It's going to be brutal pretty much all those teams are on the rise, or have the players to have quick turnarounds.
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NHL March 2013 |OT| Black History Forever
- Thread starter Quick
- Start date
And Toronto is also in the division.
sazabirules
Unconfirmed Member
Swapping Winnipeg and Columbus while they wait for the Phoenix situation to play out made too much sense for the NHL, I guess.
Realigning into unbalanced Conferences is stupid. Western teams will play 39% of their games against non-conference opposition. That will really build rivalries.
And you can have two teams from the same division both win division championships.
So if next year, say, Montreal finishes fifth in their division but eighth in the East they would play the top Atlantic team in the first round. If they win that round and the next one, they would be Atlantic division champions, and play the champion of their actual division in the Conference Finals.
Realigning into unbalanced Conferences is stupid. Western teams will play 39% of their games against non-conference opposition. That will really build rivalries.
And you can have two teams from the same division both win division championships.
So if next year, say, Montreal finishes fifth in their division but eighth in the East they would play the top Atlantic team in the first round. If they win that round and the next one, they would be Atlantic division champions, and play the champion of their actual division in the Conference Finals.
Hah I mean, yeah, we suck. But this makes it that much harder when a team that hardly ever misses the playoffs will be sucking up one of three guaranteed spots in the conference now.
Freyjadour
Member
Just when it feels like Strickland has been decent lately he starts chirping about trading Stewart. Why on gods green fuck would we do that when he's producing like he is.
Easily tied with Sobotka (Allen runner-up) for my favorite Blue this year.
Easily tied with Sobotka (Allen runner-up) for my favorite Blue this year.
CrazedArabMan
Member
I don't know why people keep bringing up contraction. The NHL would never allow it to happen. If you start contracting teams, it lowers the value of other teams and makes it harder to bring in new ownership.
Also, the only team that's in a position to move anytime soon is Phoenix.
What the fuck are you babbling about? There is ONE team in Chicago's division that isn't in their time zone and it's only an hour behind.
Lone_Prodigy
Member
Luongo starts. Bieksa expects to play. Pinizzotto is on the plane and might play.
Expect another snoozer tonight.
Expect another snoozer tonight.
T.M. MacReady
NO ONE DENIES MEMBER
it would be great if they just moved the Panthers to Seattle so the conferences are even.
I hope they go to Quebec and the Northeast/Florida division ends up with 9 teams. If the NHL thinks a 16/14 split is fine then why not 17/13.
Listen to this guy, TeethMummy, he knows his stuff.
wsoxfan1214
Banned
All of the teams are boring as shit to watch besides Colorado. Shut the fuck up once in a while and think.
Panthers aren't moving. They have a long lease and their owners lose out on a ton of money from the arena and surrounding businesses if the team is gone.
I hope they do too. Then we can get even more butthurt eastern conference fans complaining.
T.M. MacReady
NO ONE DENIES MEMBER
Indeed he does.
My issue isn't really wanting contraction, its more that I really don't want expansion. Too many teams are struggling and adding more and diluting the talent pool is, in my somewhat uninformed opinion, not a good move for the league.
Good point. The insanely cheap tickets there just make me jealous, and it amazes me that the team is profitable.
I'm more bewildered than butthurt that the league would move to unbalanced conferences when Detroit would fit so well in the new Central division.
wsoxfan1214
Banned
That's what you get when you whine and cry enough for five years.
Expansion is going to be a double edged sword, but if they expand to the right places, it will help those teams. QC and Toronto and guaranteed to bring in a ton of cash which will bump up the amount of money put into revenue sharing. On the other hand, with those two teams is going to push the salary cap to grow faster which means the percentages and dollar amounts put in/distributed for revenue sharing and probably going to need to be re-evaluated at some point.
I've never really agreed with this. The NHL probably has the biggest pool of any sport other than soccer to draw players from. With all the junior leagues, colleges, and euro leagues to bring players from, I really don't see another 40-46 players diluting things at all.
The team most likely isn't profitable but their ownership group is with all the arena revenue from other events.
It would have made a lot of sense to keep the 6-division setup until expansion but maybe teams wanted to cut down on travel costs as soon as possible.
:lol no
On top of that, it allows teams like Colombus and Florida to move into divisions with higher profile teams to compete with on a regular basis.
This too.
yankeehater
Member
I am glad they are realinging. Doesnt bother me that there are more teams in the East since the Flyers wont be competing any time soon.
KernelPanic
Member
Flyers made a quick turnaround after drafting JVR at #2, you can do it again. Getting a real goalie will help.
wsoxfan1214
Banned
Minnesota and Nashville are boring. Winnipeg and Colorado will be fine. Dallas is okay. St. Louis is bleh but will be fine since they're such pieces of shit. Nothing that really pops out though.
ZeroGravity
Member
The problem is the league has effectively made it harder for them to make the playoffs, thereby taking away potential playoff revenue. That matters more to southern teams than a few extra snowbird tickets during the season.
They've also significantly increased both Florida and Tampa's travel costs.
endresults
Member
They're doing them a fucking favor. The SE is the most boring division in sports.
ZeroGravity
Member
If they're missing the playoffs year after year, that will kill fan interest. It doesnt matter who they play.
endresults
Member
That's their problem. If they can't scratch out games against their own division they don't deserve to be in the playoffs anyway.
Freyjadour
Member
Dreger is a moron regurgitating old (December/January) rumors. There's absolutely zero chance we don't sign and keep Stewart while he's producing more than Oshie at the RW. Armstrong has pretty much said exactly that.
Last year it was a matter of "does he fit here, does he buy into the system?" The answer is obviously a yes at the halfway mark.
Of late Jackman has been pairing with Petro and doing quite well at it (leading in +/-, always good hit and blocked shot counts, fewer blunders with the puck than Petro right now). We still have a hole in LHD, we also have a 1/3 C issue, but we aren't blowing up some of the only consistent offensive chemistry we've had all season.
ZeroGravity
Member
That's true now, but putting them into the Northeast isn't going to help either. It's completely hypocritical of the league to bend over backwards to help one southern team (Phoenix) that's basically failed anyway, to turn around and punish two other southern teams who actually can fill a building when they have good teams.
Not with this coach and system. Not unless it's a clone of Hasek. It's funny, JVR had nothing to do with the quick turnaround. He didn't play until 09-10.
Good point. I think Pittsburgh and Columbus should swap places with TB and Florida.
endresults
Member
Having four of the original six in your division coming through your barn every year is a punishment? Jesus, do you want some kind of euro promotion/relegation system or what?
This is a good thing. Your teams have to improve now since they can't rely on those points they would otherwise get from the Playskool division they were in before.
It's not just about Florida, it's about EVERYONE. I'm sure Detroit fans don't give a shit about those scrub teams coming through their arena either.
wsoxfan1214
Banned
Yes. Columbus and Florida are essentially AHL teams anyways. :lol
They already do miss the playoffs year after year, aside from last year.
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
So, just like it is now in the Western Conference playoffs? OK then.
Future Foundation
Member
Didn't Buffalo get a first from Nashville?
That's how I would have done it. Pittsburgh is closer to Detroit and Columbus than it is to Philadelphia and you wouldn't have to have an entire division in between the Florida teams and the rest of their division.
Exactly.
KernelPanic
Member
https://twitter.com/LAKings/status/312241350563217409
@LAKings
Realignment approved. The best news about this is that our friends @VanCanucks are in our division now -- http://ht.ly/iVRdI
lol they are still at it.
@LAKings
Realignment approved. The best news about this is that our friends @VanCanucks are in our division now -- http://ht.ly/iVRdI
lol they are still at it.
BigJonsson
Member
The Leafs are going to resume mopping the floors with the Detroit Dead Things
#RivalryRenewed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vch-6k42XU
#RivalryRenewed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vch-6k42XU
Buba Big Guns
Banned
Yea, realignment is pretty bad. How is Quebec getting a team now?
Is the NHL banking on two expansion teams in the West? What city other than Seattle is a viable hockey market in the west?
Is the NHL banking on two expansion teams in the West? What city other than Seattle is a viable hockey market in the west?
Plinko
Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Milwaukee. Let's get this thing done.