All American playoffs are way overinclusive. The NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB all encourage including mediocrity in their playoffs. Nearly their whole seasons are really just preseasons. So do the NCAA basketball tournaments. Sure, the upsets are fun, but easily half the teams have no business being there.
I love playoff hockey. It just hits different. But there's no reason a team that came in third or fourth place in its division should be playing for the championship. It's an 82-game season, for crying out loud. What is all that for if half the teams get into the playoffs?