The National Hockey League’s continued expansion necessitates a revision of its playoff format, according to recent analysis. Currently, with 32 teams, only half qualify for the postseason, potentially impacting fan engagement and revenue.
The NHL began as a six-team league in which four teams qualified for the playoffs, giving two-thirds of fan bases hope for postseason contention. As the league expanded to 12 teams in 1967, the playoff capacity increased to eight. Further expansion to 21 teams by 1979 led to a 16-team playoff format, allowing three-quarters of fan bases to participate in the spring postseason. Despite continued growth to the current 32 teams, the playoff format has remained stagnant, leaving half of all teams out of the postseason.
This imbalance, the analysis argues, negatively impacts the league’s business model, as fan hope directly correlates to profit. The Detroit Red Wings, who haven’t qualified for the playoffs since 2016, serve as an example. Hockey registration in Michigan has decreased nearly 25% since the Red Wings last championship, and even the team’s captain reportedly requested a trade this summer. Similar situations are occurring with the Buffalo Sabres, who ended a 14-year playoff drought in 2026, and the San Jose Sharks, who have yet to make a playoff run this decade.
Looking to other leagues for potential solutions, the analysis points to the NBA’s play-in tournament, which determines the seventh and eighth seeds in each conference. This system provides additional high-intensity games and gives hope to six extra fan bases. The NHL briefly experimented with a play-in round during the 2020 COVID bubbles, utilizing byes for the top four seeds and best-of-five series for the remaining teams. A potential playoff format could include byes for the top three seeds in each division and a best-of-three series play-in round for the top four non-playoff teams from each conference.
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