Official Hockey discussion thread

Natalie said:
So the NHL is gonna be realigned into 4 conferences based on geography for next year. It also means every team will play each other twice, once at home and once away. Check it out:http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=604852&navid=DL|NHL|home

Personally I think its a good thing, it was starting to get a bit weird with teams like the Winnipeg Jets in the Southeast division.
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Well, they first considered moving a Western team to the East to even it out, like they did with Toronto after the Ducks and Ottawa joined the league.

At first I didn't like the new system, then as they explained it and realized it is just back to the format of the 80's/early 90's I think it's worth the experiment.

The one note I did not like was that JR was excited about the two 7-team "conferences" because it had room for expansion. Hasn't the league learned it's lesson with PHX, ATL and TB? Good god, ENOUGH with expansion, do we really need a 32 team league? I don't think so.
 
Onhell said:
The one note I did not like was that JR was excited about the two 7-team "conferences" because it had room for expansion. Hasn't the league learned it's lesson with PHX, ATL and TB? Good god, ENOUGH with expansion, do we really need a 32 team league? I don't think so.
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The problem is that they keep trying to expand to places where its just not feasible, i.e. the American South. Instead of expanding that way, maybe they should think about having one or two more Northern teams. I know the league seems to not like Canadian teams, but lets face it, Canada has room for more hockey teams whereas the South...
 
Natalie said:
The problem is that they keep trying to expand to places where its just not feasible, i.e. the American South. Instead of expanding that way, maybe they should think about having one or two more Northern teams. I know the league seems to not like Canadian teams, but lets face it, Canada has room for more hockey teams whereas the South...
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It has a lot to do with money. From having the money to build and support the arenas, to the money to support the team. I don't get it, LC could probably explain it better. But that's what it boils down to. JR did mention giving a team to Portland... really? fuck that. SEATTLE is a perfect place me thinks.
 
Take a look at who's in 2nd place in the southeast... take a look at who killed Boston's winning streak... take a look at the Winnipeg fucking Jets baby  :rocker:
 
It would be nice if they broke out the old division names for the restructuring.  Overall I like it, though it will get out of whack pretty quickly when Phoenix moves.
 
Unless the franchise simply folds. I can see that happening at this rate as well.

I wonder if they even have a local buyer nibbling at this point.
 
Hopefully they can move soon and just end the uncertaintly  In theory the Pacific Northwest would seem to be a good landing spot.  But the Key Arena is a bit of a dump and I do not see Seattle building a new one if they did not for the Sonics, Portland might work though.  I am sure Vancouver would be happy with that from a travel perspective.
 
Portland would be fantastic. They have a decent arena and they'd sell out a lot of games just by juxtaposition to Vancouver. I can see the Canucks being worried about having another team in their economic zone - same as the anti-Hamilton arguments when Balsille was trying to buy the Coyotes.
 
I think Vancouver would be happier with Portland versus Seattle .... it is far enough away to not draw fans that would actually go to the game, it might hurt a little with local TV revenues, but I would imagine that is pretty minimal at that distance but still close enough to have a geographical rival and reduced travel costs. 

Baseball is going though a similar issue with Oakland wanting to move to San Jose which is San Francisco territory (not sure why) the end result will probably be some monetary compensation, which might end up being the case here too.

But, perhaps Vancouver will see the long term benefits for both them and the sport and not make it an issue.  Portland could also be a nice rival for San Jose as well.  There is a general rivalry between the San Fran Bay Area and Seattle/Portland in both sports and non-sports.
 
Oh, those are all very fair. I wonder if Washington is in some sort of tv area for Vancouver, or if that's even considered local. The border might do strange things there. I can't see it being anything other than a win for Vancouver. A local rival would just drive up ticket prices. And a lot of western Canadians would hop the border to see their teams in Portland as well.

Again, the problem seems more to be ownership. They need to find an owner. And if they can't find one in Phoenix, which seems almost 100% probable, then they need to start talking relocation. Soon.
 
Portland is in Oregon though, I would think the overlap is in Washington State.  I also wonder with the post-9/11 border securtiy if as many people travel Seattle to Vancouver as they used to for a 3 hour game.  Not really sure, I have been to Seattle once and did not go to Canada from there.    I think it is about a 1 hour plane ride from Vancouver to Portland, so the overlap is probably just TV market.  Seattle would be a different story I think.


I just do not see them staying in Phoenix, there is not enough of a fan base that will stick with the team good or bad (perhaps not even when good) to have it make sense finacially.  The NBA, MLB, and the NFL have stepped in in cases like this and facilitated a move or new ownership  the NHL needs to do the same. 
 
I agree with you, of course. The NHL's inability to move the Yotes is very saddening. Sometimes you just have to take care of it. Which makes you wonder what would have happened in Atlanta if the NHL hadn't already been burdened with Phoenix.
 
NHL.com had a few articles yesterday saying the league is adamant about keeping the Yotes in PHX. They want to get a buyer in Glendale and in fact Glendale paid the league 25 MILLION to cover team losses, because they supposedly want the team to stay... BULLSHIT. I don't want them there, even if it means I get to see Crosby or Ovi. The fact the city had to cover losses means I'm not alone. Since Winnipeg already has a team, send them back to Quebec or if not the Northwest.
 
Trust me, Vancouver would not be threatened by Seattle.
It's three hours away on a good border day and Vancouver is so hockey-mad it could probably support two teams on its own.
The Seattle T-Birds junior team has always got decent support, but I don't know how widespread that is.
I don't see much of a hockey presence when I'm in Seattle, but I'm sure it would be similar to a lot of American cities in terms of support, and certainly better than Phoenix. It's moot until Seattle gets a new arena anyway. The Key Arena is not major league.
Speaking of Phoenix, it's fairly common for Canuck fans to head down there for games. In the playoffs it was cheaper to fly down to the desert and buy Coyotes tickets than it was to go to a game at home.
 
So nobody has discussed why Ryan Miller has all of a sudden become the Eastern Conferences' punching bag?

Why did'nt the NHL just move Nashville to the South East?

Boudreau only unemployed for 6 days?

Notorious Cheap Shot artist Dale Hunter in charge of the Caps?

What is wrong with Ovie?

and lastly, why did'nt Dubinsky grow the Stache for November?
FYI, the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans  were the first American team to win the Stanley Cup
 
Nigel Tufnel said:
So nobody has discussed why Ryan Miller has all of a sudden become the Eastern Conferences' punching bag?
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First hit he was WAY out of his net. Second hit, Tootoo had few options, sucks to be him. He needs to stop crying.

Why did'nt the NHL just move Nashville to the South East?
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They had no time to restructure so quickly, the new realigment will work better, specially in playoff parity. I hate the current system where weaker teams or teams in weaker divisions get rewarded by home ice when better teams end up in 4th or 5th seed.

Boudreau only unemployed for 6 days?
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Fat guy is a good coach, winnigest coach in recent years, quickest to make it to 200  victories...

Notorious Cheap Shot artist Dale Hunter in charge of the Caps?
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I Like Dale Hunter! Cheap shots and all :p

What is wrong with Ovie?
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Two things, he ran out of gas. The way he was playing was not sustainable, specially with his off-ice lifestyle. 2. Teams have figured him out, he needs new moves.

and lastly, why did'nt Dubinsky grow the Stache for November?
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Because he realized they all look like 70's porn stars?
 
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