Out: Ottawa (0-16)
October 30-31
Play-In #1: Hamilton (5-12) @ Winnipeg (8-8)
Play-In #2: Calgary (8-9) @ Saskatchewan (8-8)
East Showdown: Toronto (9-7) @ Montreal (13-3)
West Showdown: BC (10-6) @ Edmonton (12-4)
November 7
Elimination Game #1: Higher-Ranked Play-In Winner @ Lower-Ranked Showdown Loser
Elimination Game #2: Lower-Ranked Play-In Winner @ Higher-Ranked Showdown Loser
November 14
Semi-Final #1: Higher-Ranked Elim Winner @ Lower-Ranked Showdown Winner
Semi-Final #2: Lower-Ranked Elim Winner @ Higher-Ranked Showdown Winner
Positives:
- Toronto and Montreal now have meaningful games since league-wide ranking affects who you play in subsequent rounds. In real life, their games stopped mattering after Week 18
- Race for 2nd in West much more significant
- Exciting first playoff weekend with two knockout games and two marquee non-elimination games
- Fresher matchups; higher likelihood of East/West matchups in playoff rounds or same-division matchups in Grey Cup
Negatives:
- Lack of jeopardy in three-way battle between SSK/WPG/CGY since all three are slated for the play-in round; however, home playoff game still at stake
- Possibility of 5-win team winning the Grey Cup (although they would need to run a gauntlet to get there: likely @ WPG, @ BC/EDM, @ MTL)
- Worse reward for division winners: they need to win a home game to get the home semi-final berth that they currently get by default
Overall, I don’t think this will be too bad. There’s definitely a lot less jeopardy throughout the season with almost every team getting in at the end, but the difference between the top-two spots and the play-in spots is stark enough that most teams will probably view the top-two as a general goal for the regular season, as opposed to just making the playoffs at all. There’s also going to be very few games that are truly meaningless, since league-wide seeding matters in later rounds. I also think the playoffs themselves will be entertaining.