Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - The So-Called "Randomness" of the NHL

2macinnis2 · 10-14-2019, 05:53 PM

I'm going to bring this thread back to life, because I think it deserves further discussion. As a fan of hockey and the NHL for pushing 40(!) years now, I cannot remember a time where I felt the league was this random.

Where we stand now is a culmination really of the post-lockout salary cap era. A process that has taken about a decade, and has simply just gone too far. Hockey has always been somewhat of a 'random' sport, in that in any given game, the team that played worse has a better chance of winning than I would say in any other major team sport (maybe save for soccer, but that is part of my distaste for that sport). The issue now though is that beyond a game-by-game randomness, we are now living in team-by-team and season-by-season randomness.

Two years ago an expansion team won their division and went to the Finals in their first year of existence! They may now be the 'best' team in the league, less than 3 years in. The team that won last year? As of 3 months into the season, they were LAST. There is almost nothing special about them. Wouldn't even be a shock if they missed the playoffs this year. This is just absurdity.

Who are the great teams? Tampa? They weren't a playoff team 2 years ago but last year were historic. And then the playoffs. Boston? Maybe, but they aren't far removed from being on the outside of the playoffs too (and I would argue Toronto outplayed them in round 1 last year). Colorado? The team the Flames WANTED in round 1 last year? Or how about Calgary, the team that went from no playoffs 2 years ago to #1 in the West? Maybe it's Carolina, or Buffalo, or Edmonton? Yikes.

I'll give you my take: there are no great teams anymore. Lots of good and mediocre teams, a couple not-so-good teams. Lots of games are pretty much a coin flip, and again the team that actually played better that night is far from guaranteed a win. Why is this?

A big combination of reasons. Salary cap/floor that has balanced the teams (I like this). Goalies still way too big for the nets they tend. Uniform rinks which have clobbered any home ice advantage. A super long regular season that doesn't fairly reward the highest performers. Any others I'm missing?

In any case, back to the original point, I love when there is uncertainty in sport, the prospect for upsets. That's a big reason we watch. But we also watch for strategy, team building and games that follow some sort of logic. It's why we care about the off season and UFAs and the draft and the like. It's severely lacking and doesn't feel like it matters in the NHL right now.

I'm pretty down about it. I thought both Flames games this weekend were stupid. They lost by a total of like 8 goals and that in absolutely no way reflects how the games were actually played. Curious to get the thoughts of the fixtures on this board, so many on here with a lot of hockey experience and obviously a love for the game.

10-14-2019, 05:53 PM	#62
2macinnis2 Scoring Winger Join Date: Mar 2006 Exp:	I'm going to bring this thread back to life, because I think it deserves further discussion. As a fan of hockey and the NHL for pushing 40(!) years now, I cannot remember a time where I felt the league was this random. Where we stand now is a culmination really of the post-lockout salary cap era. A process that has taken about a decade, and has simply just gone too far. Hockey has always been somewhat of a 'random' sport, in that in any given game, the team that played worse has a better chance of winning than I would say in any other major team sport (maybe save for soccer, but that is part of my distaste for that sport). The issue now though is that beyond a game-by-game randomness, we are now living in team-by-team and season-by-season randomness. Two years ago an expansion team won their division and went to the Finals in their first year of existence! They may now be the 'best' team in the league, less than 3 years in. The team that won last year? As of 3 months into the season, they were LAST. There is almost nothing special about them. Wouldn't even be a shock if they missed the playoffs this year. This is just absurdity. Who are the great teams? Tampa? They weren't a playoff team 2 years ago but last year were historic. And then the playoffs. Boston? Maybe, but they aren't far removed from being on the outside of the playoffs too (and I would argue Toronto outplayed them in round 1 last year). Colorado? The team the Flames WANTED in round 1 last year? Or how about Calgary, the team that went from no playoffs 2 years ago to #1 in the West? Maybe it's Carolina, or Buffalo, or Edmonton? Yikes. I'll give you my take: there are no great teams anymore. Lots of good and mediocre teams, a couple not-so-good teams. Lots of games are pretty much a coin flip, and again the team that actually played better that night is far from guaranteed a win. Why is this? A big combination of reasons. Salary cap/floor that has balanced the teams (I like this). Goalies still way too big for the nets they tend. Uniform rinks which have clobbered any home ice advantage. A super long regular season that doesn't fairly reward the highest performers. Any others I'm missing? In any case, back to the original point, I love when there is uncertainty in sport, the prospect for upsets. That's a big reason we watch. But we also watch for strategy, team building and games that follow some sort of logic. It's why we care about the off season and UFAs and the draft and the like. It's severely lacking and doesn't feel like it matters in the NHL right now. I'm pretty down about it. I thought both Flames games this weekend were stupid. They lost by a total of like 8 goals and that in absolutely no way reflects how the games were actually played. Curious to get the thoughts of the fixtures on this board, so many on here with a lot of hockey experience and obviously a love for the game.