LadyStanley
Registered User
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articl...me-for-the-NHL-to-do-away-with-divisions.html
THN's Proteau proposs elimination of the division system as most fans only care if a team is in top 8 of conference (just keeping conferences; 6 games against "traditional" division rivals, home-away against other 25 teams and 8 other games). But does not see that happening.
THN's Proteau proposs elimination of the division system as most fans only care if a team is in top 8 of conference (just keeping conferences; 6 games against "traditional" division rivals, home-away against other 25 teams and 8 other games). But does not see that happening.
Suddenly, the built-in geographic advantages currently enjoyed by certain Eastern Conference teams – I’m looking at you, entire Atlantic Division – would all but disappear. At the same time, every fan base in the league would have one opportunity each season to see every franchise and its stars.
That said, that geographic advantage (which allows teams along the eastern seaboard to save a significant amount of money on travel costs) is perhaps the single greatest obstacle toward reforming the divisions and/or schedule.
“When you talk about making changes like that, you first have to understand where the power base lies in this league,†said one former NHL GM, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “It’s definitely not with the Columbuses and Dallases - it’s with (Flyers owner Ed) Snider and (Bruins owner Jeremy) Jacobs and (Rangers owner James) Dolan, the East Coast owners.
“Those guys are perfectly OK with the way things work now. They prefer the costs of taking a train, a bus or a short flight to games over taking a week-long West Coast road trip. It’s hard for me to imagine they’d want to give up that perk very esily.â€