In a perfect world, I think the top five should have one team from each division. That’s not about spreading the hype or artificial parity. It’s just the reality of the current playoff format, where each division is virtually assured of sending one team to the final four. (The exception would be a crossover wildcard “winning” a division it wasn’t even in, which would be very funny but has sadly never happened. Yet.)
If our top five is about the long-term view, projecting ahead to an eventual Cup winner, that final four feels like it should be our starting point. And that means every division would ideally be represented. Remember, we’re not trying to figure out if a team is better than, say, the Wild. It’s about whether their Cup chances are higher, and not having to go through Dallas and Colorado to get to the conference final should count for something. Maybe even a lot.
All that said… I’m officially giving the Pacific Division a top five timeout.
I tried. I’ve spent the majority of the season with a Pacific rep in the top five somewhere – first with the Oilers way back in week one, and then with Vegas showing up eight times in the next 11 weeks. The division never went back-to-back without a top five team. Until now, because man, this division is a mess.
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