Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar celebrates his goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins in Detroit, Mich., Wednesday, April 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)

Gary Bettman didn’t want the new NHL playoff format.

Oh, don’t get us wrong: He probably likes the parity and the unpredictability. He would especially like the established rivals that are destined to meet in the first round: The New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers, and the San Jose Sharks and the Los Angeles Kings.

But during the lockout, Bettman – the basketball guy, destroyer of hockey tradition – was the one arguing for a return to no-frills, straight ahead divisional play. Old school style: Four divisions, teams only play within their divisions for the first two rounds and then the division winners meet in the conference final.

It was the NHLPA that influenced the current format, as two divisions of eight teams and two divisions of seven teams were seen as inequitable. So instead of the old school format, we have a playoff format with the possibility that two Central Division teams could both win division championship banners this postseason.

For poops and giggles, here’s what the division standings would look like right now, sans wild cards:

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The divisional format would have actually given us reduced drama in the Eastern Conference.

Instead of multiple teams, it would have been just the Toronto Maple Leafs chasing Detroit. Instead of the Red Wings potentially playing either Boston or Pittsburgh in the first round, it would be the Bruins for sure – meaning the top seed in the East by a country mile would pull arguably a tougher first round matchup than the Metro winner.

But in the Metro, we’d still have a three-team jumble for the last playoff spot; but again, it would just be one open spot instead of two like we have now.

Over in the West … welp, the Coyotes would be cemented into a playoff spot now. And the Stars would be chasing the Wild instead of residing in the second wild card like they are now.

What about the previous format we’ve enjoyed since 1994: The conference draw?

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This is the conference format under two divisions in each conference. The only major changes, obviously, are in the first-round matchups: The Rangers wouldn’t likely have home ice and would play either Montreal or Tampa Bay. The Flyers would face whichever team the Rangers didn’t.

In the West, however, the conference format yielded the same matchups we currently have under the wild card format.

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