Cale Makar wants to change the NHL Playoffs: Is No. 1 vs. No. 8 better than the current format?

The NHL playoff format is a topic that gets discussed a lot. However, I don’t think a format change is necessary.

Let’s start with why some fans, media, and players don’t like it. They argue that you play the same team too often and that some series have two really good teams go head-to-head.

Colorado’s Cale Makar said this to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski in his article from Vegas, “I feel like all the players want back to No. 1 against No. 8. I think that’s a thing that we’d like, but I get it. I understand the playoff format now. It makes the road harder sometimes.”

When asked about how some players said the wild-card locks in the same matchups every year, Makar said, “I mean, if you’re from Edmonton or L.A., I’d say so, yeah. Sometimes you get a good matchup, and sometimes you’re playing a top-six team with another top-six team, like we did this past year. That’s the way she goes.”

Let’s look at the past few seasons and see if the current format makes it harder for certain teams.

2022 Eastern Conference:

Current:                                            1 vs. 8 Format
FLA (122) v. WSH (100)              FLA (122) v. WSH (100)
CAR (116) v. BOS (107)                CAR (116) v. PIT (103)
TOR (115) v. TBL (110)                 TOR (115) v. BOS (107)
NYR (110) v. PIT (103)                 NYR (110) v. TBL (110)

All Eastern teams this year had at least 100 points. The same four teams would have had home ice advantage, but different opponents. Toronto lost to Tampa Bay in the first round. Maybe they would have beaten Boston, but history between the two teams says otherwise.

FLA, TB, CAR, and NYR won their series, so if it were 1 vs. 8, those four couldn’t have advanced, as one of TOR or BOS would have. The rest would be “what if” scenarios and simply a prediction of who would have won or not. I’m not sold that the 1 v. 8 would have made the playoffs better in the East.

2022 Western Conference:
Current                                          1 vs. 8
COL (119) v. NSH (97)              COL (119) v. NSH (97)
CGY (111) v. DAL (98)               CGY (111) v. DAL (98)
MIN (113) v. STL (109)             MIN (113) v. LAK (99)
EDM (104) v. LA (99)               STL (109) v. EDM (104)

The top two series would be the same, but MIN and EDM would have swapped opponents. St. Louis would have had home ice and faced Edmonton. It would have led to significantly more travel for Minnesota — unless you removed the division, winner being guaranteed the No. 1 and No. 2 slots.

Colorado was clearly the best team, and they beat NSH, STL, and EDM to get out of the West. Would a format change have made their road easier? Hard to say, but it would have been different, as they played STL and EDM in the second and third round, and in 1 vs. 8, one of those two would have been eliminated in the first round.

Colorado was a wagon, and I’m not sure any team would have beaten them regardless of the format.

2023 Eastern Conference:

Current:                                            1 vs. 8
BOS (135) v. FLA (92)                  BOS (135) v. FLA (92)
CAR (113) v. NYI (93)                   CAR (113) v. NYI (93)
TOR (111) v. TBL (98)                   NJD (112) v. TBL (98)
NJD (112) v. NYR (107)                TOR (111) v. NYR (107)

The top-two series would have been the same, while Toronto would have played the Rangers instead of Tampa Bay, and New Jersey would have faced the Lightning.

Florida, Carolina, Toronto, and New Jersey won in 2023. Would you rather watch two non-divisional rivals or TOR-TBL and NYR-NJD? I prefer rivalries, so I’d rather have seen the matchups we saw. Toronto finally defeated Tampa Bay, so would Leafs fans change that without a guarantee they’d beat a Rangers team that had nine more points than Tampa?

2023 Western Conference:
Current                                          1 vs. 8
VGK (111) v. WPG (95)               VGK (111) v. WPG (95)
COL (109) v. SEA (100)              COL (109) v. SEA (100)
EDM (104) v. LA (104)               EDM (104) v. MIN (103)
DAL (108) v. MIN (103)             DAL (108) v. LA (104)

The top two series remain the same. Edmonton and Dallas still would have had home ice advantage; they just would have played different opponents. I’d argue that for Dallas and Edmonton, it would be a disadvantage under the 1 vs. 8, because they’d have more travel, due to LA having one more point than MIN.

Vegas would have played Seattle in the second round as they upset Colorado. Vegas beat EDM in the second round, and I think most would agree they were a better team than SEA, and I still think VGK would have won the West. We will never know, of course, but the current playoff format is better for the Western Conference due to travel. If you go 1. vs. 8, you are adding more potential travel.

Which is why: If you have four teams from each division in the playoffs, there really should be no wildcard seeding. I’d only use Wildcard when it is five from one division and three from another. Vegas would have played Seattle in the first round, and Colorado would have played Winnipeg under my plan. I much prefer that, as it sticks with the current focus of division rivalries and having more regular-season games within your division. But I digress.

2024 Eastern Conference:

Current:                                            1 vs. 8
NYR (114) v. WSH (91)                NYR (114) v. WSH (91)
FLA (113) v. TBL (98)                  FLA (113) v. NYI (94)
CAR (111) v. NYI (94)                   CAR (112) v. TBL (98)
BOS (109) v. TOR (102)               BOS (109) v. TOR (102)

The first and fourth series would have been the same in 1 vs. 8, but FLA would have played NYI while CAR would have hosted TBL. It would have taken away the FLA/TB rivalry, which was essentially the passing of the guard. Tampa had made three consecutive Stanley Cup Finals from 2020-2022, but FLA beat them, and now the Panthers have made three in a row (2023-2025), and like Tampa, they’ve won twice.

Maybe Tampa would have beaten Carolina and then faced Florida in the second round, but that’s only a what-if. The top four teams in the East still had home ice advantage in the opening round, so is a switch to 1 vs. 8 really better? I guess it depends on what we view as better. Different, no doubt, but I’m not sold that it is better.

2024 Western Conference:
Current                                          1 vs. 8
DAL (113) v. VGK (98)               DAL (113) v. VGK (98)
VAN (109) v. NSH (99)              VAN (109) v. NSH (99)
WPG (110) v. COL (107)             WPG (109) v. LAK (99)
EDM (104) v. LA (99)                COL (107) v. EDM (104)

The top series remains the same, while again only the bottom two switch. It is important to note how Makar said they’ve had to play a top team in the opening round two years in a row, but under the 1 vs. 8 format, they would have faced Edmonton instead of Winnipeg. Is that really easier? I’m sure Jets fans would prefer the 1-8 format in this scenario, as they would have faced LA, and maybe the Kings wouldn’t have torched the Jets and Connor Hellebuyck as badly as the Avalanche did.

2025 Eastern Conference:

Current:                                            1 vs. 8
WSH (111) v. MTL (91)                WSH (111) v. MTL (91)
TOR (108) v. OTT (97)                TOR (108) v. NJD (91)
TBL (102) v. FLA (98)                 TBL (102) v. OTT (97)
CAR (99) v. NJD (91)                  CAR (99) v. FLA (98)

The top-four teams would still have had home ice, but only WSH would have had the same opponent. Tampa Bay would have likely preferred to play Ottawa, I’m sure, as they lost in five to Florida. Carolina would have had a tougher path facing the Panthers in round one instead of the Devils.

The only likely difference would have had Tampa winning a round and Carolina losing theirs, but again, that is just a projection, as we will never know for sure. I’d rather see a guaranteed FLA/TBL series than maybe have one later in the playoffs, which is often an argument for 1 vs. 8. I get the theory, and it makes sense, but it doesn’t mean it would always occur.

2025 Western Conference:
Current                                          1 vs. 8
WPG (116) v. STL (96)              WPG (116) v. STL (96)
VGK (110) v. MIN (97)              VGK (110) v. MIN (97)
DAL (106) v. COL (102)            DAL (106) v. EDM (101)
LAK (105) v. EDM (101)            LAK (105) v. COL (102)

We’d have the same top series and the same four teams with home ice in the opening round. The only difference is that EDM would have been in DAL, and COL would have been in LA.

Makar’s claim of playing a top-six team wouldn’t have changed. Dallas was fifth in the NHL, LA was sixth, COL was eighth, and EDM was ninth. We are talking about a one-point difference, and would that point margin be different with a different schedule?