TSN : Unbalanced Schedule

[StickShift]

So... Which western conference division do you think will get to play the Northeast division?

IMO, for all the heck that the NHL & PA put Canadian hockey fans through this past year, they ought to let the Northwest play the Northeast teams.

 

[djhn579]

I dont mind the unbalanced schedule, but the latest, blatant cash grab by the owners to have the lightning round is a joke.

A blatant cash grab would be to replace the draft lottery with a round robin tournament for the bottom five teams. Draft order is deteermined by who wins the tournament with the winner getting the number one pick.

This should add some excitement in those cities by giving them some meaningful games to play and increase revenue by having extra games.

 

[Roughneck]

Not fair for the teams in the West. Conference that don't get the crappy Eastern Divison

Its a good thing that Eastern Confrence teams wont be taking Western Confrence playoff spots. I don't see how its unfair at all.

 

[blitzkriegs]

So... Which western conference division do you think will get to play the Northeast division?

IMO, for all the heck that the NHL & PA put Canadian hockey fans through this past year, they ought to let the Northwest play the Northeast teams.

Where is the most revenue gonna be generated from doing this? a question answers YOUR question. Most likely, gonna focus on population/market for the matchups.

NW vs. NE (as you said, heavy Canadian influence)
ATL vs. PAC (natural population shift w/east/west coasts)
CEN vs. SE (natural population shift w/midwest to south)

The object is to increase displaced fans to attend their local teams. Say, DET in CAR - a big turnout every year. NYR in LA another big turnout, etc...

I think this whole scenario goes in a rolling basis year-by-year, but for this season where the NHL needs to fans in the seats and attract attention, the above seem to be the best way to do it.

PAC playing SE doesn't do anything really. It WILL happen, but not the same as PAC playing ATL.

 

[Hockeyfan02]

Best record may not be The best Team.

That's been proven in the playoffs numerous times. An unbalanced schedule doesnt change that.

 

[Montrealer]

20 out of 30 make it to the post-season, period. Try again, maybe on something else..

And know what? It sucked even more!!

So you're saying that 20 out of 30 (66%) of teams getting in the playoffs sucks?

And it sucked more when it was 16 out of 21?

So by that logic, it sucked when it was 4 out of 6 (66%)...

 

[Spungo*]

Sure, and I think hard enough I can make pigs fly. Lying by label doesn't not mean that 7-10 aren't in the playoffs. They are in the playoffs as most people define them. The fact is this is a way to allow the top 2 seeds to get a rest before dropping an exhausted 7/8/9/10 seed.

I'm sorry, but a 3 game series is not "the playoffs".

A team who finishes 10th and loses two straight to the # 7 team won't say "hey, we made the playoffs this year!" They will have missed the playoffs.

 

[FLYLine27*]

Sure..your all happy...your team doesnt have to play the most boring team in the league 8 times (devils...YAWN) I dont like this. I like playing teams from the west. More exposure of players nationwide.

 

[Spungo*]

20 out of 30 make it to the post-season, period. Try again, maybe on something else..

16 teams make the Stanley Cup playoffs, period. You can't change that fact. Teams *will not* want to make the play-ins or wildcard games or whatever you want to call them. A 3 game mini-series is NOT the Stanley Cup Playoffs. You are delusional if you think otherwise.

There is also MUCH more incentive to finish in the top 6 of your conference. So, if anything, the regular season should be more competitive because instead of 8 teams being guaranteed a spot in the playoffs, only 6 are. The rest have to earn their way in.

And know what? It sucked even more!!

Yeah, the 1980's sucked so bad for hockey. Soooooooooo bad. Remember all those terrible Edmonton Oilers playoff runs. They were soooooooo boring. Ugh.

 

[FLYLine27*]

Not fair for the teams in the West. Conference that don't get the crappy Eastern Divison

I think you should be happy. The Eastern Conferense has been superior to the West in the last season. We have more powerhouse teams then the West does. (though that will all change come this crazy offseason)

 

[Spungo*]

Sure..your all happy...your team doesnt have to play the most boring team in the league 8 times (devils...YAWN) I dont like this. I like playing teams from the west. More exposure of players nationwide.

Televison was invented, what, about 50-60 years ago now? Players don't get much exposure playing in an arena with 18,000 people.

 

[Chandler55]

Televison was invented, what, about 50-60 years ago now? Players don't get much exposure playing in an arena with 18,000 people.

well...it's not easy to expose certain players when not everyone has nhl satellite centre ice packages.

Anyways, 10 teams are guaranteed to not see Sidney Crosby.

 

[FLYLine27*]

Televison was invented, what, about 50-60 years ago now? Players don't get much exposure playing in an arena with 18,000 people.

Still, I dont wanna wait every 3 years before get to Watch Iginla live, Or Crosby, or any other future/current superstar.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

One thing that disappoints me is as a Western Conference fan I won't see an elite teams and player from the other conference but 1 out of 3 years. If Crosby ends up being a "once in a generation" player - 1/2 of the hockey fans will only see him play every 3 years.

I really dislike any schedule where the Hawks (or Wings for that matter) might not play any of MON, BOS, NYR or TOR in a given year. Only original 6 team they would play is Red Wings (suck!). That's total BS.

 

[Riggins]

Sucks that the Habs will only make a trip to western Canada once every three years.

 

[Spungo*]

Sucks that the Habs will only make a trip to western Canada once every three years.

They will go to western canada 3 times in that year though.

 

[Spungo*]

Still, I dont wanna wait every 3 years before get to Watch Iginla live, Or Crosby, or any other future/current superstar.

You would have had to wait 1 or 2 years anyway for some teams. What's an extra year?

 

[Patman]

I'm sorry, but a 3 game series is not "the playoffs".

A team who finishes 10th and loses two straight to the # 7 team won't say "hey, we made the playoffs this year!" They will have missed the playoffs.

"It isn't because I say it isn't" doesn't cut it with me.

 

[hockeynut11]

I like it. As for people not wanting to see Minnesota play, you don't know since they're not going to be able to play that kind of trap hockey anymore under the new rules. They MAY turn into an exciting team. Every team will be different come September.

 

[OpinionatedMike]

I think if would of been better if rather then, "one other divison twice a team" it was something like, 5 other teams from the other conference twice.

So maybe you'd get the Canucks vs Habs and Canucks vs Rangers

Heck all the Canadian teams could play each other and leave it with 2 other teams...

I suppose it would get tricky at points, but it would rotate every year.

I like the idea of more inter-conference games.

I personall would rather see them move back to 4 Divsions and have the top 4 in each division advance. As for not seeing a player....suck it up, if your a fan of the NFL then you only get to see a team once every X amount of years, if your that hard up to see Crosby play then make a trip. Since tickets will cost less (Dallas) I bet it's almost worth it to fly down south and pay cheap prices for a game for your own personal trip.

 

[Spungo*]

"It isn't because I say it isn't" doesn't cut it with me.

"It is because I say it is" doesn't cut it with me.

 

[Drake1588]

I generally think rivalries are a good thing. The Southeast doesn't have strong emotional rivalries yet, and that's something they need to nurture. A lot of the division's teams are sub-par but feature among the league's marquee young prospect talent, as well as the Cup champion. Players like Kovalchuk, Heatley, Bouwmeester, Weiss, Olesz, Luongo, Lehtonen, Horton, Jokinen, Lecavalier, Richards, Staal, Ovechkin, Semin, are going to mature in this new divisional rivalry system.

The flip side? Well, too numerous to mention, but transplants won't like it... and unless you get an exception, you're only going to get the Hockey Day in Canada matchups once every three years (NW vs. NE).

 

[Russian_fanatic]

Vancouver Vs Colorado 8 times a year? I'm looking forward to it.

 

[ResidentAlien*]

I'd rather see Vancouver play Colorado, Calgary and Minnesota eight times than play each of them four times, and play a shwack of odd games against Washington, Florida, Boston, etc. I have no emotional attachment to those teams whatsoever.

I do.
I love when the nux play habs, to, ot, and the bruins, it gives you a glimpse of what a final could be like.
as far as more rested players( ala mr humble pie) i think it makes for more intense hockey. IF you know your team is tired, and they play their hearts out..idaknow...thats hockey to me...

 

[ResidentAlien*]

Sucks that the Habs will only make a trip to western Canada once every three years.

I agree...that sucks.
I love the habs or leafs games in Van...oh well,,ya cant always get what you want.