The NHL should keep the Division-bubbles

[SaintsThomas]

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?

And we get a genuine tournament to determine who's the best. Yes. That's the point.

Lots of pro leagues around the world have this very model.

 

[SaintsThomas]

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.

The northern teams still have to beat each others and end up with a winner.

You do realize that more competitive divisions is a *good* thing? It's good for TV ratings, it's good for the fanbase, it's good for the teams.

 

[tenken00]

And we get a genuine tournament to determine who's the best. Yes. That's the point.

Lots of pro leagues around the world have this very model.

No. You are thinking of the Champions League or something, where whole leagues then play in a tournament against each other.

But the teams in the leagues themselves play against each other during their own season.

Your equivalent would be the top teams in the NHL with the top teams in the KHL and SHL and other top international hockey leagues in some type of tournament.

 

[SaintsThomas]

No. You are thinking of the Champions League or something, where whole leagues then play in a tournament against each other.

But the leagues themselves play against each other during their own season.

Your equivalent would be the top teams in the NHL with the top teams in the KHL and SHL and other top international hockey leagues in some type of tournament.

Instead, we have the top team of the Northern Division vs the West Division, etc..

Not sure what the problem here is. You keep writing posts that seem like you make a point, but you are just saying stuff without actually rising any argument.

 

[tenken00]

Instead, we have the top team of the Northern Division vs the West Division, etc..

Not sure what the problem here is. You keep writing posts that seem like you make a point, but you are just saying stuff without actually rising any argument.

There is really no need to point out the obvious.

 

[Nikki Potnick]

If this thread was in the poll section, it'd have been closed after the first page.

 

[Doc5]

Hope the Habs dump Col/Vegas just to see these US teams fans reactions that keep calling the North Division trash

 

[joestevens29]

It would lose its appeal rather quickly.

Would get sick of playing the same guys over and over. Not seeing the other teams, which would really make me wonder how voting by the media would go. Be so biased.

Could you imagine if you played a bottom feeder team 13-14 times a year? What would attendance be like for those games? Eventually people would get sick of that.

Then you bring the tv aspects into it. Playing in different time zones from time to time works. But now if you are Vancouver and you are playing the East teams 40 times a year, really makes for crappy viewership for one of the teams.

 

[Midnight Judges]

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

I didn't say the other teams in the North didn't have that same advantage of not playing against any top 10 NHL teams. They certainly did!

 

[KingJoffrey]

North was garbage. Only Leafs have a shot make to playoffs next season. And they fight for that 4 spots. Florida, Tampa and Boston are all better than them. Jets are a joke with puppet coach, Oilers is a two men team and rest are not even worth mentioning.

 

[Midnight Judges]

The northern teams still have to beat each others and end up with a winner.

You do realize that more competitive divisions is a *good* thing? It's good for TV ratings, it's good for the fanbase, it's good for the teams.

I don't see why putting lesser teams in the playoffs at the expense of better teams is an improvement.

Good for which fanbase? Seems to me you are screwing over one fanbase in order to appease a different one. If I'm a fan of the team that gets screwed, maybe I just go watch basketball instead.

 

[CheldishGamibno]

The second I saw the thread I knew it would be a North Division fan.

No one else wants to play the same few teams all season.

I'm a Habs fan and I hated the bubble divisons format. HARD pass.
There's is 32 teams for a reason, every teams need to play against each other.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I don't know about full-on bubbles, but I would like to see a reduction in the inter-conference games and a heavier emphasis on the divisions. The divisional series this year have been much more interesting to follow than the usual gauntlet of random non-rivalry matchups that only hardcore fans care about.

And the Canadian Division worked out a lot better than I would have expected. I'm sold on it as a superior option to mixing those teams in with the others.

It's possible to have the best of both worlds here. Keep the Canadian Division, get rid of most/all inter-conference games before the playoffs. Shift those open dates to add more divisional games, and you still have Montreal/Boston, Toronto/Detroit, etc at least a few times a year.

 

[Zenos]

As an Edmonton fan, I didn't care for the North division.

Not only was it beyond repetitive by the end (despite a short season), but I just honestly don't care to see the Leafs or Habs that much (not to mention the bloody Sens!).

The Oilers already have their two biggest rivals in the pacific division - we don't need an all-Canadian division to drum up fake rivalries with the other Canadian clubs.

 

[MikeyMike01]

I want the regular season to have a higher percentage of divisional games than years past, but I don’t want 100%

In particular I’d like to see interconference games completely eliminated. The times suck and the teams are boring and irrelevant.

 

[CovidCupChamps]

No they shouldn't.

 

[Voight]

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.

The product would be stale after 1 season... aka now. Nobody wants to see your team play the same 6 or 7 teams all season long.

Teams would also never agree to it; i.e. I'm sure Arizona sells a lot more tickets when McDavid and Matthews come to town.

 

[TheNewEra]

i liked the emphasis on the rivalries more, go back to the old divisions but schedule more games for out of division 'rivals'. So for ottawa more games v vancouver, edmonton, calgary, winnipeg.

 

[DonM]

Playing only Canadian teams for a year was awesome. In the long run I think it would be unhealthy and too insular even for me, but damn will I miss it. Once in a lifetime opportunity.

 

[KingsFan7824]

I like the regional rivalries that developed this year. Its a shame we'll lose something like Nashville-Carolina when we go back to the old format. I really hate how those 2 teams aren't even in the same conference when they are such natural rivals.

They really should be. However, it obviously doesn't work when you have to include Canada in the equation, and, God forbid the eastern conference having to deal with more than 1 time zone.

 

[MuckOG]

Ah...no.

 

[Lt Dan]

From any Oilers fan I say NO ! Now we get to return to the following division:

Edmonton
Vancouver
Calgary
San Jose
Anahiem
LA
Vegas
Seattle?

Everyone dumped on the North Division but this one is worse if you ask me

Vegas is MUCH better than any team in the North and if history repeats itself with Seattle, they will be as well

 

[MNNumbers]

I'll give you 3 options:
1- Go back to the normal divisions, but make the schedule: play everyone home/away, play your division 2x home/away. That makes 76 games. All Canadian teams get one extra game against all other Canadian teams. =82

2- Go back to normal division, but 6x division = 42, 2x conference =16. 1 x other conference =16. Total = 74. 8 other games at discretion. Canadian teams can load up on each other if they wish.

3-Radical. Maintain 7 team Canada division. Also establish 7 team PTZ/MTZ division: SEA, SJS, LAK, ANA, VGK, COL, ARZ. All other teams are in 2 division of 9 teams.
Schedule: For the North and West: Play the other 2 divisions home/away = 36 games. Play the other 7 team division 2 times = 14 games. Remainder = 32 games. Play all Division teams 5 games = 30. 2 games open at discretion.
For the Central and East: Play North and West home/away = 28. Play other 9-team division 2 games = 18 games. Leaves 36 games. Play your own division 4 games = 32. 4 games open to discretion.

Playoffs: North and West: Top3. Central and East: Top4. 2 league wide WCs, who slot into the North and West tournament. One round. Then re-seed the remaining 8 (because after all, we could have only 2 western teams at all left at this point). Re-seed the semis, also.

Any interest?

 

[MessierII]

Vegas is MUCH better than any team in the North and if history repeats itself with Seattle, they will be as well

Vegas is the exception not the rule. What Vegas did will never happen again. That was essentially a hockey miracle.

 

[BruinsBtn]

I say they go with 15 divisions of only two teams. You play the same team every game, alternative between home and away. Then you play another best-of-15 playoff against that team. Then a single-elimination tournament for the Cup.