Tough luck, Toronto Maple Leafs fans. The NHL playoff format you despise is going to stay in place for at least one more season.
Lots of hockey fans aren’t fond of the playoff format that qualifies three teams from each division, joined by two wildcards, in some convoluted matchups until there’s a Western winner and an Eastern winner who meet in the Stanley Cup final.
But the NHL and its players’ association agreed to retain the format for next year.
The Montreal Canadiens are desperately trying to be the East’s final qualifier. Toronto, the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames have already qualified, so four of Canada’s seven franchises could be in the post-season.
Only Toronto is grumbling about the format because the Leafs are going to meet the Boston Bruins in the opening round, causing horrible flashbacks to 2013 and 2018, when Boston overcame seventh-game deficits to eliminate Toronto. So even a despised playoff format can produce a great, traditional matchup.