NHL should keep its 2020-21 alignment until a Canadian team wins the Cup

[neopreneur]

Nah, teams need to be aligned North-South direction as to better align with timezones.
Facilitates scheduling, travel, it's more cost-effective, better for the fans watching on TV (less late or really early start times), and it's better for player physical/mental health too.

I really couldn't care less that a Canadian team hasn't won since '93. I only care about MY team.
I'm a Habs fan and I don't believe any division or league changes have ever contributed to our dismal performances since our last Cup win. Our leadership did a fantastic job icing terrible teams for years, and same can be said about drafting + development. Has nothing to do with divisions or the "Bettman hates Canada" agenda.

Plus, I'd like to eventually see an all-Canadian final one day... hasn't happened since '89 I think.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

The problem is that time zones and travel are a factor, if anything the all Canadian division would put the teams at a disadvantage. Under the normal alignment, there is also a chance of an all-Canadian final. Plus what do you do about Seattle, which division do they go in since there are only 7 Canadian teams and the other divisions already have 8 teams?

 

[Dexter Colt]

With how close Canada came to ending its Stanley Cup drought, I think the COVID alignment should be kept until a North Division team finally wins the Cup. The only difference would be that while the playoff format is the same, the regular season format would return to having everyone play each other twice a year at least.

Gary Bettman owes those teams that much, he did take dominance of the league away from them after he became commish.

Why should divisions be aligned to favor Canadian teams?
Why does Gary Bettman owe the Canadian teams a set of rules designed to favor them?

We just saw a Canadian team do very well for themselves. Not by having a system carry them to the finals, but by being a great underdog story. Pretty sure most sensible fans prefer losing with dignity, like this year, rather than winning due to rules designed to aid them.

 

[neopreneur]

I'd split up the divisions pretty much drawing vertical lines best as possible on a map.

Would get something like this which works out okay IMO:

[Div 1]
- BOS
- MTL
- NJD
- NYI
- NYR
- OTT
- PHI
- WSH

[Div 2]
- BUF
- CAR
- CLB
- DET
- FLA
- TBL
- TOR
- PITT

[Div 3]
- CHI
- COL
- DAL
- MIN
- NSH
- PHO
- STL
- WIN

[Div 4]
- ANA
- CAL
- EDM
- LAK
- SEA
- SJS
- VAN
- VGK

 

[King Woodballs]

That’s not the reason to keep it.
I was more engaged in this season than I have been in a few years.
I would much rather watch the Jets vs any Canadian team than Columbus Florida Anaheim etc etc.

 

[Drake1588]

"Here's my thesis. Now before you comment, if you don't like what I have to say then don't say anything at all."

I've been posting here since before the 2002 re-set, when it was mostly prospect articles, but that might be the single most ridiculous idea I've come across on HF.

You're subject to empiricism, buddy. You put forth a hypothesis, and then the masses come out to tear it to shreds. If it's still standing after that intellectual assault, then maybe you have something. But you don't get to set the terms on participation. You'd have to set up your own forum to do that.... and then somehow encourage people to populate it under those conditions.

 

[lawrence]

f*** no. It got kinda boring although quite interesting to actually be an a division with the sens and habs for once in the history of the Canucks, but no way I'm done with it, and I kinda miss facing other teams.

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

Canadian teams should be ineligible for Cup contention.

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

Just hand em a free participation cup

 

[Frank Drebin]

Canadian teams could use a leg up TBH. Canada is a great country to live in but when you are a millionaire who can hand pick anywhere in Canada and USA where to live, the weather, taxes, and rabid fanbases push Canadian cities down the list of desirability behind a lot of American markets.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

With how close Canada came to ending its Stanley Cup drought, I think the COVID alignment should be kept until a North Division team finally wins the Cup. The only difference would be that while the playoff format is the same, the regular season format would return to having everyone play each other twice a year at least.

Gary Bettman owes those teams that much, he did take dominance of the league away from them after he became commish.

Close? Tampa was head and shoulders above Montreal. Montreal barely eked out one win. The series was not close. A Canadian team is still a long way from winning a Cup.

 

[Bandit]

Why stop here? NHL should just award the Stanley Cup to a Canadian franchise every 3rd year and everyone else plays for a red Solo cup.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

No.

Go back to the real divisions and conferences next year.

This whole "Canadian team" thing is so overblown. Canada's team is Team Canada in the juniors, worlds and olympics. Not a random NHL team.

 

[Johniac]

The odds are astronomical that a Canadian team has not won it in all this time. That is not the fault of anything but their own performance.

 

[Rubi]

I like how these threads basically admit the Canadian teams are too incompetent to win a cup in reality so they deserve a handicap to help them.

Canadian teams would win the cup every year if American teams weren't allowed to use Canadian players and Canadian teams only had Canadian players. Don't make it sound like American teams are so superior. They only are because of the CANADIAN talent playing for them.

 

[acor]

Canadian teams would win the cup every year if American teams weren't allowed to use Canadian players and Canadian teams only had Canadian players. Don't make it sound like American teams are so superior. They only are because of the CANADIAN talent playing for them.

Lol, why does it matter where the players come from??? It's not what this thread is about, it's about Canadians TEAMS (and their competence, or lack of it), not about Canadian players... YES, Canada as a country has best and deepest talent, and it will probably stay that way forever, nobody said otherwise... But that's not what this thread is about...

BTW- personally I don't give a f***, whether players on my team come from Canada, USA, Jamaica, or Mars... Don't know why anyone cares about it, and even mentions it...

 

[JoVel]

I for one am a believer that the Canadian teams would be better off looking at themselves in the mirror and trying to figure out why they've sucked for so long rather than looking for crazy conspiracy theories.

Anyone who has had the words "NHL doesn't want my team to win" come out of their mouth while being over the age of 15 can f*** right off.

 

[Beezeral]

Canadian teams should also get first dibs on all prospects from their region. You know, just to be fair.

 

[Lshap]

1) The Canadian travel schedule was a huge disadvantage compared to other divisions.
2) Two of the NHL's biggest revenue-generators are Canadian franchises. American teams need those matchups.
3) Some of the best rivalries are between Canadian and American teams.

No thanks.

Close? Tampa was head and shoulders above Montreal. Montreal barely eked out one win. The series was not close. A Canadian team is still a long way from winning a Cup.

Montreal came closer to the Cup than 29 other teams. They also got stronger as the SCF went on. Anyone paying attention noticed that most of the games (especially the last two) were very well-matched.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

1) The Canadian travel schedule was a huge disadvantage compared to other divisions.
2) Two of the NHL's biggest revenue-generators are Canadian franchises. American teams need those matchups.
3) Some of the best rivalries are between Canadian and American teams.

No thanks.


Montreal came closer to the Cup than 29 other teams. They also got stronger as the SCF went on. Anyone paying attention noticed that most of the games (especially the last two) were very well-matched.

I disagree. The series was not close and anyone who watched knows that. The NYI came closer to the Cup than Montreal did.
I’m not taking away from Montreal’s extraordinary and fun run but that Finals was one of the biggest mismatches I’ve ever seen.
Let’s see what happens this upcoming year.

 

[Lshap]

I disagree. The series was not close and anyone who watched knows that. The NYI came closer to the Cup than Montreal did.
I’m not taking away from Montreal’s extraordinary and fun run but that Finals was one of the biggest mismatches I’ve ever seen.
Let’s see what happens this upcoming year.

You're free to see "one of the biggest mismatches", even if it wasn't the case. Two games were a mismatch. Three were very tight and could've gone either way. Overall, not much different than the majority of SCF matchups – very few end up being a 7-game slugfest.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

You're free to see "one of the biggest mismatches", even if it wasn't the case. Two games were a mismatch. Three were very tight and could've gone either way. Overall, not much different than the majority of SCF matchups – very few end up being a 7-game slugfest.

Yeah we’re done. I know you’re a Habs fan and obviously excited but if you think that was no different than most SCF then I doubt you’ve followed hockey for long or you simply aren’t being objective. That was the most one sided final I’ve seen in decades. And most hockey people would agree.
Have a good day.

 

[ted2019]

Why don't we just have a final 4 in which it doesn't matter if they earned the right or not to make it instead? Just pick a year and give the rightful teams that season an extra 1st round pick or $5M in extra cap space the next season as a consultation prize for their troubles.

 

[Lshap]

Yeah we’re done. I know you’re a Habs fan and obviously excited but if you think that was no different than most SCF then I doubt you’ve followed hockey for long or you simply aren’t being objective. That was the most one sided final I’ve seen in decades. And most hockey people would agree.
Have a good day.

You can imagine the Habs being guided to the SCF by magical elves for all I care. It doesn't change reality.

And by the way, I've seen more than 50 SCF in my lifetime. The notion that this one was uniquely lopsided compared to many others is plain wrong.

 

[Bring Bak Damphousse]

I really enjoyed the novelty of the all Canadian matchups, it felt like there was more on the line, the crowds were more into it, and I would love to see more games against the western Canadian teams going forward, but thats where it ends. If the nhl needs to hold our hands in order for us to win a cup, theres something wrong, we wouldnt accept this if Bettman was giving southern teams an advantage why would the rest of the nhl fanbases be ok with it happening to us?