NHL playoff format history

Every shape the Stanley Cup playoffs have taken since the NHL's first season in 1917-18, and the four springs that broke the pattern. Each was checked against two independent publishers on 2026-09-11, listed at the bottom. Where a detail only had one reading it was left out rather than guessed, and where the two accounts disagree the disagreement is printed.

The timeline at a glance

Seasons

Field

Qualifying

1917-18 to 1925-26

2 of 4

The NHL played off for its own title, usually two clubs in a two game total goals series (a best of seven in 1918-19, and none at all in 1919-20 when Ottawa won both halves of the schedule), and the winner then met the champion of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (later the western leagues generally) in the Stanley Cup Final.

1926-27 to 1937-38

6 of 10

Ten clubs in a Canadian and an American division, five each; the top three in each division qualified.

1938-39 to 1941-42

6 of 7

With the Maroons gone the two divisions were folded into one table of seven, and six of the seven made the playoffs.

1942-43 to 1966-67

4 of 6

Six clubs, and only the top four qualified: first played third and second played fourth in best of seven semifinals, then a best of seven Final.

1967-68 to 1973-74

8 of 12

The league doubled to twelve in one summer, split into an East division of the six old clubs and a West division of the six new ones, and the top four in each division qualified, every series best of seven.

1974-75 to 1978-79

12 of 18

Eighteen clubs in two conferences of two divisions; the top three in each division qualified, twelve in all.

1979-80 to 1980-81

16 of 21

The WHA merger took the league to twenty one clubs and the field grew to sixteen, seeded one to sixteen by record regardless of division or conference.

1981-82 to 1992-93

16 of 21

Realigned into the Wales and Campbell conferences, each of two divisions (Adams, Patrick, Norris, Smythe), with the top four in every division qualifying and the first two rounds played entirely inside the division.

1993-94 to 2012-13

16 of 26

The conferences became Eastern and Western, and the top eight in each conference qualified and were seeded one to eight, the division winners taking the top seeds and one playing eight, two playing seven and so on.

2013-14 onward

16 of 30

Two conferences of two divisions again (Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central, Pacific): the top three in each division qualify, then the two best remaining records in each conference come in as wild cards, sixteen in all.

The field column counts the clubs in the NHL's own playoff against the clubs in the league, both in the first season of each row; the league kept growing inside most of them.

Season by season

1917-18 to 1925-26: The NHL champion plays the West for the Cup

The NHL played off for its own title, usually two clubs in a two game total goals series (a best of seven in 1918-19, and none at all in 1919-20 when Ottawa won both halves of the schedule), and the winner then met the champion of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (later the western leagues generally) in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Cup is older than the league. It was donated in 1892 and spent its first decades as a challenge trophy, and by the time the NHL was formed in 1917 the eastern and western champions were already meeting for it every spring. The NHL simply took the eastern seat.

In the first seasons the schedule was split into two halves and the half winners played off for the right to face the West. The split season was dropped in the early 1920s (Wikipedia's season page says 1921-22, the NHL's own guide first describes the top two meeting in 1922-23), after which first met second.

When the Western Canada Hockey League arrived in 1921-22 there were three champions chasing one trophy, and who met whom was redrawn more than once: some springs the two western champions played off first, and in 1923 and 1924 the NHL champion had to win a best of three semifinal against one western champion before meeting the other in the Final. In 1925-26 the NHL let a third club into its own playoff for the first time: second played third, the winner played first.

The West folded after the 1926 Final, and from 1926-27 only NHL clubs have played for the Cup.

1926-27 to 1937-38: Two divisions, six of ten qualify

Ten clubs in a Canadian and an American division, five each; the top three in each division qualified.

For the first two seasons the bracket stayed inside each division: second played third in a two game total goals series, the winner played the division leader, and the two division champions met in the Stanley Cup Final (for 1926-27 the NHL's guide has that Final at best of five and Wikipedia describes a best of three that could stretch to five, so this page does not pick a length).

From 1928-29 it crossed over instead. The two division winners met each other in a best of five for one place in the Final. The two seconds played each other and the two thirds played each other in two game total goals series, and the winners of those two then played each other for the other place in the Final. The seconds and thirds series stayed two game total goals until 1936-37, when they became best of three, and the Final went to best of five from 1930-31.

The league shrank through the Depression as clubs folded. By 1937-38, the last season of the two division shape, eight clubs were left, and the Montreal Maroons played their final game that March.

1938-39 to 1941-42: One division of seven, six qualify

With the Maroons gone the two divisions were folded into one table of seven, and six of the seven made the playoffs.

First and second met straight away in a best of seven for one place in the Final. Third played fourth and fifth played sixth in short series, then the two winners met for the other place. The NHL's guide has those shorter series at best of three, Wikipedia has them at best of five, and this page does not pick.

What both agree on is the part that stuck: the Stanley Cup Final became a best of seven in 1939, and it has never gone back.

1942-43 to 1966-67: The Original Six: four of six

Six clubs, and only the top four qualified: first played third and second played fourth in best of seven semifinals, then a best of seven Final.

The Brooklyn Americans were dropped before the 1942-43 season, leaving Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York and Toronto. That is the whole league for twenty five seasons, which is why the era got its name.

This is the one format change that made the field smaller: six qualifiers out of seven became four out of six, and two thirds of the league still made it. Two rounds, both best of seven, is the simplest shape the tournament has ever had.

1967-68 to 1973-74: Expansion: two divisions, eight clubs

The league doubled to twelve in one summer, split into an East division of the six old clubs and a West division of the six new ones, and the top four in each division qualified, every series best of seven.

The two brackets ran separately, first against third and second against fourth inside each division, and the division champions met in the Final. Since every expansion club sat in the West, that guaranteed one of them a place in the Stanley Cup Final in its first year.

From 1970-71 the semifinals crossed over, so an East club could meet a West club a round early, and from 1971-72 the quarterfinals paired first with fourth and second with third instead. The field stayed at eight as the league kept growing.

1974-75 to 1978-79: Four divisions, twelve clubs, byes

Eighteen clubs in two conferences of two divisions; the top three in each division qualified, twelve in all.

The four division winners skipped the first round. The eight seconds and thirds were pooled, ranked one to eight by record, and played a best of three preliminary round; the four survivors joined the division winners in best of seven quarterfinals, with the field reranked before every round rather than following a fixed bracket.

From 1977-78 the last four places went to the best four records among clubs that finished third or lower, regardless of division, the first time the NHL used a wild card in all but name.

1979-80 to 1980-81: Sixteen of twenty one, ranked one to sixteen

The WHA merger took the league to twenty one clubs and the field grew to sixteen, seeded one to sixteen by record regardless of division or conference.

The preliminary round became best of five, the three rounds after it stayed best of seven, and the highest surviving seed always drew the lowest. Sixteen is the number the playoffs have kept ever since, apart from one summer.

1981-82 to 1992-93: The divisional playoffs

Realigned into the Wales and Campbell conferences, each of two divisions (Adams, Patrick, Norris, Smythe), with the top four in every division qualifying and the first two rounds played entirely inside the division.

First played fourth and second played third in a division semifinal, the winners met in a division final, the two division champions in each conference met in the conference final, and the conference champions played for the Cup. No wild cards, no crossing over: a decade of the same neighbours every April.

The division semifinals were best of five until 1986-87, when they became best of seven to cut down on first round upsets. Every round has been best of seven since.

1993-94 to 2012-13: Conference seeding, one to eight

The conferences became Eastern and Western, and the top eight in each conference qualified and were seeded one to eight, the division winners taking the top seeds and one playing eight, two playing seven and so on.

For the first five seasons the two division winners in each conference held seeds one and two. When the league realigned into six divisions in 1998-99 the three division winners took seeds one to three and the next five by points filled four to eight. Series were reseeded after each round so the best surviving seed always met the worst. All best of seven throughout.

The 2004-05 season inside this period was never played, which is why the Record Books show a blank for 2005.

2013-14 onward: Top three per division plus two wild cards

Two conferences of two divisions again (Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central, Pacific): the top three in each division qualify, then the two best remaining records in each conference come in as wild cards, sixteen in all.

The division winner with the better record draws the wild card with the worse one, the other division winner gets the other, and second plays third inside each division. The first two rounds are settled within the division, the conference finals pit the two division survivors against each other, and every series is best of seven.

The only two seasons that broke the pattern were the pandemic ones, set out below. Since 2021-22 the format has been exactly this again.

The springs that broke the pattern

1919: The Final nobody finished

The 1919 Stanley Cup Final between the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans was cancelled after five games because of the influenza epidemic, and no champion was named. It stayed the only blank on the trophy for the next 86 years.

2004-05: The lockout season

The whole 2004-05 season was cancelled on 16 February 2005 over the collective bargaining dispute, the first time a North American major league lost a full season to a labour fight. No playoffs were played and the Cup went unawarded for the first time since 1919.

2019-20: Twenty four clubs in two bubbles

The 2019-20 season was paused in March 2020 with games unplayed, and the league came back in August with a one off 24 club tournament, the top twelve in each conference by points percentage. The top four in each conference played a round robin for seeding while seeds five to twelve played best of five qualifying series; the survivors formed a normal sixteen club bracket of best of seven series, the whole thing played in two hub arenas, Toronto for the East and Edmonton for the West and then for the last two rounds.

2020-21: Four temporary divisions, no conferences

With pandemic travel rules still in force the league played a 56 game season in four one year divisions (the seven Canadian clubs together in the North) and no conferences at all. The top four in each division qualified, the first two rounds stayed inside the division, and the four division champions were reseeded by points for the semifinals, so the Final could pair any two of them. Sixteen clubs, every round best of seven, and the usual shape came back the following season.

What NHL Front Office plays

The real format from 2013-14 onward and nothing else: the top three in each of the four divisions plus two wild cards per conference, the division winner with the better record drawing the lower wild card, the first two rounds inside the division, then a conference final and the Stanley Cup Final, every series best of seven. Front Office runs the modern league on real 2026-27 rosters rather than a chosen era, so there is no older bracket to compare it against.

Run a club through it

Questions people ask

How many teams make the NHL playoffs?

Sixteen, and it has been sixteen since 1979-80 apart from the 24 club return to play in 2020. Since 2013-14 they are the top three in each of the four divisions plus the two best remaining records in each conference as wild cards.

When did the NHL start using wild cards?

The name arrived with the 2013-14 realignment, but the idea is older: from 1977-78 the last four playoff places went to the best remaining records regardless of division, and from 1979-80 to 1980-81 the whole field of sixteen was ranked by record with no regard to divisions at all.

Why do the first two rounds stay inside the division?

Because the league went back to a shape it had already used. From 1981-82 to 1992-93 the top four in each division played each other in the first two rounds, which is where a lot of the famous rivalries were built. The 1993-94 change to conference wide seeding, one through eight, lasted twenty seasons, and the 2013-14 format brought the divisional rounds back with wild cards attached.

Why was no Stanley Cup awarded in 1919 or 2005?

Different reasons, same result. The 1919 Final between Montreal and Seattle was cancelled after five games because of the influenza epidemic. The whole 2004-05 season was lost to a lockout, so there were no playoffs to award it from. The Record Books leave both years empty rather than filling them.

Has the playoff field ever got smaller?

Once by design. When the league dropped to six clubs in 1942-43, the six qualifiers out of seven became four out of six. Every change since has either kept the field or grown it, and it settled at sixteen in 1979-80.

Where this comes from

Every change above rests on at least two independent publishers agreeing: Wikipedia's season pages cross-checked against the NHL's own playoff format history, the "History of Stanley Cup Playoff Formats" section of the league's 2025 playoffs information guide, with Sports Illustrated, the Hockey Hall of Fame, three NHL.com news pages and the league's playoff format page behind individual rows. Hockey Reference, Britannica and Last Word on Sports all refused the fetch, and two NHL.com history addresses came back empty or missing, so none of those is cited. 34 sources across 4 publishers, last checked 2026-09-11.

Wikipedia, 1917-18 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1918-19 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1919-20 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1921-22 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1925-26 NHL season

Wikipedia, Stanley Cup

Wikipedia, Stanley Cup playoffs

NHL.com, 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs Information Guide: History of Stanley Cup Playoff Formats

NHL.com, Stanley Cup Champions 1918-1929

Hockey Hall of Fame, Stanley Cup History

Wikipedia, 1926-27 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1928-29 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1937-38 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1938-39 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1939 Stanley Cup playoffs

Sports Illustrated, NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Format, Teams, Rules and Changes Through the Years

Wikipedia, 1942-43 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1967-68 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1970-71 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1971-72 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1974-75 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1977-78 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1979-80 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1981-82 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1986-87 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1993-94 NHL season

Wikipedia, 1998-99 NHL season

Wikipedia, 2013-14 NHL season

NHL.com, Playoff Format

Sports Illustrated, Revisiting the 2004-05 NHL Lockout

Wikipedia, 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs

NHL.com, Blue Jackets among 24 teams included in NHL return to play format

Wikipedia, 2020-21 NHL season

NHL.com, NHL teams in new divisions with realignment for 2020-21 season

Play with this history

NHL Front Office: run a club through the real divisional bracket, wild cards and all

NHL My Career: chase the Cup from a player's seat instead of the office

NHL Franchise Grid: the daily 3x3 franchise puzzle

The Record Books: every Stanley Cup final since 1915, with 1919 and 2005 left blank on purpose

All the hockey games: the whole section on one page