Bill Guerin calls for the NHL to change its playoff format

Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin is appealing to the NHL to change its current playoff format.

With three juggernauts in the NHL's Central Division this season, Guerin doesn't like the fact that only one of the Wild, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars will advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Plaoffs.

“It’s funny, we talk about it a lot. Personally, I would like to see it change, but I understand why we don’t,” Guerin told TSN's First Up radio show earlier today.

“It goes year to year. I think this year is just really unique in that you have these three really strong teams all in one division. You don’t see that a ton.”

I can certainly appreciate Guerin's concern as the Wild, Avs and Stars are three of the NHL's top 4 teams in the standings and at least two of them will be out of the playoffs after round 1. Of course, that's just the way the cookie crumbles and Guerin warns that he's not letting the league's playoff format get to him too much.

“You have to be careful what you wish for, too,” said Guerin.

“There’s a scenario that doesn’t really matter because you are going to play a good team no matter what. The parity in the league is so strong that you’re going to play somebody good.”

The Wild, of course, have failed to advance past the first round in over a decade now, so you can understand Guerin's reservations about criticizing the format too harshly. Don't wanna anger the Hockey Gods...

“On the other side of it, the teams that work so hard to get to the top, maybe deserve to at least play one of the teams that haven’t gotten there,” said Guerin.

“So, I see both sides of it, to be quite honest with you. That’s really the crappy part of it, somebody’s going home. I guess competitively, if you look at it, you’re gonna play a good team anyway. But I do agree that one of the top three teams should not be going home [in the first round].”

If the playoffs started today the Avs would be taking on the Wild Card Seattle Kraken, while the Wild and Stars would face off in a Round 1 prize fight.

Thoughts?