The Stanley Cup playoffs are right around the corner, and lately there’s been a lot of chatter regarding its format.
Boston Bruins winger Brad Marchand and head coach Bruce Cassidy candidly talked about their displeasure with the current format — which has the first six spots in each conference occupied by the top three teams in each division, while the wild card spots are filled by the next two highest-placing teams.
The league currently has no plans to change the format, but that won’t stop Cam Neely from joining Cassidy and Marchand in thinking there needs to be a change.
“You end up playing some tough teams before you even get out of your division and we can’t look past anyone,” the B’s president said, via the Boston Herald. “We are definitely in a strong division with Toronto and Tampa so would I like to see (the No. 2 seed) play seven, probably.
“Back in the day, and I can’t speak of the old Adams Division,” he added, “when you played a team in the playoffs the following season there was still some of that animosity that was left over but the game has changed a lot since then.
“…But I think first and foremost you should really look at the teams that have battled hard all year to get a good seeding. I think there are a lot of people that would like to see (seeded) one through eight.”
While it’s likely the format won’t change any time soon, Neely has had the luxury of watching the B’s win a Stanley Cup in 2011 and proceed to make the playoffs five other times since.
