NHL Playoff Format and Rules

The Stanley Cup playoffs is a 16 team tournament.

1. The top 4 teams in each conference will begin the playoffs by playing a round robin tournament. The team with the best record from this round robin will be awarded the #1 seed with the second best team receiving the #2 seed and so on.
2. For now, we have ranked the top 4 teams in each conference by record. However, these teams will most likely shift around based on how they perform in the beginning tournament. Every team within this round robin will be given a first round bye.
3. The rest of the tournament seeds are set in stone, based on season record.
4. The first round will be a best of 5 series, while the rest of the playoffs will be a best of 7 series.