October 12th!

[Reg or Rog?]

Now that we've just about wrapped up this disaster of a season...Tampa should take care of business fairly quickly...on October 12th the NHL is proposing a return to normalcy: A full 82-game season, contingent upon, of course, our friends north of the border practicing good hygiene and washing their damn hands regularly. French Canadians have never had a good reputation for cleanliness and personal hygiene...but come on, eh? Wash your damn hands so we can play some hockey, eh!

The COVID spikes in Canada have been real thorn in the side of this league (not to mention concerts; Roger Waters has pushed his tour back another year to fall of 2022 because of Canada), so let's hope everyone up there starts bathing a little bit more, eh?

But seriously, after two effed-up seasons, I'm looking forward to a full slate of games with a wider variety of conventional opponents. I got so tired of playing the Wild and the Coyotes and the Sharks over and over and over again...it seemed like we played Minnesota 12 times a month...talk about d?j? vu. It was bad enough with no fans and pumped-in crowd noise, but seeing the same names on the same jerseys with the same faces over and over again sucked.

Three more months...even if it means another last place finish and watching Blake Lizotte get tossed around like a rag doll...I can't wait!

 

[Helvetica]

while the division only games seemed a little excessive, i wouldn't mind if they found some sort of middle ground whereby we play more division games than in the past, but less than we seemingly played this past season. Would be nice to create a bit more rivalry during the regular season. Also, im hoping to see the kraken a bunch this season.

 

[orpheus]

Even if the Kings suck and the world is still broken, at least it'll be Pumpkin Season again. :w00t:

 

[Reg or Rog?]

while the division only games seemed a little excessive, i wouldn't mind if they found some sort of middle ground whereby we play more division games than in the past, but less than we seemingly played this past season. Would be nice to create a bit more rivalry during the regular season. Also, im hoping to see the kraken a bunch this season.

I'm actually inclined to agree with this.

Take the NFL for example. In a sixteen (now seventeen) game season, teams play six games against divisional opponents, two games per team, one at home and one on the road, which is more than one-third of their schedule. The rivalry aspect fuels the fan base and these games are always well-attended, hard-fought contests. No question, it's good for the sport. Not to mention cutting down on those grueling 3000 mile road trips.

On the other hand, especially after last season, it's nice to play teams from the east and Canada. Makes for a refreshing change of pace.

All I know is I'm chomping at the bit to see a damn game in person. This is officially the longest I've gone without attending a live professional hockey game since I became a fan. Even if I go to one of the first home games, it will be three years since I've seen the Kings play. Win or lose, it will be nice to walk into Staples, grab a beer and take it all in.

 

[Helvetica]

The rivalry aspect fuels the fan base and these games are always well-attended, hard-fought contests. No question, it's good for the sport. Not to mention cutting down on those grueling 3000 mile road trips.

definitely. And while watching the Kings play teh same team over and over again was tedious at points last season, i would definitely like to see some 3 game stints against the same team. There were times this past season where it felt like the team definitely made adjustments and the compete was there and it just sort of made for an enjoyable experience to try and win those mini series. Also, like you said, cutting down on travel would probably be good all around.

 

[hokiecat]

Last season's schedule sucked. And it would be worse replacing Colorado with Calgary and St Louis with Vancouver. I want to see Crosby, Ovechkin, Matthews, Kucherov, etc more than once every couple of years.

I read that that the NHL has 2 draft schedules ready to go but they are waiting on a Olympics decision before they release them.

 

[jom]

Last season's schedule sucked. And it would be worse replacing Colorado with Calgary and St Louis with Vancouver. I want to see Crosby, Ovechkin, Matthews, Kucherov, etc more than once every couple of years.

I read that that the NHL has 2 draft schedules ready to go but they are waiting on a Olympics decision before they release them.

Well, we do usually get each team twice (home/road) so that cuts down on the intra-divisional games. I was around in the 80s when we played in the Smythe and played those teams 8 times a season but the first two round of the playoffs. I never cared for it and I felt grouping the teams like that is inherently unfair. EDM was always the best teams but the other divisions often had more than one strong team which was always be eliminated by the end of the 2nd round.

Whatever the case, I just hope they get back to the way it was before Covid...at least with the wild card setup it negates much of the unfair (IMO) seeding.

jom

 

[Dr. Tran]

I thought since there would be 32 teams that everything would be easy to figure out as far as divisions or conference & scheduling. Apparently not. 1st, we don?t know the division alignments yet. It was supposed to be Seattle in the Pacific & Arizona moves to the Central. But if Canada doesn?t lift it?s covid travel restrictions we might have another all Canada division of 7 teams, with 1 of the US divisions having 9 teams. And some Canadian teams want an all Canada team whether or not the government lifts the restrictions. I hope in that case they?ll put a US team like Buffalo in the Canadian division. And does anyone know what they?re going to call the divisions? I suppose there?ll be a Pacific, Atlantic, & Central. And hopefully no Metropolitan. After that, the league is going to vote on 2 possible schedules. I?ll quote what it says from Wikipedia because I can?t explain it.

The league has proposed two schedule formats to be voted on, the second of which would effectively eliminate the Eastern and Western conferences. The first proposal will have each club play home and away interconference games with all the teams from opposing conference, three intraconference games with teams from the other division in the same conference, division rivals will play each other four or three times, and a likely return to conference-based playoffs since 2013 with the top eight teams in each conference qualifying. The second proposal would have each club playing home and away games with the teams from the three other divisions, four games against each division rival, six games designated for "special scheduling", and a strictly-divisional-based playoff system with the top four teams in each division qualifying.

The 1st proposal makes absolutely no sense to me. It doesn?t add up. Home & away interconference is 32 games. But 3 games against teams in the other division & either 3 or 4 games against division rivals? At least the 2nd proposal adds up to 82 games. Whatever they decide, I?d want to play every team once at home & once away, at least for this year.

 

[Dr. Tran]

I'm actually inclined to agree with this.

Take the NFL for example. In a sixteen (now seventeen) game season, teams play six games against divisional opponents, two games per team, one at home and one on the road, which is more than one-third of their schedule. The rivalry aspect fuels the fan base and these games are always well-attended, hard-fought contests. No question, it's good for the sport. Not to mention cutting down on those grueling 3000 mile road trips.

On the other hand, especially after last season, it's nice to play teams from the east and Canada. Makes for a refreshing change of pace.

All I know is I'm chomping at the bit to see a damn game in person. This is officially the longest I've gone without attending a live professional hockey game since I became a fan. Even if I go to one of the first home games, it will be three years since I've seen the Kings play. Win or lose, it will be nice to walk into Staples, grab a beer and take it all in.

The NFL example is something I thought about with 2 ideas. The 1st is why not do like the NFL & have 8 divisions with 4 teams each? I don?t know what I would name them all but they would be :

Western Conference
1. LA, Ana, SJ, Vgk.
2. Cgy, Edm, Sea, Van.
3. Ariz, Col, Dal, Stl.
4. Chi, Cbj, Det, Min.
Eastern Conference
5. Mtl, Ott, Tor, Win.
6. Bos, Buf, Nyr, Pit.
7. Car, Fla, Nas, TB.
8. NJ, Nyi, Phi, Was.

The other thing I?d copy from the NFL is strength of schedule. So with this alignment I?d have every team play once home & away, for 62 games. Then the teams would play in division 2 more home & 2 more away. That?s 12 more for 74 games. Then the remaining 8 games would be against other teams in conference based on strength of schedule. To me this makes perfect sense, which is why I know it would never happen. It?s also a better alternative to the 7 team all Canada division.

 

[Reg or Rog?]

The NFL example is something I thought about with 2 ideas. The 1st is why not do like the NFL & have 8 divisions with 4 teams each? I don?t know what I would name them all but they would be :

Western Conference
1. LA, Ana, SJ, Vgk.
2. Cgy, Edm, Sea, Van.
3. Ariz, Col, Dal, Stl.
4. Chi, Cbj, Det, Min.
Eastern Conference
5. Mtl, Ott, Tor, Win.
6. Bos, Buf, Nyr, Pit.
7. Car, Fla, Nas, TB.
8. NJ, Nyi, Phi, Was.

The other thing I?d copy from the NFL is strength of schedule. So with this alignment I?d have every team play once home & away, for 62 games. Then the teams would play in division 2 more home & 2 more away. That?s 12 more for 74 games. Then the remaining 8 games would be against other teams in conference based on strength of schedule. To me this makes perfect sense, which is why I know it would never happen. It?s also a better alternative to the 7 team all Canada division.

I like it!

Damn if that's not the best idea I've ever heard. Too bad the NHL's brain trust is brain-dead and could screw up a wet dream.

Anyway, that's fantastic. Good job! And it makes perfect sense. Every aspect of your proposal is vastly superior to what they are planning. And it would give the league and its fan base a much needed shot-in-the-arm.

Too bad Dr. Tran isn't the commissioner, eh?

 

[05/29/93]

The NFL example is something I thought about with 2 ideas. The 1st is why not do like the NFL & have 8 divisions with 4 teams each? I don’t know what I would name them all but they would be :

Western Conference
1. LA, Ana, SJ, Vgk.
2. Cgy, Edm, Sea, Van.
3. Ariz, Col, Dal, Stl.
4. Chi, Cbj, Det, Min.
Eastern Conference
5. Mtl, Ott, Tor, Win.
6. Bos, Buf, Nyr, Pit.
7. Car, Fla, Nas, TB.
8. NJ, Nyi, Phi, Was.

The other thing I’d copy from the NFL is strength of schedule. So with this alignment I’d have every team play once home & away, for 62 games. Then the teams would play in division 2 more home & 2 more away. That’s 12 more for 74 games. Then the remaining 8 games would be against other teams in conference based on strength of schedule. To me this makes perfect sense, which is why I know it would never happen. It’s also a better alternative to the 7 team all Canada division.

Very interesting, outside-the-box idea. Question: How would the playoffs be set up with this format? Obviously 8 teams per conference, but how would those eight be determined? Top 2 of each division, or the 4 division winners plus the next best four teams?

 

[Nyssa42]

I like it!

Damn if that's not the best idea I've ever heard. Too bad the NHL's brain trust is brain-dead and could screw up a wet dream.

Anyway, that's fantastic. Good job! And it makes perfect sense. Every aspect of your proposal is vastly superior to what they are planning. And it would give the league and its fan base a much needed shot-in-the-arm.

Too bad Dr. Tran isn't the commissioner, eh?

Based on his (I'm making an assumption there) performance in last season's poll questions, I think we can at least declare Dr. Tran to be the Commissioner of LGK.

 

[Dr. Tran]

Very interesting, outside-the-box idea. Question: How would the playoffs be set up with this format? Obviously 8 teams per conference, but how would those eight be determined? Top 2 of each division, or the 4 division winners plus the next best four teams?

Four division winners plus next best four. And I’d seed the division winners 1-4 even if the 4th seed had a worse record than the 5th seed. Winning the division should be a reward. One thing I wish they could have is for 2 teams in the same division like LA & Anaheim or Montreal & Toronto to meet in the Finals like they were able to do years ago. But I haven’t figured out how to make it work yet.

 

[jom]

Four division winners plus next best four. And I’d seed the division winners 1-4 even if the 4th seed had a worse record than the 5th seed. Winning the division should be a reward. One thing I wish they could have is for 2 teams in the same division like LA & Anaheim or Montreal & Toronto to meet in the Finals like they were able to do years ago. But I haven’t figured out how to make it work yet.

I know what you mean about LA/Anaheim or Mon/Tor...it was a full-on-everything-goes playoff all based on regular season record and re-seeding. As I stated earlier I've always hated the systems where you have a set brackets...which is really just there to help gambling (like the NCAA tournament and NBA). I just think re-seeding after each round is best and most fair. So I like your idea since it at least takes the best teams from each conference.

As to the Mon/Tor thing...maybe the semi-finals can re-seed the last four teams (like this year)...but there is still the travel issue with that.

However, your division set up probably won't work as I think CBUS and especially DET will object to being moved back to the West. You can still keep the present divisions and use the division winners as top seeds and use the next 6 (per conference).

jom

 

[Dr. Tran]

CBUS and especially DET will object to being moved back to the West.

Columbus & Detroit?s problem is that there are 14 other teams in the Eastern time zone. If we switched them with Nashville & Winnipeg, those teams would have to travel 1337 miles instead of Columbus traveling 711 miles to St Paul, MN. Detroit & C-Bus are really the best option for the West. The good news for them is since everybody plays everybody, they?d play 17 road games in their time zone & 24 outside of their time zone. Compare that to the Kings who?d play 11 road games in our time zone & 30 games outside of it. In this format they make out pretty well.

 

[jom]

Columbus & Detroit’s problem is that there are 14 other teams in the Eastern time zone. If we switched them with Nashville & Winnipeg, those teams would have to travel 1337 miles instead of Columbus traveling 711 miles to St Paul, MN. Detroit & C-Bus are really the best option for the West. The good news for them is since everybody plays everybody, they’d play 17 road games in their time zone & 24 outside of their time zone. Compare that to the Kings who’d play 11 road games in our time zone & 30 games outside of it. In this format they make out pretty well.

Well, this a bit more to it than that. One of DET's complaints was the fact they are in the Eastern time zone. So it might be a matter of TV as well.

As to the above reference from Wiki: As noted above I dislike the strict divisional playoff format. It was awful in the 80s, IMO.

jom

 

[aaron]

 

[Moog]

Best part of the "season" was Montreal being awarded the Clarence S Campbell Bowl. lolz

It was the cherry on top of the craptastic NHL "season" Sundae.