto
(4) Los Angeles vs. (5) Pittsburgh
Campbell Conference
(1) Philadelphia vs. (8) Vancouver
(2) NY Islanders vs. (7) Chicago
(3) Atlanta vs. (6) Minnesota
(4) St. Louis vs. (5) NY Rangers
1977-78
Wales Conference
(1) Montreal vs. (8) Cleveland
(2) Boston vs. (7) Pittsburgh
(3) Buffalo vs. (6) Los Angeles
(4) Toronto vs. (5) Detroit
Campbell Conference
(1) NY Islanders vs. (8) St. Louis
(2) Philadelphia vs. (7) Vancouver
(3) Atlanta vs. (6) Colorado
(4) Chicago vs. (5) NY Rangers
1978-79
Wales Conference
(1) Montreal vs. (8) Washington
(2) Boston vs. (7) Minnesota
(3) Buffalo vs. (6) Los Angeles
(4) Pittsburgh vs. (5) Toronto
Campbell Conference
(1) NY Islanders vs. (8) Colorado
(2) Philadelphia vs. (7) St. Louis
(3) NY Rangers vs. (6) Vancouver
(4) Atlanta vs. (5) Chicago
Now, we go into 1980 and 1981 and their brief 1-16 playoff format
1979-80
Wales Conference
(1) Buffalo vs. (8) Hartford
(2) Montreal vs. (7) Pittsburgh
(3) Boston vs. (6) Los Angeles
(4) Minnesota vs. (5) Toronto
Campbell Conference
(1) Philadelphia vs. (8) Edmonton
(2) NY Islanders vs. (7) Vancouver
(3) Chicago vs. (6) St. Louis
(4) NY Rangers vs. (5) Atlanta
1980-81
Wales Conference
(1) Montreal vs. (8) Toronto
(2) Los Angeles vs. (7) Pittsburgh
(3) Buffalo vs. (6) Quebec
(4) Boston vs. (5) Minnesota
Campbell Conference
(1) NY Islanders vs. (8) Edmonton
(2) St. Louis vs. (7) NY Rangers
(3) Philadelphia vs. (6) Vancouver
(4) Calgary vs. (5) Chicago
And now 1981-82, the first year of the divisional playoff format- in this era of the 1-8 playoff version, some first-round playoff matchups are still the same, but some would have been completely different
1981-82
Wales Conference
(1) NY Islanders vs. (8) Pittsburgh
(2) Montreal vs. (7) Quebec
(3) Boston vs. (6) Philadelphia
(4) Buffalo vs. (5) NY Rangers
Campbell Conference
(1) Edmonton vs. (8) Los Angeles
(2) Minnesota vs. (7) Chicago
(3) Winnipeg vs. (6) St. Louis
(4) Vancouver vs. (5) Calgary
1982-83
Wales Conference
(1) Boston vs. (8) Quebec
(2) Philadelphia vs. (7) NY Rangers
(3) Montreal vs. (6) Buffalo
(4) NY Islanders vs. (5) Washington
Campbell Conference
(1) Edmonton vs. (8) Los Angeles
(2) Chicago vs. (7) Toronto
(3) Minnesota vs. (6) Winnipeg
(4) Calgary vs. (5) Vancouver
1983-84
Wales Conference
(1) NY Islanders vs. (8) Montreal
(2) Boston vs. (7) NY Rangers
(3) Buffalo vs. (6) Quebec
(4) Washington vs. (5) Philadelphia
Campbell Conference
(1) Edmonton vs. (8) Chicago
(2) Minnesota vs. (7) Detroit
(3) Calgary vs. (6) St. Louis
(4) Vancouver vs. (5) Winnipeg
1984-85
Wales Conference
(1) Philadelphia vs. (8) Hartford
(2) Washington vs. (7) Boston
(3) Montreal vs. (6) NY Islanders
(4) Quebec vs. (5) Buffalo
Campbell Conference
(1) Edmonton vs. (8) Minnesota
(2) Winnipeg vs. (7) Detroit
(3) Calgary vs. (6) Los Angeles
(4) St. Louis vs. (5) Chicago
1985-86
Wales Conference
(1) Philadelphia vs. (8) Buffalo
(2) Washington vs. (7) Hartford
(3) Quebec vs. (6) Boston
(4) NY Islanders vs. (5) Montreal
Campbell Conference
(1) Edmonton vs. (8) Toronto
(2) Calgary vs. (7) Vancouver
(3) Chicago vs. (6) Winnipeg
(4) Minnesota vs. (5) St. Louis
1986-87
Wales Conference
(1) Philadelphia vs. (8) Quebec
(2) Hartford vs. (7) NY Rangers
(3) Montreal vs. (6) NY Islanders
(4) Washington vs. (5) Boston
Campbell Conference
(1) Edmonton vs. (8) Los Angeles
(2) Calgary vs. (7) Toronto
(3) Winnipeg vs. (6) Chicago
(4) St. Louis vs. (5) Detroit
1987-88
Wales Conference
(1) Montreal vs. (8) NY Rangers
(2) Boston vs. (7) New Jersey
(3) NY Islanders vs. (6) Buffalo
(4) Washington vs. (5) Philadelphia
Campbell Conference
(1) Calgary vs. (8) Vancouver
(2) Edmonton vs. (7) Los Angeles
(3) Detroit vs. (6) Chicago
(4) Winnipeg vs. (5) St. Louis
1988-89
(1) Montreal vs. (8) Hartford
(2) Washington vs. (7) Philadelphia
(3) Boston vs. (6) NY Rangers
(4) Pittsburgh vs. (5) Buffalo
Campbell Conference
(1) Calgary vs. (8) Chicago
(2) Los Angeles vs. (7) Minnesota
(3) Edmonton vs. (6) Vancouver
(4) Detroit vs. (5) St. Louis
1989-90
Wales Conference
(1) Boston vs. (8) NY Islanders
(2) Buffalo vs. (7) Washington
(3) Montreal vs. (6) New Jersey
(4) Hartford vs. (5) NY Rangers
Campbell Conference
(1) Calgary vs. (8) Los Angeles
(2) Edmonton vs. (7) Minnesota
(3) Chicago vs. (6) Toronto
(4) Winnipeg vs. (5) St. Louis
1990-91
Wales Conference
(1) Boston vs. (8) Philadelphia
(2) Montreal vs. (7) New Jersey
(3) Pittsburgh vs. (6) Buffalo
(4) NY Rangers vs. (5) Washington
Campbell Conference
(1) Chicago vs. (8) Vancouver
(2) St. Louis vs. (7) Minnesota
(3) Los Angeles vs. (6) Detroit
(4) Calgary vs. (5) Edmonton
1991-92
Wales Conference
(1) NY Rangers vs. (8) Philadelphia
(2) Washington vs. (7) NY Islanders
(3) Montreal vs. (6) Boston
(4) Pittsburgh vs. (5) New Jersey
Campbell Conference
(1) Detroit vs. (8) Calgary
(2) Vancouver vs. (7) Winnipeg
(3) Chicago vs. (6) Edmonton
(4) Los Angeles vs. (5) St. Louis
1992-93
Wales Conference
(1) Pittsburgh vs. (8) Buffalo
(2) Boston vs. (7) NY Islanders
(3) Quebec vs. (6) New Jersey
(4) Montreal vs. (5) Washington
Campbell Conference
(1) Chicago vs. (8) St. Louis
(2) Detroit vs. (7) Winnipeg
(3) Vancouver vs. (6) Los Angeles
(4) Toronto vs. (5) Calgary
Much thanks for posting this, would have made for some interesting matches. Wonder how the matches would have changed had this format been used back in the day.
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Exhibit A as to how hockey doesn't matter on ESPN:
Last night an ESPN program was discussing how the Detroit Pistons needed a hero citing the heroes on the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions and no mention of the Detroit Red Wings. All this despite the Red Wings probably being the most succesful team in Detroit right now.
late 1970s Islanders could have made a Cup Finals or two in this format (would have avoided Canadiens)
1981 Canadiens would have beneffited greatly with this playoff format.
1990 shows the disparity of the divisions- Hartford, fourth in the Adams, would have been a 4-seed with round 1 home ice advantage! All the Patrick Division teams were 5 or lower!
1986- the NY Rangers, who crashed the playoff party in real life as giant-killers, would not have made the playoffs under this format (does Montreal still make their run with rookie Roy if they run into Philly/Washington?)
Very interesting. 1981 Islanders/Oilers in the first round. Do the Oilers pull an upset still? Everyone underestimated Gretzky this early in his career. Arbour was ready for him the next year, but that was after witnessing history.
1984 - Does Steve Penney stone the Islanders in the first round? The Isles seemed to take first rounds lightly as the Pens and Rangers took them to the max.
1984 - Does Steve Penney stone the Islanders in the first round? The Isles seemed to take first rounds lightly as the Pens and Rangers took them to the max.
The interesting thing about that- the other 7 playoff teams in the Wales all had at least 42 wins and over 90 points. Montreal finished nearly 20 points behind the 7th place Rangers!
The Winnipeg Jets would have benefitted from this format a lot- they would have not been a consistent one-and-done to Edmonton- in fact, they would not have faced the Oilers in a single first-round.
Winnipeg Jets got really hosed, IMHO, under the divisional playoff format:
until 1992, they always drew Edmonton/Calgary (the Hawerchuk-era Jets never faced the Kings/Canucks in a Smythe playoff series).
In 1985, 1987, and 1990, they would have gotten good playoff draws and could have made some noise.
1993- I'd have liked to see that series with Detroit (Cheveldae vs. Essensa for lulz, Housley/Selanne vs. the highest-scoring team of the last 20 years).
The more I think about it, the more I think the geographical format might have burdened some of the teams in that era (save for '82 and '93, we were almost guaranteed an Alberta team in the Cup Finals, only 5 teams represented the Wales)
Winnipeg Jets got really hosed, IMHO, under the divisional playoff format:
until 1992, they always drew Edmonton/Calgary (the Hawerchuk-era Jets never faced the Kings/Canucks in a Smythe playoff series).
In 1985, 1987, and 1990, they would have gotten good playoff draws and could have made some noise.
1993- I'd have liked to see that series with Detroit (Cheveldae vs. Essensa for lulz, Housley/Selanne vs. the highest-scoring team of the last 20 years).
The more I think about it, the more I think the geographical format might have burdened some of the teams in that era (save for '82 and '93, we were almost guaranteed an Alberta team in the Cup Finals, only 5 teams represented the Wales)
Yeah, but you were going to have to play Edmonton sooner or later. I think the best time to draw Edmonton was in the first round because its as if they weren't on top of their game. By the time they reached the CF, they destroyed Chicago or Minnesota even if they had a better record than the Jets. The Jets actually played Edmonton pretty well some series even if they didn't win a game.
The NY Islanders would have a good chance to make the Cup Finals earlier than they did under this format:
1977 and 1978- the teams that knocked them out (Habs and Leafs, respectively) were in the other conference. Maybe they face the Canadiens in back-to-back Cup Finals (those Isles teams and the Flyers were the only Campbell Conference teams that were true Cup threats) instead of Boston.
On the flip side, do they still go all the way in 1980? They would have faced Philly in the conference finals rather than the Cup Finals. The 1980 Sabres, IMHO, really could have gone all the way under this format (Montreal and Boston were the only real big guns Cup-wise in the Wales).
1984- if they beat Montreal in round 1, do they still make it to the Cup Finals against Edmonton? The Habs (regular-season version, not playoff version) were the only weak link in the Wales (the other 7 playoff team's had over 40 wins and 90 points), and no Montreal enormously benefits Boston and Quebec.
I'm a little surprised Big Phil hasn't given his take on this thread is- since he remembers well the unpredictability and upsets that defined the playoff format of this era, I would like to get his take on how it might have altered, at worst, some Stanley Cup Finals.
(That, and him commenting on thread in this section is like an unofficial Seal of Approval)
The Flyers, who missed the playoffs 5 straight years from 1990-1994, actually get in twice under this format (1991 and 1992).
They had a better record in 1992 than Buffalo and Hartford, but because of the divisional format of that era (top 4 only), they missed out despite having better records than the Sabres and Whalers- who nearly pulled off game 7 road upsets.
A couple of these hypothetical series I'd have liked to see:
1975-76
Wales Conference
(3) Buffalo vs. (6) Pittsburgh
These teams had so much firepower- 50-goal scorers Danny Gare, Jean Pronovost, and Pierre Larouche, plus an additional 6 30-goal scorers combined.
1977-78
Campbell Conference
(1) NY Islanders vs. (8) St. Louis
(2) Philadelphia vs. (7) Vancouver
(3) Atlanta vs. (6) Colorado
(4) Chicago vs. (5) NY Rangers
I think the Islanders have a better shot that year to go deep in the playoffs. Toronto, who knocked them out, was in the other conference. The rest of the conference save for Philly was hardly Murderers row. We could have had an Islanders-Canadiens Cup Final any year from 1977-1979.
1980-81
Wales Conference
(2) Los Angeles vs. (7) Pittsburgh
This would have been interesting- the Triple Crown's line best year, stud rookie Larry Murphy, Mario Lessard's career year against 55-goal Kehoe. Pens took #2 overall BLues to limit- how do Kings fare (they avoid Rangers, who were in other conference).
1989-90
Wales Conference
(4) Hartford vs. (5) NY Rangers
The first-place Patrick Division team had fewer points than the fourth-place Adams Division team.
The more I think about it, the more this would have not shown the wide divide between the Smythe and Norris Divisions. The Norris Division made 0 Cup Finals in the 1980s- we could have had some Smythe Division Semifinal/Final matchups as, quite frankly, better Campbell Conference Finals than what we seemed to get. Instead of Edmonton whipping Chicago/St. Louis, they could have slugged it out with Calgary/Winnipeg in round 3.
