My friends and family pool is going on its eighth year and is starting to get a little mundane. Sure, it’s fun to have everyone over to drink and talk hockey for a night, but having a list of whatever forwards you please really gets monotonous.

Below are some playoff pool ideas worth considering that could really add some new and exciting tactics to the night: 

Goalies. Let players pick one team’s goaltending duo for their own team. A draft gets very tactical as you try to figure out whether you should draft Marty Brodeur or Alex Ovechkin. If shutouts are worth five points, the goaltending may truly be the better choice. 

(In 2003, Brodeur got seven shutouts… and an assist!)

Underdogs. In every sport we love to root for the underdogs, whether it’s the Tampa Bay Devil Rays of 2008 or the Calgary Flames of 2004. So why not have a pool where you can only draft from teams ranked 5-8? Your final draft picks become unbelievably strategic.

Countries. We all love Olympic hockey, so harness a bit of that leftover excitement and only draft two players per country. There are a few countries that only have one player (i.e. Slovenia’s Anze Kopitar), but which Belarusian Kostitsyn brother do you take? Which Canadian player after Crosby is the best?

Teams. In a very similar way to above, have everyone limit to picking one player per team. Individuals’ prioritization will get very interesting. Also, no one will get totally wrecked by having one team that three of his/her players were on. Similarly, you could do a certain number of players per conference or division.

Play With Stats. A new statistic element can change how everyone drafts. What if a short-handed goal is worth five points? What if a penalty minute is worth half a point? What if the best plus-minus player gets the winner a bonus 10 points? Let your imagination run wild with this one!

Keep Everyone Interested. Sometimes it just takes the first round for everyone to have a good idea about who’s going to win and who isn’t. Put some of the winnings aside, and after the second round, announce a random lower-tier position that will win a bit of prize money.    

Have A Points Cap. Call it communism for hockey! No one can go over a team regular season points total of 500 or 600. Now there are only so many stars you can take, and high-scoring players who were injured for most of the season become very hot commodities (here’s looking at you, Marian Hossa).

Have a Salary Cap. If every NHL team has to deal with it, why shouldn’t yours? The host should provide a list of all the players’ salaries (nhlpa.com should have you covered) and calculators, but after that, it’s another strategic mind-meld as you try to figure out which players to prioritize.

Hopefully these help make your playoffs a bit more exciting. We certainly need it here in Toronto.•

Photos by - Wikimedia commons