Comments on: Withholding consent: More details from NHLPA regarding realignment

By: deterrant25

deterrant25 — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:51:58 +0000

In Vancouver, we get Crosby (when healthy), Ovechkin, the Bruins, etc. once every few years. It may not have a huge effect on revenues for the Canucks, but other Western Conference teams might build their fan base by eliminating the unbalanced schedule. If growing the game is a priority for the NHL, why would you restrict your product? Each team playing each other home and away every year at least once, needs to be a priority. If costs are the issue, maybe the NHL shouldn’t be buying teams to manage themselves. Strange way to do business.

All Eastern biases asside, if I played in the Eastern conference, I wouldn’t want a change either. Sleeping in your own bed more nights than not, is a pretty good incentive. However, I think for the good of the game, the product needs to be marketed to the entire league not just the east coast.

By: buffalomafia

buffalomafia — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:52:54 +0000

These players make millions of $$$$$ playing a kids sport! If they dont like the travel than take a minimum wage job or be unemployed like the millions of Americans!

The more money these players make the more they cry?!

By: 1943mrmojorisin1971

1943mrmojorisin1971 — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:37:17 +0000

I don’t know why people are upset with the union and the players over this. Why would anyone accept sweeping changes to their way of life with little or know information about how those changes will affect them?

By: buffalomafia

buffalomafia — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:17:11 +0000

WTF! I said this numerous times, have two 16 team conferences where top 8 in each conference make playoffs.

Second have #1 seed play#16 seed & so on.

Last have every team play each other more than once out of conference so the fans could enjoy the sport!

By: warpstonebc

warpstonebc — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:50:26 +0000

I wasn’t a fan of the playoff format, but realignment was golden. The current system and especially the unbalanced schedule is just non-intuitive on so many levels (i.e. “we see Ovechkin, Stamkos and Crosby in our own rink only once every 3 years?!”

If the media are any judge, most fans were really excited about the realignment. The NHLPA might lose a lot of support here for condemning us to another year of Bettman’s stupid “unbalanced schedule.”

By: trbowman

trbowman — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:03:30 +0000

I fully applaud the NHLPA.

The proposed realignment plan was horrible, and the playoff format even worse.

By: cmdaw

cmdaw — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:33:08 +0000

What I wonder is why wasn’t it proposed to do what the AHL had done in the past when they did divisional series with some divisions being unbalanced (as in having more teams than the the other division in the conference? In that situation, if the 5th place team in the division with more teams had a better record than the 4th place team in the division with fewer teams, they joined the playoffs instead of the team in 4th place. While they’d be playing in the playoffs outside of their division, it seemed like it made things a little more equal. Of course, then the AHL completely re-did itself into a 6 division, 2 conference structure with the top 8 making it, modeling after the NHL’s current format.

By: flyerscup2010

flyerscup2010 — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 05:07:22 +0000

is adam burish really the stars’ player rep? i guess he has plenty of time to devote to that while he’s a healthy scratch.

By: skm15

skm15 — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 03:59:43 +0000

If the NHL doesn’t get their way Bill Daley comes out and goes after the NHLPA through the press. It’s getting old. It’s suppose to be a partnership between the league and players. The NHL should spend less time on PR and more time working with the NHLPA.

By: hank10

hank10 — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 03:33:15 +0000

1) Sorry that the geography of the NHL is inconvenient for some teams.

2) Want to make travel and playoffs easier: contraction. Get rid of the FL teams. Get rid of Carolina, Nashville, Ottawa, Phoenix and Columbus. Players Association want to go that route and loose jobs?

3) Why couldn’t the NHL get out a draft schedule? Surely they have computers that can put one together for discussion purposes. Or, do they have 3 guys in a room wearing green visors, garters on their sleeves and using a black board?

By: sharksfan754

sharksfan754 — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 02:52:27 +0000

I couldn’t agree with pavelski more. The reason this proposed realignment sucks is because of the playoff format with a big east coast advantage. I do feel for east coast time zone residents having your teams games come on at 1030 local time is a major inconvenience to say the least