New NHL Schedule

[burn_baby_burn]

I love the new schedule. Getting the chance to watch the games biggest stars live every year is awesome for the season ticket holders, and the way it should always be.

[PIMking]

Hey now I get to see the flames live in nashvegas twice a year. So I like it

[CalgaryMike]

Amen. I stopped going to the Vancouver games in Calgary for the very same reason years ago. I love Toronto and Montreal fans - passionate and loud and lots of fun.

The energy in the dome when Vancouver is in town is completely different. It seems more negative, mean-spirited. I'm not really explaining it very well, but there it is.

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

It is a no-win situation for the NHL due to the number of teams. They tried to go with the division-heavy schedule out of the 2005 lockout to try and rekindle regional rivalries. A lot of people complained.

Personally, the less I have to deal with Vancouver fans, the happier I am.

[GirlySports]

Schedule now is great. They offset it by make rivalries where it really counts, division playoffs.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by CalgaryMike

Amen. I stopped going to the Vancouver games in Calgary for the very same reason years ago. I love Toronto and Montreal fans - passionate and loud and lots of fun.

The energy in the dome when Vancouver is in town is completely different. It seems more negative, mean-spirited. I'm not really explaining it very well, but there it is.

you explained it great, we've all experienced it.

[lazypucker]

I like the current schedule, except for the timing of some of the games.

Why schedule the 2 Habs, Lightning, and Capitals games within a span of a week? Now we are done and won't play against them for the whole year when the season is only 1/4 in, while there are many other teams we haven't even seen yet.

Maybe it is done on purpose so that there are so rivalries to be built up through the 2 home-and-home games being scheduled closed together. But say if a star player was injured during that one week, then we won't be able to see him play.

Again, you can't please everyone I suppose.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

I like the current schedule, except for the timing of some of the games.

I agree, those things are unfortunate. But it's incredibly difficult to come up with a schedule for 30 teams, with every team playing in every building at least once a season, that doesn't put teams on impossible road trips. (8 games in 14 nights, 10,000 miles of travel, that kind of thing.)

As it is, San Jose got majorly screwed by having 15 of their first 20 games on the road. Not because the arena was booked for other events, just because that was the best the schedulers could do.

I'm just glad that buying a season ticket means you get to see ALL the teams play.

[Tsawwassen]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Am I the only one that dislikes the changes to the NHL schedule as a result of realignment last season? My biggest issues is that there doesn't seem to be as much importance or development of rivalries within the divisions because the teams play each other less. 29 divisional games just doesn't seem adequate. I'd like to 6 games against each divisional team.

One of the things that bothers me the most about scheduling this year is that the Flames play almost no games against teams within their division down the stretch. Of their last 15 games only 3 are against division opponents.

Originally Posted by Sec218

Apparently you are...

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

Yup, apparently so.

I too dislike the changes to the schedule but for different reasons. There are less games between conference rivals (Flames vs Bhawks etc) which sucks. It should be top eight in order of points, like the way it was, not this silly division set up. I do however like how the Flames play only 3 div games in their last 15 and 5 of their last 26. We won't have to hear the media exaggerate about the big div game coming up for the Flames.

[Tsawwassen]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Schedule now is great. They offset it by make rivalries where it really counts, division playoffs.

Originally Posted by Robbob

Rivalries are born in the playoffs and spill over to the regular season. The playoff format is what will help rivalries because now you have to go through your division to get to the next round (unless you are a WC and get flipped to the other division).

The schedule is inferior now. The divisional format can make it boring by having the same teams play each other over and over. It does take the excitement out of following the standings down the stretch as the 2nd and 3rd place teams are basically locked in to play each other with about 10 games left in the regular season. The previous format had a far better chance of not knowing who was playing who until the last day of the season, that was really fun to follow. Rivalries are born in the playoffs and are killed with the current format. The Canucks-Bhawks and Flyers-Bruins rivalries were strong but are unlikely now. You want div rivals to play each other but again, it's unlikely they can play in the 3rd round now.