Why the AHL needs to change their playoff format.

AHL needs to change playoff format, not just to benefit Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Stephen GrossContact ReporterOf The Morning Call


The whole point of a regular season, in any sport, is to determine the top teams for the playoffs and reward the best of the best through seeding.

Almost unbeatable during the regular season? You don't just get handed a championship but your path there should be easier than a team that needed to win the last game of their schedule just to reach the postseason.


The American Hockey League should take note. Their new playoff format, in its second season and tweaked this year because of new divisional alignments, doesn't produce the best on-ice product. The league should either seed No. 1 through No. 8 by conference, regardless of division, or take the top three from each division and hand out two wild cards per conference. In the latter scenario, seed the wild cards seventh and eighth.

Because the AHL took the top four from each division this season and pitted them against each other in the first two rounds, the best two regular-season teams in the Eastern Conference, both totaling north of 100 standings points, went home after just five games.


Lehigh Valley Phantomsand No. 1 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are at home while the Hershey Bears and Providence Bruins, the third and fourth seeds, respectively, are facing off in the Atlantic Division finals starting Saturday after upending the higher seeds.


NBA playoffs, where there's just as good a chance of a top seed advancing as there is waking up to a Donald Trump Twitter tirade. (If you haven't been paying attention the only lower seed to advance past the first round was the fifth-seeded Jazz, who topped the No. 4 Clippers in the West.)

It's just that you have way too many talented teams going home early with less exciting teams surviving only because they weren't challenged as much. Of course the Penguins and Phantoms would have likely had to run through Hershey and Providence at some point, but they shouldn't have had to in the first round.


Bridgeport Sound Tigers might have the biggest gripe.

In taking the eight best teams in the Eastern Conference, Bridgeport (44 wins, 92 points) would have been the fifth seed. Instead, it didn't even make the playoffs.

Not only did the fifth-best team miss the playoffs completely, three teams that didn't even hit 40 wins made it ahead of the Sound Tigers. To cap it all off and show just how weak the North Division was, had Bridgeport been in the North they would have been the top seed.

Did that division really deserve four automatic playoff spots? Not a chance. Not if the AHL wanted the best teams in the postseason, creating the best tournament.

The two best-of-five Atlantic Division semifinal series went the distance and really could have gone either way. They were two series that should have been a best-of-seven, as each round from here on out is in the AHL. They were hotly contested and were matchups that should have been reserved for later in the playoffs.

When asked if it getting bounced in the first round by a lower seed after such a successful regular season was disappointing, Phantoms coach Scott Gordon said the only disappointment was that they didn't get a better outcome for playing their best hockey each night in the playoffs.

"The seeding thing, all four teams [in the Atlantic Division] could have been flipped right up to the last week of the season," Gordon said.

As for the Phantoms, they were on the level of the Bears but clearly the better team in the series. Even out the bounces and Lehigh Valley, which lost all three of its home games, comes out of this series on top. Luck obviously plays a role in sports as the best team doesn't always win but had this series been a best-of-seven, there's a better chance those breaks even out.

Travel can be an issue for teams in the AHL but that can't be used as an excuse for setting up the teams against their own division in the first round. Two of the four teams in the North Division are almost two hours closer to Allentown than Providence, the Phantoms' second-round opponent had they found a way to win Game 5 against Hershey.

Yes, the Phantoms deserved a better result. Putting the best teams in the playoffs and seeding them properly would have likely done that. But the bigger problem is still the excitement and drama in the matchups.

We'll see, but don't be surprised if the winner of Hershey-Providence rolls in the Eastern Conference finals against either Toronto or Syracuse. It's hard to believe that series will live up to what a series between some combination of the Phantoms, Penguins, Bears and Bruins would have been.

Just how much more fun would two more games have been between Lehigh Valley and Hershey? It's a shame we'll never know.

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This in not Agent-PC's content and all credit goes to the original author of this article

 

The Americans are the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, this season with currently 83 points we would have clinched a wildcard spot with the NHL format. Unfortunately my teams hard work and effort to win this many games goes unrewarded while not only 1 but at least 2 if not 3 lesser teams well be in the playoffs while the Americans will not be making a post-season appearance. Despite a rough start 2-7-0 the Americans rallied and earned 83 points. All that effort was for nothing except individual team pride.

 

If that was the case, Texas and Stockton would beat out the Griffins... terrible idea. Not today!

 

I mean you knew the playoff format the entire time. Win more games.

 

So that makes it right?

 

I mean I get it if I was a scrub team and was in a scrub sonference I would want 4 to go so I had the best chance but seriously lesser teams making it to the playoffs is a good thing? Ok, I completely disagree and thats it ok.

 

Please refrain from making posts just because you're bum bum hurt.

Thanks,
Gonzo

 

It sucks agent but it is what it is . . Don't agree with you on our teams hard work . Not paying off . We learned a lot here this season . And we have a pretty solid core that hopefully will be returning next season . This season we didn't make the playoffs . But definitely not a waste of time in my opinion . Good things on the horizon . . You guys did an outstanding job . (Especially letting me talk as much as I do lol ) but we got a lot of good things that came out of this season . And we will build on that going into season 6 . Remember where there's a fatjoedashow . There's a way . #AmericansS6champs #hearditherefirst #fatjoeguarentee

 

But yeah the format is fucking shit 100% . No doubt about it . Bottom line . Just gotta play better hockey . And we will

 

Weren't just whinning in the shoutbox about how you should be able to ecu in the playoffs and now your chirping me get good buddy.

 

To play devil's advocate, what if the roles were reversed? Would you still want the playoff change?

 

The format mimicks real life. Why would we change it here?

 

If i had only got 76 points and I made it to the playoffs because of the format over and 83 point team sure I would be happy to make it. I still would think it is jacked up and still have the same opinion but of course I would be happy if were in the playoffs and roles were reversed.

 

That article is about the real ahl and about why they should change it IRL. I happen to agree and think it should be changed here. To be honest I think the writing is on the wall and it will be changed in the near future in real AHL. I would love to see be more progressive look at this objective and say this format is ass, we are not here to sell tickets, we are here to have a competitive league. How can you say a team that is less then 500 should be in the playoffs over a team that had a 500 record, and more important does that create the competitive environment were are trying to achieve here? Nope, it does not.

 

It emphasize division play. I like it.

 

At least that is a reasonable agruement and that can be achieved by 3 teams earning a spot from each division while having 2 wild card spots in each confrence like the NHL.

 

Sorry but Eastern Altantic does not deserve to have 4 teams automatically given a playoff spot.

 

I'm more ratttled about a 101 point team missing the playoffs in the NHL than a 83 point team missing the playoffs in the AHL. It's a sim league they just go by the real rules for playoffs, no matter how outragous they are and the CHL format is outragous.

 

That is a bum deal for sure but at least they had a chance to steal a wild card spot if they had 1 more point and the team in the other division had one less.

 

i think youre just salty you didnt make it in.