Cale Makar wants the NHL to scrap its current playoff format and return to the old system. The Colorado Avalanche defenseman says he’s not the only player who feels this way.
“I feel like all the players want back to 1 to 8,” Makar told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski. “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.”
The league changed from Makar’s preferred format before the 2013-14 season.
Now the top three teams from each division make the playoffs, plus two wild-card teams per conference. That means 16 teams total, same as before, but they’re seeded differently.
Several players and analysts have complained about the current system over the years. Commissioner Gary Bettman has repeatedly said the league won’t change it back.
The main gripes focus on teams playing the same opponents repeatedly or top contenders having to face each other right away because they’re in the same division.
“I mean, if you’re from Edmonton or L.A., I’d say so, yeah,” Makar said. “Sometimes you get a good matchup and sometimes you are playing a top-six team with another top-six team like we did this past year. That’s the way she goes.”
The Oilers and Kings faced off in the first round for the fourth straight year this past spring.
Colorado finished fifth in the Western Conference but had to start the playoffs against the third-place Dallas Stars. The Stars won that series in seven games.
Makar has reached the playoffs every year since entering the league. He’s recorded 85 points in 79 career postseason games and won both the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy in 2022.
