7 replies to this topic

[Mathieu_Datsyuk132351]

So it's official, then?

I mean I don't think this is a terrible decision but that sucks so hard for the Lightening and Panthers (that conference is really stupid). The playoffs will be interesting to say the least.

It makes me so happy to see that each team will play each other every year! That's the best part in my opinion.

Other thoughts? I don't have much more to say.

[YzerFan19]

I'm putting together a massive blog post about my thoughts (I'll steal this thread for the comments thread when I'm done), for now I'll just say that I think this makes more sense than any of the other proposals and I'm happy with it.

[fitch.1918]

As a season ticket holder I love the fact they will play each team at home at least once. I dont agree with 2 divisions having 7 teams and 2 having 8, again the east makes out again as all the east teams will be in the 7 team conference. The arguement I heard was because those teams would have to travel more, boohoo for them the Wings have been doing it for years and never had one less team to fight for a playoff spot because of it. Overall I'm happy but it makes no sense that the west teams will have an extra team to compete against to get into the playoffs

[OldBroad]

I am amazed that the League was/were able to come to an agreement so easily.

My next thought/question belongs in a new thread, but it does relate to "agreement"; has anyone been following the various stories and discussions regarding fighting in the NHL? The New York Times has run a three-part report about the life and death of Derek Boogaard this week. Recognizing that I represent an older and a feminine demographic, I could appreciate hockey even more without the fighting, and in fact the potential violence of the sport really put me off early on. (The first hockey game I ever saw was a minor league affair that was bloody awful back in the late 60's.) And I found myself offended when the Wings/Avalance pregame broadcast this week featured a fight between Bob Probert and Ty Domi, especially considering the circumstances surrounding Probert's death and the finding that his brain was showing signs of C.T.E. Bettman is quoted in the NYT article as saying, "If you polled our fans, probably more would say they think it's a part of the game and should be retained." Personally, I cringe every time I see a player, especially a young, talented kid like Justin Abdelkader involved in a hockey fight. I'm sitting here in my living room saying, "DO NOT make Justin Abdelkader into a goon!" And what happened to Andreas Lilja was criminal, in my opinion. So, I guess I'd like to see the League do something I can admire about the fighting, the pain killers, the stints in rehab...from my point of view those men on the ice are each some mother's child.

[YzerFan19]

fitch.1918, on December 06, 2011 - 08:20 AM, said:

As a season ticket holder I love the fact they will play each team at home at least once. I dont agree with 2 divisions having 7 teams and 2 having 8, again the east makes out again as all the east teams will be in the 7 team conference.

It makes sense mathematically/geographically but I agree that it isn't "fair." As long as there are 30 teams, a four conference setup will be unbalanced. Someone has to lose out. I firmly believe that the east was left open because the Coyotes will be in Quebec within the next couple seasons, at which point we'll see Conference A down to 7 and Conference C up to 8.

OldBroad, on December 06, 2011 - 01:39 PM, said:

I am amazed that the League was/were able to come to an agreement so easily.

I would love to know more about the politics that happened behind the scenes for this. New Jersey isn't happy with the deal so we can assume they're one of the four teams who voted against it. Sounds like Florida and Tampa might be two others. Nothing confirmed though.

OldBroad, on December 06, 2011 - 01:39 PM, said:

My next thought/question belongs in a new thread, but it does relate to "agreement"; has anyone been following the various stories and discussions regarding fighting in the NHL?

I'll spin this off into it's own thread (and feel free to start a new thread anytime you want) if there's enough discussion.

I go back and forth on this one because I find fights to be entertaining but entirely unnecessary. When they happen, fine, when they don't I don't miss them. I don't really want the NHL to ban fighting, that seems like a step too far, I just want the rest of the league to be more like the Wings and not carry a designated fighter. Once that happens, I think you'll see fighting go way down without having to legislate it out of the game.

[SYfanSD]

I am still catching up and I apologize for that however, is Detroit staying in the West?

[YzerFan19]

For those reading in the forums and not the main site, the blog post using this thread for its comments.

There is no more West or East. Just A, B, C & D (to officially be named later).

[jwmann2]

Just like the interleague play in baseball, every team showing up at least once in every city is great for the fans They get to see teams they don't always get to see. It's all about us and what we want.