West is not best

[debil]

havent seen this threads over last 25yrs when west dominated but now that east is better here we go with discissions.

 

[Frank Drebin]

I Like the idea of a top 3 from each division gets in and then 4 WC spots for the next 4 teams.

Using today's standings the 4 WC are Columbus, carolina, Mtl, Dallas.

Dallas the worst WC gets Tampa
Mtl gets Calgary
Carolina gets the Caps and
Columbus gets the jets.

Or you can seed them 1-16 2-15 ... at that point if you want.

I hate the division leader thing. It's evened out now but at the beginning of the season there were 2 metro teams pushing out better teams from the Atlantic.

I would just like to see the top 8 teams from each conference make it, and continue to advance based on seeding. Ie 1vs8, 2vs7, 3vs6, 4vs5 followed by 1vs4 and 2vs3

The West being a crappy conference is just something were going to have to deal with.

I always thought it would be a cool idea to let the top seeds choose their opponents. Would make for awesome story lines

 

[CanadaIsIrrelevant]

East is beast!

 

[topshelf15]

Meh it will always be cyclic ...

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

Assuming Chicago at least makes it to overtime in one of their remaining 4 games, every team in the Central will finish the season with at least 80 points. The Atlantic has 3 that can't make 80, and 1 of them won't make it to 70 points.

The worst goal diff in the Central is -24. Every other division has at least one team that is -50 in goal diff, with 2 divisions having 2 teams.

Tampa only had 7 wins in 14 games against the Central (7-4-3), and went 11-4-1 against the Pacific. They went 20-4-0 against the Atlantic, and 21-3-0 against the Metro.

I think it's safe to say that the Central is still the best division, from top to bottom. We beat each other up, and don't just let one team have all the points. That's how we explain the lower point totals.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

I mean.... 5 of the 6 worst teams in the league are from the East.


And the Avs are 16-10-6 against the East and 9-5-2 against the Atlantic. We'd happily switch places

 

[justafan22]

I wonder if Dallas and Colorado would have more points if they got to play Ottawa, Buffalo, and Detroit 4 times each year.

Sick of this narrative. Those are 24 easy points for any Atlantic team.

Ottawa has beaten Tampa 1x and Toronto 3x this year.

 

[Rick C137]

The Habs also have Detroit/Ottawa/Buffalo in their division that they get to play a bunch. Does as anyone really think the Habs have 92 points if they’re in the central where there is no soft divisional games?

 

[MNRube]

East has most of worst teams in the NHL. Id say they are stronger overall, but the gap isnt much. The Habs are not really any more of threat than the Avs/Stars so it doesn't really matter who is cannon fodder for TBL in my mind.

 

[hoglund]

The Habs also have Detroit/Ottawa/Buffalo in their division that they get to play a bunch. Does as anyone really think the Habs have 92 points if they’re in the central where there is no soft divisional games?

They also play Tampa, Boston, Toronto, all top 5 teams in the league.

 

[Foppberg]

havent seen this threads over last 25yrs when west dominated but now that east is better here we go with discissions.

Teams from the East have always been weirdly obsessed with the West vs East thing.

 

[Little Psycho]

havent seen this threads over last 25yrs when west dominated but now that east is better here we go with discissions.

Yup, some type of inferior complex.

 

[KingsFan7824]

That was an option?

Wait, what?

I'm 99% sure you just made that up.

It makes zero sense for Toronto to be in the East while Montreal is in the West.

what ? i need a stronger coffee

That's some advanced level trolling.

A little hyperbole, yes. The Wings were looking to get out, and I'm sure anyone else in the East could've volunteered to take their place. The number of divisions would've been the same, the playoff format would've remained the same. Nobody did though, so sorry 18-19 Montreal. Even another former western team is taking their playoff spot this year. The Habs are getting hit from all sides.​

It doesn't really "come back around eventually"for all teams even though it did for Montreal.

That said, this has always been an issue that there really isn't a solution for.

I suppose Pittsburgh drafting Lemieux, Jagr, Crosby, and Malkin proves not everything comes back around, but for the most part, things do even out in sports over time. You lose after a bad call by a ref, at some point you'll probably benefit from one too. That sort of thing.

If anyone really wants the best 16 teams, then do 1-16 in the playoffs. Luck of the draw, and if you have bad travel, then you have bad travel. Until then, if you go 9 or 10 deep in a conference, them's the breaks.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Goes in cycles. West was clearly better from 2005-2015. East has been clearly better from 2015-present.

 

[Roman Yoshi]

Devils advocate: maybe the West has more parity and that's why teams are struggling to get wins.

I do think the best teams in the East are better than the west this year, but I also think the West is deeper.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Teams from the East have always been weirdly obsessed with the West vs East thing.

It's honestly always been the other way around. It stemmed from the fact that the west was much better but eastern teams still got more attention due to east having majority of the population and media. So western teams fans would constantly point out that the west was better.

 

[AD1066]

I think the shift in power over the last decade makes sense when you consider where most high draft picks have gone.

Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, Stamkos, Hedman, Tavares, Matthews, Eichel, Dahlin, Barkov, Ekblad, Seguin (traded), Svechnikov, Hischier were all drafted in the East.

Out West, we have Doughty, Kane, Landeskog, MacKinnon, RNH, Hall (traded), and McDavid. I suppose also Yakupov and Johnson, but neither lived up to their billing.

I'm definitely forgetting players, but on average it seems like Eastern teams have been getting a higher influx of talent through top-5 draft picks for some time now (and a team like Edmonton until recently had the misfortune of 1st overalls in weaker years).

 

[Foppberg]

It's honestly always been the other way around. It stemmed from the fact that the west was much better but eastern teams still got more attention due to east having majority of the population and media. So western teams fans would constantly point out that the west was better.

Can't say that's true, at least here in Canada. Sure the east gets the media attention, but it's always been eastern fans that would constantly point out how the east actually is just as good, or would come up with some argument for their conference.

I don't see why they care so much, the west was better for well over a decade, and the east has been better since like 2016 or '17. Not a big deal.

 

[Rubi]

Yup, some type of inferior complex.

It's a cowboy jealousy thing that starts in early childhood.
Don't blame them. What young kid doesn't wish they were a cowboy?

 

[Conbon]

Montreal could've taken Detroit's spot in the West back in 2013, but their loss I guess. Plus the Habs made the playoffs in 2010 over 3 teams in the West that had better records. It all comes back around eventually.

What comes around is all around

 

[Thenameless]

As a Montreal fan I'm not gonna whine about it. We'd get creamed in the first round anyways. Better off getting another good player in the draft.

 

[Kamiccolo]

I don't really get bragging about conferences. I mean, as a fan of a team, wouldn't you want your conference to suck? I'm not exactly proud when rivals are tearing it up.

It's just another way to praise your favorite team by implying they would be even better if not for all the great teams they play on a consistent basis.

 

[Not So Mighty]

Congrats on having better teams on your side of the imaginary line. That's what keeps us coming back each October after all.

 

[Rubi]

It's just another way to praise your favorite team by implying they would be even better if not for all the great teams they play on a consistent basis.

I think its exactly the opposite. Critics usually say X team isn't as good as you think it is because they regularly play against weaker competition. Fans don't brag about their team by saying their team if good but they would be better if they played in a different division or conference. Its only critics that say that because they're searching for arguments to prove X team isn't very good.

 

[Dr Pepper]

What comes around is all around

Worst case Ontario, East sweeps West in the Cup finals, maybe even injure a West player.

You know, get two birds stoned at once.

Until then, though, this is just water under the fridge. It'll be survival of the fitness come playoff time.