Scheduling from Oblivion
Time to throw in my two cents on the NHL schedule announced yesterday. There’s been quite the outburst of whining over Tampa Bay opening its Stanley Cup defense against Carolina, as well as other teams having to play lots of games against Carolina, and on and on. We might as well go back to 1997-98 on ESPN, when you could hear the tears behind the sarcasm whenever they had to mention the Canes (er, “former Hartford Whalers”). Maybe the loudest arena in NHL history (per CBC’s Don Cherry) should just implode. And what would have happened if the puck had bounced the other way on Brett Hull, with 90 seconds left in Game 3 of the 2002 Stanley Cup Finals? That horrible team — that stain on the NHL’s existence — might have (gasp) won the hallowed, precious Cup. (Let’s pause for a second here… I’m sure that thought sent some sensitive readers straight to the floor.)
(Yes, I’m a little angry at the moment. Why do you ask?)
But back to rational analysis. I like the emphasis on divisional rivalries, but the problem is that divisional rivalries mean nothing in the playoff race, where everything’s per-conference. I also like the interconference scheduling, similar to baseball’s interleague play — each division plays one cross-conference division at home, one on the road, and skips the other entirely. (For example, the Canes play one game at each Pacific Division team, host one game each against the Central teams, and skip the Northwest this year.)
On a purely personal note, the Canes are playing at home the one Friday night I’m almost certain to be able to go to Carolina, and I may be able to make every game they play at Washington. Good times.
A way to fix the divisional meaninglessness problem would be to revert to the old-style four-division setup with divisional playoffs, and such an idea has been proposed, according to the Chicago Tribune. So, without further ado, the BTN.org NHL Realignment.
| PRINCE OF WALES CONFERENCE | |
| Patrick Division | Adams Division |
|
Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers |
Atlanta Thrashers Carolina Hurricanes Dallas Stars Florida Panthers Nashville Predators Tampa Bay Lightning Washington Capitals* |
| CAMPBELL CONFERENCE | |
| Norris Division | Smythe Division |
|
Chicago Blackhawks Columbus Blue Jackets Detroit Red Wings Minnesota Wild Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators St. Louis Blues* Toronto Maple Leafs |
Anaheim Mighty Ducks Calgary Flames Colorado Avalanche Edmonton Oilers Los Angeles Kings Phoenix Coyotes San Jose Sharks Vancouver Canucks |
- Should the St. Louis Blues move to anywhere non-traditional within reason (e.g. Kansas City or Oklahoma City), a mini-realignment would move them to the Adams Division (for a regional rivalry with Dallas) and the Washington Capitals to the Patrick Division. Happy, Caps fans?
Teams I tried to keep together: the existing Eastern and Western Canadian blocks; the old Norris Division (substituting the Wild for the North Stars), the California teams plus Phoenix, the Florida clubs, NY/NJ, PIT/PHL. Everything else was geared toward regionality. Unfortunately, Buffalo and Toronto couldn’t go together, and I wasn’t able to keep Washington out of the ex-Southeast barring a St. Louis move.
28 July 2005 / 0 Comments / Tags: hockey