Funny how situation got reversed compared to last season.
Last season, there was imbalance in the KHL due to 14 teams in the West, only 12 teams in the East. The fight for play-off spots was boring in the East, whereas it was exciting to the last day in the West. This year, we have a healthy balance of 14:14 in the KHL.
The NHL used to have that balance until this season, when they had 15:15. But look what they did now:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm?season=20132014&type=WC#&navid=nav-stn-conf
It's 16 in the East versus 14 in the West. No matter how you look at it, it's now a lot easier to make the play-offs in the West than in the East. Especially because they moved the "eternal" play-off team, Detroit, from West to East. (They also swapped Columbus and Winnipeg, but that's irrelevant.) Due to moving Detroit to the east, it now feels like "there is 1 more play-off spot available in the West", and that "there is 1 fewer play-off spot available in the East".
I don't see how such a conferences setup can remain permanent in the NHL. It's just too imbalanced. Yes, there have been rumours about expansion NHL teams in Seattle or Las Vegas, but likewise about second NHL teams from Quebec and Ontario.
Maintaining balance between East and West will also be a challenge for the KHL, because they intend to expand especially to the West.
Maybe it's time to forget about conferences altogether? Just make divisions of 6 to 7 teams, why not... But then the play-offs should be "global", so to say, not artificially separating "east" from "west", because I don't think such an artificial separation can be sustained for the long term.
Last season, there was imbalance in the KHL due to 14 teams in the West, only 12 teams in the East. The fight for play-off spots was boring in the East, whereas it was exciting to the last day in the West. This year, we have a healthy balance of 14:14 in the KHL.
The NHL used to have that balance until this season, when they had 15:15. But look what they did now:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/standings.htm?season=20132014&type=WC#&navid=nav-stn-conf
It's 16 in the East versus 14 in the West. No matter how you look at it, it's now a lot easier to make the play-offs in the West than in the East. Especially because they moved the "eternal" play-off team, Detroit, from West to East. (They also swapped Columbus and Winnipeg, but that's irrelevant.) Due to moving Detroit to the east, it now feels like "there is 1 more play-off spot available in the West", and that "there is 1 fewer play-off spot available in the East".
I don't see how such a conferences setup can remain permanent in the NHL. It's just too imbalanced. Yes, there have been rumours about expansion NHL teams in Seattle or Las Vegas, but likewise about second NHL teams from Quebec and Ontario.
Maintaining balance between East and West will also be a challenge for the KHL, because they intend to expand especially to the West.
Maybe it's time to forget about conferences altogether? Just make divisions of 6 to 7 teams, why not... But then the play-offs should be "global", so to say, not artificially separating "east" from "west", because I don't think such an artificial separation can be sustained for the long term.
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