The Folly of the NHL's Playoff Re-seeding

You know something I don't like? David Stern and the refs trying to influence certain outcomes of the NBA playoffs in order to maximize TV ratings and revenues. Just kidding -- this post won't be about that...although you'll probably be hearing back from me after LeBron shoots an average of 42 free throws a game in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Magic.

No, today I'm going to talk about the NHL's ridiculous policy of re-seeding teams after each round of the playoffs, which ensures that the lowest remaining seed always plays the highest remaining seed.

So the 7th-seeded Philadelphia Flyers have just eliminated the 2nd-seeded New Jersey Devils in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. What should happen next? Obviously, given the eight-team-per-conference playoff format that the NHL has (just like the NBA), Philly should play the winner of the 3 vs. 6 matchup between the Sabres and Bruins. It would be that way for almost every other collegiate and professional sports playoff tournament -- just take a look at the bracket, advance the two winners, and they play each other in the next round.

(Notable exception: the NFL playoffs, which also re-seeds after each round. While I don't like re-seeding there either, it doesn't have as much of an effect because each round is just one game instead of a series, thus making an upset more likely on any given day, re-seeding can affect a maximum of only two rounds, and the talent gap between the teams is usually not as enormous as larger tournaments, as only the top six teams in each conference make the NFL postseason).

But a series with Buffalo or Boston isn't in the cards for Philly. Instead, the Flyers will likely get Alexander Ovechkin and the top-seed Washington Capitals (currently up 3-1 in their series with the Canadiens) in the second round. Which is completely unfair. Now, I dislike Philadelphia sports teams as much as any New Yorker -- and Philly knocked out the Rangers on the final day of the regular season -- but the Flyers deserve better. They worked their butts off and played an excellent series against a favored Devils squad. And their reward for pulling off the upset is a date with the top seed in the conference?

Let's go back to this year's March Madness to demonstrate how absurd this way of thinking is. After 14th-seeded Ohio stunned the nation and upset 3rd-seeded Georgetown in the first round, they rightly got to play the winner of the 6-11 matchup in their region -- the two teams next to them in the bracket. But using the NHL's logic, Ohio would've drawn Kansas -- the highest remaining seed in their region -- in the second round. And that would have been ridiculous.

(On second thought, given what happened to the Jayhawks, maybe that draw would've worked out better for Ohio).

The point is, a team that pulls off an upset in the postseason should be rewarded, not punished, for their efforts.

I guess that's one area where the NBA playoffs actually have it right.