Michigan hockey registration has plummeted nearly 25% since the Detroit Red Wings last hoisted a championship. Think about that for a second. An entire generation of fans in hockey-mad Michigan has no childhood memories of their team even *having a shot* at the Stanley Cup because the Red Wings haven’t qualified for the playoffs since 2016. That’s a brutal reality check for a league constantly looking to grow its fanbase.
The NHL’s Past Holds All The Answers
Back in the day, when the NHL was just a cozy six-team league, four teams made the playoffs. That meant two-thirds of the fan bases had genuine postseason hope. Then came the big expansion of 1967, jumping to 12 teams, and what happened? The playoff capacity doubled to eight. By 1979, with 21 teams in the league, they adopted a 16-team playoff, giving three-quarters of the fan bases something to cheer for in the spring. It just made sense! More teams, more playoff spots. But then the league kept expanding, steadily growing to its current 32 teams, and the playoff format? It’s been stuck at 16. That means a staggering half of the league’s teams fail to qualify every single year. How do you sell a sport when half the fan bases lose hope before the postseason even starts? Fan hope translates directly to profit, and right now, the NHL is leaving serious money and engagement on the table.
The Droughts Are Becoming Unbearable
The Red Wings situation is just the tip of the iceberg. You’ve got their captain, a Michigan native who grew up a Red Wings fan, reportedly requesting a trade this summer. That tells you everything about the morale. Look at the Buffalo Sabres, who finally broke out of their 14-year slump in 2026. Or the San Jose Sharks fans, who haven’t seen a playoff run *this decade*. These aren’t isolated incidents. When the NHL is talking about expanding again, possibly to 34, 35, or even 36 teams in the next ten years, ignoring the playoff format is just not an option. It’s absolutely critical.
A Play-In Is The Only Way Forward
We don’t have to reinvent the wheel here. The NBA already uses a similar format, with eight teams from each conference qualifying, but they throw in a play-in tournament for those 7th and 8th seeds. It’s genius! It adds high-intensity, must-watch games, which means more revenue for the league. And crucially, it gives hope to six extra fan bases, making them feel like their season wasn’t a total bust. The NHL even tried a version of this in the 2020 COVID bubbles, remember? They gave byes to the top four seeds and had best-of-five series for everyone else to determine the remaining four spots. That was good! Hockey fans would definitely prefer multi-game series for a play-in rather than one-off games like the NBA, and from a revenue standpoint, that’s a goldmine. Imagine the top three seeds in each division getting byes, and then the top four non-playoff teams from each conference battling it out. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
The NHL can’t keep growing without growing its postseason. The numbers, like that 25% drop in Michigan, are yelling at us. More teams are coming, and if the league wants to keep fans engaged and keep that hope alive, expanding the playoffs is not just an idea, it’s a necessary move. Let’s get it done.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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