The National Hockey League: What I would do if I was commissioner.

 

The National Hockey League: What I would do if I was commissioner.

Introduction

On June 17^th the National Hockey League presented the Stanley Cup to the Florida Panthers for the second straight year.  Defeating the Edmonton Oilers for the second straight year but this time in six games.  The State of Florida has seen a Stanley Cup awarded to both their teams for the fourth time in six seasons.  In a social media post from TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, he makes suggestions on what he would do if he was commissioner of the NHL.  However, I want to take it a step further.  There are things that I agree with and disagree with.  Let’s break down on what I like and don’t like.

Pierre LeBrun

A few days ago, TSN’s Pierre Lebrun made a couple of suggestions of how the National Hockey League would run if he was commissioner and made five valid points on what the NHL should do.

1.      Stanley Cup is awarded by May 31^st.  Since 1992 the NHL has been awarded the Stanley Cup in the month of June ending in the middle or late June.  Like the National Basketball Association, their finals end in June as well and I feel that this is normal for both pro leagues.  I don’t think changing this concept is a good idea if the Finals don’t end in early July then there should be some changes made.

2.      Shorten camp and start season around September 15^th.  Competing with the start of the National Football League season is not the greatest of ideas.  For me I would like to see the camps around the same length and that the preseason be shorted by a week and a half but still have four preseason games.

3.      No more NHL All Star Game.  The format of the NHL All Star Game has not been great over the years.  I would like to see it return to the Eastern VS. Western game format with fans picking their players and maybe alternate between the conferences and the player draft as well.

4.      Start free agency within 48 hours of the NHL draft.  This idea I love, as much as I wanted to be on Canada Day the free agent signing should be earlier so that the 32 teams have an opportunity to get the player they want.

Now I would like to put my input in if I was the commissioner of the National Hockey League.

What I would do as Commissioner

Being a fan of the game of Hockey there are some changes that I would like to see if I ran the National Hockey League.  Things would include changing the playoff format, division realignment, overtime and shootout format and the draft format.  There are a lot of things that Hockey fans would like to see change but for me this is just the surface of what I would like to see change in the National Hockey League. 

1. Division Format

Today the NHL has 32 teams in two conferences by sixteen teams and four divisions by eight teams.  The last realignment took place prior to the 2013-2014 season that was caused by the Atlanta Thrashers relocating to Winnipeg to become the Jets 2.0.  For about two seasons Winnipeg still played in the Southeast Division of the NHL before moving to the Western Conference and the Central Division.  Leading to Detroit moving from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference and the Atlantic Division.  At that same time the Columbus Blue Jackets moved to the Eastern Conference and the new Metropolitan Division. The seven teams highlighted in red are based in Canada the twenty-three not highlighted are based in the United States. 

Current Since 2013-2014 Season
Eastern		Western
Atlantic	Metropolitan	Central	Pacific
Boston	Carolina	Chicago	Anaheim
Buffalo	Columbus	Colorado	Calgary
Detroit	New Jersey	Dallas	Edmonton
Florida	New York Islanders	Minnesota	Los Angeles
Montreal	New York Rangers	Nashville	San Jose
Ottawa	Philadelphia	St. Louis	Seattle
Tampa Bay	Pittsburgh	Utah	Vancouver
Toronto	Washington	Winnipeg	Vegas

 

The concept of the four-division system has been implemented by the NHL since 1974 with a six division system implemented between 1998 and 2013 when the league had thirty teams.  During the over fifty-year period the NHL went from eighteen teams to the current thirty-two that we see today.  This includes expansion to the Southern United States and two cities in Canada.  As well as relocations from city to city within North America.  But what if the NHL decided to realign to an eight-division system? This can be possible to do with the right thinking and that the NHL doesn’t expand or relocate a team in the foreseeable future.  Most of the realignment would be based on geography and their rivalry as well.

Proposed
Eastern				Western
Division A	Division B	Division C	Division D	Division A	Division B	Division C	Division D
Buffalo	Boston	Columbus	Carolina	Chicago	Colorado	Calgary	Anaheim
Montreal	New Jersey	Detroit	Florida	Minnesota	Dallas	Edmonton	Los Angeles
Ottawa	New York Islanders	Philadelphia	Tampa Bay	St. Louis	Nashville	Seattle	San Jose
Toronto	New York Rangers	Pittsburgh	Washington	Winnipeg	Utah	Vancouver	Vegas

 

When looking at the proposed alignment I admit that there are some arguments in respect to these in the East and in the West.  Example Nashville and Winnipeg decide to swap divisions or even Boston and Buffalo.  As mentioned, it is based on geography and historic rivalry.  Most of it would work in progress and negotiations between the NHL and NHLPA would take place before a final proposal would be implemented. The next part would be how many games each team would play within their division and conference.

2. Scheduling

Anywhere you go around this world we are surrounded by schedules.  Weather it would be work schedules, planning your weekend vacation schedule or even sports schedules.  They are always anticipated at certain times and when published they can be a blessing or a curse to any team or organization.  Since the 1995-96 season the NHL has played 82 games, 41 at home and 41 on the road.  In the 2024-25 season the NHL composed a structure of two games outside of the conference, three games played within the respective conference but in the other division.  Lastly three or four games within the division totalling 26 games.  For example, the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2024-25 season played the western conference teams 32 times, the Metropolitan Division 24 times and within the Atlantic 26 times.  Of those 26 games five division opponents were played four times while the other two were played three times.  This is a structure that I haven’t liked since the implementation in 2013-14.  Mainly because of the fact a team plays less games against a team within a division.  Before the NHL went from a six-division system to a four-division system a team would play within a division six times for a total of 24 games.  Outside of the division a team would play four times for a total of 40 games. And the remainder 18 of the games are outside the conference with at least one team playing once a year and sometimes twice.  When it comes to the proposed division realignment there are a few ideas that can be considered.

The first thing that would be done is outside the conference; the number of games would stay the same at 32.  Where the opponent would play one game at home and one on the road.  This should not be touched because I believe that away opponents would love to see their team in the visiting venue once a year.  The next two within the division and the conference were a challenge if the 82-game format was considered.  However, considering the options I thought that the NHL would be best to do an 84-game schedule where the remaining 52 games would be played within the conference.  Within the division a team would play six times a year to make it eighteen.  Within the remaining three divisions, one division would play twice a year for eight and the remaining would be twenty-four.  There would be a rotation of divisions per season like in the National Football League.  Taking the Leafs again as an example the team would play Montreal, Ottawa and Buffalo six times a year, three at home and three on the road.  The western conference the Leafs would play the opponents twice a year, one at home and one on the road.  Lastly, within the division the Leafs would play say Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay and Washington twice and the remaining eight teams three times.  Below is a table of how the schedule structure would work if it were an 84-game schedule for the next three seasons 2026-27 to 2028-29 seasons.

Leafs Schedule Say Implemented 2026-27
	Teams	Home	Away	Total
Within Division	Buffalo, Montreal & Ottawa	Three times each opponent totalling nine.	Three times each opponent totalling nine.	Total eighteen.
Division B	Boston, New Jersey & New York X2	Two times each opponent totalling eight.	One time each opponent totals four.	Total twelve
Division C	Columbus, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia	One time each opponent totals four.	Two times each opponent totalling eight.	Total twelve
Division D	Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay & Washington	One time each opponent totals four.	One time each opponent totals four.	Total eight
Western Conference	Sixteen Teams	One time each opponent totaling sixteen.	One time each opponent totaling sixteen.	Total thirty-two
Leafs Schedule 2027-28
Within Division	No change	No change	No Change	Total eighteen.
Division B	Boston, New Jersey & New York X2	One time each opponent totals four.	Two times each opponent totaling eight	Total twelve
Division C	Columbus, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia	One time each opponent totals four.	One time each opponent totals four.	Total eight
Division D	Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay & Washington	Two times each opponent totaling eight	One time each opponent totals four.	Total twelve
Western Conference	No change	No change	No change	Total thirty-two
Leafs Schedule 2028-29
Within Division	No change	No change	No Change	Total eighteen.
Division B	Boston, New Jersey & New York X2	One time each opponent totals four.	One time each opponent totals four.	Total eight
Division C	Columbus, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia	Two times each opponent totaling eight	One time each opponent totals four.	Total twelve
Division D	Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay & Washington	One time each opponent totals four.	Two times each opponent totaling eight	Total twelve
Western Conference	No change	No change	No change	Total thirty-two

   

The schedule would work on a rotation basis where teams would play three times a year against two divisions and twice against one division.  The schedule would not be perfect but if owners had it their way they would look at it as more revenue in their pockets.  At the same time more money for the players per game unless they are comfortable to play an 84-game season.  Next is the playoff structure, love it or hate it is something that needs to be addressed.

3. Stanley Cup Playoffs

Ah the Stanley Cup Playoffs, my favourite time of the year in the sports calendar where sixteen teams challenge for North America’s toughest trophy.  Since 1980 the NHL has had sixteen teams play for this trophy except for 2020 there were twenty-four playing based on points percentage and given the fact it was played from July to September due to a global pandemic.  Over the course of forty-five years the playoffs format evolved from the league based in 1980 and 1981.  Followed by a division-based format from 1982 to 1993, then conference-based format from 1994 to 2013 before returning to division-based format for the 2014 playoffs.  In the playoff format we see today the top three teams in each division get playoff berths followed by four wild card teams, two in each conference.  I’ll be the first to admit that I never liked this change as the format would lead to repetitive match-ups in the first round.

Now if you are about to ask if it is only the top two from each division who will get playoff spots you are sadly mistaken.  Instead, it would be eleven teams from each conference totalling twenty-two teams and the sixth, seventh and eight spots are decided in one game play-in.  The teams in each division are not guaranteed home-ice advantage in the first round as well.  When the six-division format was in place teams would win their division would be the third would have less points than the four seeded team.  For example, in the shortened 2012-13 season both third seeded teams finished with less points than their fourth and fifth place team.

Now for this I’m going to be using an example from the 2024-25 season where the top four teams from each division above get playoff spots.  While the remaining twelve teams are based on points from the regular season.  The one highlighted in red are the non-playoff teams, yellow is the teams six to eleven and the ones in green are the division winners.  In the format the five teams that finished at the bottom of each conference would get a change in the draft lottery based on regular season points.  Seeds six to eleven would play in a one game play in where the higher seed would have home ice advantage.  In which the teams would be seeded as follows: 6 vs. 11, 7 vs.10 and finally 8 vs.9.  The losing team would be entered in the draft lottery based on their regular season point total.  The winning team would be reseeded for the first round based on their regular season point total.  The first round would then be reconfigured based on regular season points and would be 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5.  The playoffs would still be a best of seven, getting sixteen wins to raise the Stanley Cup.  There are other logistics that are to be considered in the proposed changes and something in-between that should be raised.

Eastern		Western
1	Washington	1	Winnipeg
2	Toronto	2	Vegas
3	New Jersey	3	Dallas
4	Columbus	4	Edmonton
5	Tampa Bay	5	Los Angeles
6	Carolina	6	Colorado
7	Florida	7	Minnesota
8	Ottawa	8	St. Louis
9	Montreal	9	Calgary
10	Detroit	10	Vancouver
11	New York Rangers	11	Utah
12	New York Islanders	12	Anaheim
13	Pittsburgh	13	Seattle
14	Buffalo	14	Nashville
15	Boston	15	Chicago
16	Philadelphia	16	San Jose

  

4. Overtime and Shootout

In today’s NHL overtime has been a staple of the excitement that brings fans to the edge of their seats and have seen dramatic conclusions.  I won’t touch the subject of overtime periods in the playoffs as that is perfect as it is.  There was a period the overtime was not played and that occurred from 1942 to the start of the 1983-84 season as a travel restriction and was not considered after World War II.  Before the over forty seasons pause in overtime teams would play a ten-minute overtime period to decide a winner.  Once the ten minutes were played it either ended in a tie or a win for the team.  When the league brought overtime back it played a five-minute sudden death period and if wasn’t decided a tie would occur.  In the 1999-2000 season the teams played four-on-four as opposed to five-on-five and a point was awarded to an overtime loss in which the overtime loss point is still used today.  After the 2005 NHL lockout the shootout was introduced making a game no longer end in a tie.  Ten seasons later, the NHL changed the format to three-on-three overtime with a shootout to decide if the game was not decided after five minutes were played.  There is only one tweak that I would make to the overtime and shootout periods and that would be to extend it to a ten-minute overtime period and then shootout.  Otherwise, if it is not broken, don’t fix it overtime is perfect as it is.

Conclusion: It won’t happen overnight.

I don’t have much more to say about what I would do as an NHL commissioner.  For the logistics of everything it would take a shift in the NHL upper management for changes to be made.  At the same time there are formats that the current commissioner loves and believes the NHL is in a good state.  But consider this though, would the NHL play more games to attract more revenue or expand to a size that may not be manageable.