Maybe some of you guys need to look at the schedule more closely.
Firstly, give the schedule makers their due for the sheer complexity of the task they are dealing with, and all of the variables and constraints
I am sure there is some consideration for the demands placed on players in the CBA.
Teams have 41 road games, right?
15-16 are other conference so those are ineligible for multi day stays. Lots of road trips are quick 2 gamers here and there, such as Toronto-Buffalo. When they hit TB, they hit Florida
Consider the remaining 25 games
For the Flames, 6 of these are from they do the LA / SJ / ANA circuit. I think these function as well, if not better, as 2 x 3 game sets than they would as 3 x 2 game sets. That would, in fact, be either a stupidly long 6 game road trip, or a 2 gamer and a 4 gamer. No significant travel benefit.
They seem to bundle Arizona and Vegas, also hit multiple mid west teams on fairly logical circuits.
A lot of what they do really makes sense.
Even what was viewed as a brutal February was obviously a lot of travel, however when you look at it
- they start very well rested, off a very long break
- fly to Washington long haul, then to Raleigh (short haul - about 1 h 15 flight)
- 3 days off
- back home vs SJ then to Van (a really short haul)
- 2 days off including long haul flight to Florida
- 2 games in Florida with a day in between, then another day between games with a 2.5 h flight to Pittsburgh (that long trip was 3 games in 8 days - probably a reasonable balance between travel and game demands)
- back home for a full week home stand
- game in Ottawa, short haul flight to NY then back to back in NYI/NJD with 2 days off to recover
Having traveled more than that, I would say that if you were to give me the option of a larger number of 3-4 day trips or trading them for multiple 6-8 day trips, I would take the digestible size trips for sure.
The more I think about it, the less I appreciate this guy’s idea, and the more respect I have for the schedule makers. Not an easy job, and they do pretty well.
No matter. This guy isn’t really a regular Globe writer, he is a freelance writer / stand up comedian based in Abu Dhabi.
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