The PWHL is now an eight team league. What the league has yet to clarify, is what their new playoff format will look like. The league will continue to use the Gold Plan to determine which team will claim the first overall pick. But how many teams will qualify for the playoffs? And when the playoffs begin, will the format remain similar, or the same, as what was seen prior to expansion to Seattle and Vancouver.
Will The PWHL Keep A Top Four Format?
Currently, the top four teams qualify for the PWHL playoffs. Both series' in the present format are a best-of-five series. In 2024, and the 2024-25 seasons, it meant two teams missed the postseason. Both years, the New York Sirens finished at the bottom of the PWHL standings, with the Ottawa Charge and Boston Fleet also missing the playoffs once each.
If the PWHL were to remain status quo and keep a strict four-team playoff format, it would mean an equal number of teams would miss the playoffs, that make the playoffs. It would be similar to how a league like the NHL operates where 16 teams make the playoffs, and 16 teams miss the playoffs. This seems like the simplest path, and one that would keep the playoffs an elite competition of only teams who show consistent strength across the season.
What Could A Top Six Format Look Like?
Some eight team loops utilize a bye system, which is the most likely format for a six-team playoff system to occur. In this situation, the PWHL could opt to give the top two teams in the PWHL a first round bye, and have the next four teams play a quarterfinal series to earn their way into the semi-finals. It would add another series to the PWHL's playoff format. The initial series could be a shorter best two-of-three series, or it could be an identical best-of-five series.
This system would keep only two teams out of the playoffs, while also giving the top two teams a bye creating a gap in their schedules. With the number of stops and starts currently involved in a PWHL season between international breaks, the World Championships, and this year the Olympics, another break, even for a playoff bye, might be something the league wants to avoid.
Considering The Gold Plan, The League Won't Include All Eight
Considering the PWHL's model for deciding the first overall pick involves accumulating draft order points following elimination from the playoff race, known as the Gold Plan, it's highly unlikely the league would include all-eight teams in the PWHL playoffs at the moment. As the league continues to expand, an eight team playoff format is almost certainly where the league will land in the future. For now however, the PWHL needs to delineate between playoff and non-playoff teams for a variety of reasons.
Could We See The PWHL Form Conferences?
At some point, the PWHL may decide to split their league into two distinct groups. With an uneven balance already given it's a 30 game regular season and each team has seven opponents, that time could be now.
The NHL operates with an Eastern Conference and a Western Conference. Other leagues like MLB and the NFL have scrambled their conferences. The WNBA is an East-West model, while the NWSL does not have conferences or divisions.
The PWHL has always beat to their own drum forming unique rules, and they could take that model here as well. In the future, an East-West model could work, but at the moment, aside from Seattle and Vancouver, Minnesota is the most western team. The other path that could currently work for the PWHL is a Canadian and American division. The issue here however, is that the PWHL is planning to continue rapid expansion, and at some point, the league will likely ignore Canadian markets in favor of the broadcasting dollars that come along with larger American markets. Right now, the eight team league might not see the value in dividing and giving an automatic playoff berth to the top finisher from each conference or division. With more expansion coming, keeping the league flexible in alignment may be the best path forward.