The NHL should keep the Division-bubbles

[Leafs1991]

The Habs had the lowest point% of any team to make the conference finals in recent memory. They wouldn't have been a playoff team in literally any year since 2006 that I've checked.

The Habs were on pace for 86 points over 82 games this season. Outside of the COVID-19 playoffs last year, the last team to make the playoffs with that few of points (or pace of points) was the 2002-2003 Islanders, who made the playoffs with 83 points in 82 games.

I'm not going to disagree with you on how bad the Habs are. I was stating that other divisions have really bad teams too, even the division Pittsburgh is in too.

 

[SaintsThomas]

Nope.

I would be on board with divisional playoffs sticking around, as it would finally do away with that ham-fisted wildcard system they currently have.

But the teams all need to play eachother. Imagine being a season ticket holder in, say, San Jose, thinking you may never see Connor McDavid or Sidney Crosby unless your team plays him in the playoffs. Gotta have that full mix.

Might be a good thing to step out of the superstar worship?

There's literally a thread "why the obsession with McDavid"

 

[King 88]

Sure give canadas teams a chance for playoff round win.

 

[WaW]

As a Wings fan I miss being with the Leafs/Sens/Habs since most of my friends root for those teams, so I want them back to normal.

I am however sick of this league's trash, mickey mouse scheduling where they insist that everyone needs to play each other home and away. No one wants to see Florida vs Arizona, Vancouver vs Carolina, etc etc etc twice a year. There will never be any sort of intrigue or rivalry there.

It was better back when you played your whole division 6 times each and played the opposite conference once, home OR away. The current system has really drained rivalries in the regular season, which in turn takes away from their intent of having rivalries in the playoffs through their divisional system.

 

[CraigsList]

I am not sure I understand the analogy here. The teams of the Northern division did not "pass" anyone in the league. They played against each other's, had a legit tournament to determine which is best, and until we actually see the conference finals there's no telling if the appearance of superiority by the US divisions is genuine or just seeming.

Guess we’ll see. The Avs/Knights has been the best of the bunch, and if we had the normal divisions they’d be battling it out in the conference finals, not the second round. Do the Canadiens even make the playoffs in their normal division? I don’t think so. The Rangers would’ve had their spot.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Might be a good thing to step out of the superstar worship?

There's literally a thread "why the obsession with McDavid"

Uh huh.

The thing is, though, whether you like it or not, a lot of fans circle specific dates on the calendar when a certain player is in town to play their team.

I'd imagine it's been like this for a very long time.

Call it "superstar worship", I call it growing the game. You think these star players want to be stuck in a bubble? Or do you think they want to maybe see the rest of the league too?

The more I think about this ridiculous premise, the worse it looks.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Guess we’ll see. The Avs/Knights has been the best of the bunch, and if we had the normal divisions they’d be battling it out in the conference finals, not the second round. Do the Canadiens even make the playoffs in their normal division? I don’t think so. The Rangers would’ve had their spot.

This is true.

Habs finished 18th league-wide. Saved by the unique division format that OP is now fighting tooth and nail to keep.

 

[Esko6]

Uh, fans not getting to see the leagues stars live is a bad idea business wise. I hated the covid divisions, I hope they go away

 

[NYR94]

I thought it would be cool at the beginning of the season but it wasn't as good as I thought. Hard pass on keeping these COVID divisions.

 

[The Macho King]

Habs fan doesn't want to be in a division with the Bruins, Lightning, and Panthers.

Shocking development.

 

[TanguaySauce]

I'm fine if you want to keep division alignment the same but to play all 82 games against teams in your division is ludicrous and change the playoff format back to 1-8. Top 3 in each division are guaranteed a playoff spot but the standings still go by overall record.

 

[awfulwaffle]

Sure, maybe not that one specific player but I mean, wouldnt you want at least SOME variety as a season ticket holder?

I get that most STHs are going to watch their own team and the opponent may be irrelevant, but at some point you would think that in a 32-team league you might want to see more than just the same seven teams all year.

STH get them for their own team. The rotating schedule is for those that are a fan of another team or a player.

 

[SaintsThomas]

Habs fan doesn't want to be in a division with the Bruins, Lightning, and Panthers.

Shocking development.

Putting northern teams with f***ing Florida was a joke to begin with.

Business drives this sport. And logic regional divisions makes business sense.

 

[SaintsThomas]

Guess we’ll see. The Avs/Knights has been the best of the bunch, and if we had the normal divisions they’d be battling it out in the conference finals, not the second round. Do the Canadiens even make the playoffs in their normal division? I don’t think so. The Rangers would’ve had their spot.

You.
Can't.
Know.
That.

It's the beauty of the bubbles. Yhea, you may think Rangers would have gotten ahead. Or maybe turns out the Leafs or Oilers would have worsened their regular season record? Or maybe the Habs would have gotten a better record playing against the Penguins?

Maybe maybe maybe. That's the thing, and what I especially like about the bubble situation is that everyone here is shooting in the dark when they compare division strenghts.

 

[Cup or Bust]

I prefer the old format. Watching the same teams play each other over and over again is not interesting at all.

 

[CraigsList]

I prefer the old format. Watching the same teams play each other over and over again is not interesting at all.

It was fun at first but it got boring reeeaaallly quick.

 

[tenken00]

I understand what you are trying to say, but any stat regarding % of points and whatnot is skewed by the very fact that 100% of the points are allocated within the same division.

You could have a division with 2 dominating superstar teams that get 95% of potential point while the #3 has 55% of their point, and another division with more competitive lineup of teams who's top and #3 are 65% to 60%.

That's what's special about bubble divisions. You can't just determine one team's ranking is the full story.

So the argument that you have for keeping the divisions in a bubble is to not know which teams are good and which are bad?

 

[Voight]

Something tells me you wouldnt of made this post if the Habs had lost to either Toronto or Winnipeg.

This season sucked. Way too much repetition.

 

[JianYang]

It just doesn't work for Canadian teams... A division with so many time zones, including Winnipeg and Vancouver, who have nobody in their timezones within the division.

 

[Hockey4Lyfe]

In the nicest way I could possibly say this…

This is an absolutely awful idea.

 

[JianYang]

Habs fan doesn't want to be in a division with the Bruins, Lightning, and Panthers.

Shocking development.

I think the biggest complaints this year from habs fans is that the division got boring, and there were alot of late starts, which made it hard to follow, including an 11 pm start mid week. It was just a really weird division with the constant time zone shifts, and local start times being all over the place.

 

[Midnight Judges]

As a Habs fan,

Ah, and there you have it:

Your team would be golfing right now in a normal year but you would like to maintain this unearned competitive advantage because it would screw over more deserving teams in your favor.

Here's my counter offer, and it's about as rational as what you just typed: The Washington Capitals are in the stanley cup final every single year. All the other teams can compete to see who gets the other spot.

 

[Jormungandr]

Hell no. And it’s not just the “only play teams in your division” part that needs to go. The “series” need to go as well. Playing the same team 4-7 times in a row was awful.

 

[SaintsThomas]

Something tells me you wouldnt of made this post if the Habs had lost to either Toronto or Winnipeg.

This season sucked. Way too much repetition.

There's no way to prove it because I wasn't active here then, but I can assure you I was saying it midway through the season actually.

 

[Gamimenos]

Ah, and there you have it:

Your team would be golfing right now in a normal year but you would like to maintain this unearned competitive advantage because it would screw over more deserving teams in your favor.

Here's my counter offer, and it's about as rational as what you just typed: The Washington Capitals are in the stanley cup final every single year. All the other teams can compete to see who gets the other spot.

What unearned advantage did the Habs get that every other north division team didn't?