The NHL schedule is a hot topic here in the west, and according to TSN it is likely that the league will revert to the pre-lockout format in which all 30 teams play each other at least once per season. This means that teams like the Oilers would be guaranteed to have at least one game with the NHL’s hottest stars like Ovechkin and Crosby who can draw big numbers to games.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has not taken a stand on the issue so far and has basically allowed teams to make their cases, but one source said it might be time for the league to step in. The feeling is that if there is an appetite for change, Bettman will facilitate it.
Apparently New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello favors the current schedule and is leading the charge for eastern teams who would prefer not to change. The league’s board of governors meets tomorrow to discuss the schedule and the Penguins situation, among other things.
Read: TSN
Yeah some teams like NJ and NY can only draw crowds from inner-division games.
Of course they want the current schedule. They want the advantage of no travel.
I remember Messier in the 1994 Finals saying that it had been a long grind for the Rangers. They played the Islanders, Capitals and Devils before meeting Vancouver in the Finals.
The Canucks played Calgary, Dallas, and Toronto. Yeah, Mess, people felt REAL sorry for the hard travel you had that year.
I think they should go back to the old format of 16 teams in the playoffs, #1 meets #16, #2 plays #15, etc. and forget about the conferences.
I think that they should re-align on the basis of north-south. Then all 6 Canadian teams would be in the same division, and there would be much more chance to see your "favourite teams"
I think they need to do something; remember in the playoffs when they did that travel comparison between Edmonton and Carolina, and Carolina had travelled less miles total than Edmonton did in the round against Detroit? There’s a problem there…
Turns out the proposed NHL schedule change failed today, receiving 19 of 30 votes (a two-thirds majority…