The changes NHL should be looking at to fix its broken playoffs

The Wimbledon men's singles final features a highly anticipated matchup between top-seeded Jannik Sinner and second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, fulfilling a dream scenario predicted since the tournament's start.

Comparatively, the last Stanley Cup Final between teams with the NHL's two best regular-season records occurred 36 years ago in 1989, when first-seeded Calgary defeated second-seeded Montreal in six games. Since that season, the NHL's top regular-season team has reached the final only 10 times across 36 tournaments, while the second-best team advanced just five times.

Furthermore, both top-ranked teams simultaneously reached the conference finals (semifinals) in only six of those 36 tournaments. This rarity is attributed partly to frequent playoff upsets—illustrated by Coco Gauff's early Wimbledon exit—and partly to the NHL's playoff bracket format implemented in 2014.