Habs to Join NHL's Cash Grab Conference
by Kevin van Steendelaar on Dec 5, 2011 10:22 PM EST
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Well the NHL's Board of Governor's appears to have done it again.
How hard is it for 30 boneheads to take out a map of North America, mark the 30 NHL markets and figure out what logically works best?
Apparently they couldn't do it. That said the NHL will realign into four conferences for the 2012-13 season, that is provided a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is reached, or the current one is extended.
According to the first report from NHL.com, the new alignment is, "in favor of a configuration that features four conferences based primarily on geography."
Based on geography you say?
Well here is how the new, yet to be named conference that features your Montreal Canadiens will look.
Montreal Canadiens
and, get out your maps kids...
The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers.
By adding Tampa and Florida, the NHL coffers will floweth over with surplus ticket sales for Snowbirds and tourists headed to the sunny south. The new format will also have each team play teams in the other conference twice a season, enabling every league barn the chance to host the top stars of the game at least once a season.
That's 46 games outside the conference, leaving 36 games against teams from their own. The current NE teams visit Florida four times each. That would now go up to six times per club, or an extra 10 total visits.
This conference decision had absolutely nothing to do with geography here. It was all about the money!
Now by geography, the league clearly meant what is now the Western Conference. This portion of the the format does improve things, with teams only left to deal with one time-zone differences. But given that the teams visit each other once, I can just see next season's travel schedule being a total train wreck.
Two current teams in the west that are in the Eastern Time Zone, the Detroit Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets, were both denied their wishes to be placed within an eastern division/conference.
Meanwhile the other 14 Eastern Time Zone teams have the luxury of playing 54 games in their own time zone.
The playoff format will have the top four from each conference playing in a 1 vs 4 format through the first round, and then the conference winners being reseeded.
The Powers That Be still have to finalize the 3rd rounds and onward. It is possible though that a team, such as Boston, Pittsburgh or Montreal, could wind up playing their Stanley Cup Semi-Final against a Pacific or Mountain Time zone team, while two others could be playing all their semi-final games within the Central or the Eastern time zones, or vice-versa.
The NHLPA will have to give a final blessing on this whole thing, before it is set in stone.
Think this is gonna work?
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I dunno that it’s a bad thing to do things this way. An expanded Southeast division that added, say, the two Pennsylvania or New York clubs would be economic suicide.
Spreading out the weaker southern markets amongst the divisions makes sense; that way they all get a few of the stronger draws, and it’s not like timezones are an issue. And it’s not like Toronto and Montreal can’t afford the extra travel…
The league is trying to slow the bleeding of it’s failing markets in the south. This is just a patchwork job, that will ultimately lead to a massive hemorrhage.
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by Kevin van Steendelaar on Dec 5, 2011 10:56 PM EST up reply actions
This is an unmitigated disaster for the western conference. Not only did it get harder for them to make the playoffs, but the scheduling is totally uneven. Some series will have 5 divisional games instead of 6 which makes the schedule even more unfair. What a joke.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Dec 5, 2011 11:03 PM EST reply actions
Unless Phoenix moves to Quebec…
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Then you still have two 7 team divisions with an unfair advantage over the other 16 teams. It’s a disaster.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Dec 5, 2011 11:48 PM EST up reply actions
Expansion…
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There is no other feasible plan that works on all levels. The dynamics (on a lot of different levels) dictate that compromises have to be made no matter what plan is put forward or accepted..
For me, the only real question is what does this new alignment mean in terms of Phoenix and a possible franchise relocation. This had to be discussed behind closed doors. Being in the western conference doesn’t jive with sites such as Kansas City, Quebec or a 2nd southern/western Ontario team.
The owners must be getting pretty fed up with all the coin it takes for the league to prop up the Coyotes. So you have to wonder if there is something in the works behind closed doors.
Bettman was pretty keen to get this issue of realignment off the table this week. That will allow him to toally focus on the CBA at the NHL’s next spring meeting. That ’s going to make realignment look like a piece of cake.
Of course, if Phoenix does have to move east (Quebec or Ontario), then it would just mean a switch of the 7-8 conference split. In a way, it might be viewed as being a bit fairer (overall). The east would have a 7 and an 8 team split just like the west.
If the Coyotes go to KC, then Detroit or Columbus could move east and make their new conference an eight team division.
Well, there is no East and there is no West anymore. You have to win your conference to get to the Final Four, and when you get to the Final four, it goes 1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3. It means Montreal could end up playing LA to get into the SCF to play against the Flyers.
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I kind of like that the Habs could meet the Flyers, Caps etc in the Finals, but I still prefer the early 80s way of 1 through 16 with a balanced schedule.
Of all the things they discuss they never actually get around to making the league fair. It is about revenue, owing Detroit a promise, creating rivalries etc. Never mentions the fact that teams can get screwed based on the division they are in.
I remember in the 80s when the Sabres finished with 80 points and missed the playoffs in the Adams division and the Leafs made the playoffs with 57 points. 57 points that were accrued playing mediocre teams.
Then the 1993 Habs finished 6th overall in the NHL, but 3rd in their own division and had to start the playoffs on the road against the number 3 seed in the league.
Yep, and some teams talked about crossover possibilities but then apparently that wouldn’t be fair to the team that finished first since they’d have to travel out of the conference to meet the 5th place team of another conference.
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Can you imagine the shit hitting the fan if the Habs finish with 90 points and miss the playoffs and a team with 85 gets in?
The media will go crazy.
Fortunately, I generally like our odds of making the playoffs with this conference setup. :)
The Atlantic/Patrick… boy, that’s a freaking tough setup.
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It’s nice not to be stuck with Crosby, that is for sure.
I can be bought if they simply name it the Adams Division though.
With only 3 actual Adams teams in it?
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We don’t have Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington, or San Jose.
The only team of consequence in the Northeast is Boston, and the Habs can take them.
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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Dec 6, 2011 2:16 PM EST up reply actions
Oh wait, was there a situation recently where Montreal and Boston didn’t at the very least play each other evenly?
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by Andrew Berkshire on Dec 6, 2011 2:26 PM EST up reply actions
Well, fair. But to say that Boston is the only team of consequence is a bit much.
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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Dec 6, 2011 2:30 PM EST up reply actions
When we’re talking about the Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh San Jose etcetera of the league, then yes. Boston is the only team of note. Not that the others aren’t good but Boston is the only one with any claim of being among the league’s elite (and not the best one at that).
by Stephan Cooper on Dec 6, 2011 2:45 PM EST up reply actions
Well, I didn’t include Montreal. :P
Otherwise (at least judging from Fenwick metrics) the team’s that’s got real cause to be offended by this comment is Florida, surprisingly enough.
Everyone else in the new division (TOR, TB, OTT, and BUF) is underwater in Fenwick-score-tied, though Ottawa is pretty much even.
Indicentally, Montreal did themselves no favors with the score tied recently. They need to re-improve their 5-on-5 game. MaxPac will help with that.
My only problem with Fenwick is that it discounts the goalie entirely
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by Cornelius Hardenbergh on Dec 6, 2011 3:00 PM EST up reply actions
Well our goalie is pretty good so I don’t think that’s an issue, and the other teams in the division outside of Buffalo do not have even close to elite goaltending.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Dec 6, 2011 3:08 PM EST up reply actions
And even though you can make a pretty good case for Miller, his club is pretty weak possession-wise.
I’m thinking that’s why Miller hasn’t exactly looked elite the last season and a quarter.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Dec 6, 2011 6:02 PM EST up reply actions
Still probably easier to make it in that division then either of the 8 team ones.
by Stephan Cooper on Dec 6, 2011 12:49 AM EST up reply actions
There is a rink in KC, but there’s no prospective ownership group to take them there from what I’ve being hearing.
Quebec, Toronto2, Hartford (!), Vegas, Seattle seem the most likely destinations.
Ideally, a trade of Detroit/Columbus for the Florida teams would’ve worked nicely on a lot of levels, although a conference with teams in far away outposts like Winnipeg, Dallas and Florida is a travel nightmare.
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I can’t remember the guy’s name who is connected to KC but he’s also tight with some of the other owners in the league. Wish I had a better memory.
I realize there will no longer be an official east and west, but in terms of geography and time zones (and some existing rivalries) there will certainly still be a concern in that regard.
Florida and Tampa are in the same time zones as the old Hab divison, so it’s no big deal. The only other real option in that regard was a PIttsburgh/Philly swap with the two Florida teams. Kevin’s comment about snowbirds and money may have something to do with that. I’m sure there may have been some other reasons behind closed doors that we’ll never be privy to unless they eventaully leak out.
I can’t remember the guy’s name who is connected to KC but he’s also tight with some of the other owners in the league. Wish I had a better memory.
Was it “Boots” Del Baggio?
He was Sentenced to jail for 8 years for fraud back in 2009.
No, not Boots. It had to do with the circle that Phil Anschutz is part of as he is mega rich and well connected.
Maybe there’s a new guy, but Boots was going to be the guy who was going to put a team in KC back in 2007.
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The Atlantic cartel blocked that possibility.
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Here’s the weird thing… right now, each team has 6 playoff spots up for grabs, now they’ll only have 4. But it goes to 6/13 rather than 4/7 and 4/8.
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Actually, this lessens its impact overall, I think. There are now 50 games in which a loser point is irrelevant to your goals of making the playoffs. Currently, there are only, what, 20 games?
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Teams in 7 team conferences have a tidy 6 games against conference opponents and two against everyone else. Teams in 8 team conferences will have more uneven schedules (6 games against 3 conference opponents, 5 against other 4).
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So is the unbalanced schedule in favour of the East the carrot to get them to accept a heavier travel bill?
I think so. But you can see where the real power is: the Patrick Division is back AND they got one of the easier 7 team conferences.
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Divisions teams are ok for me, and 2 games against every other can be correct too. That can be good.
But, in 3-4 years when we will have face in playoff 2 time each Buffalo, Boston and Tampa, I will badly miss Philly, Pitts and Caps.
Seriously, their playoff system is just BAD.
I find it seriously bizarre that they are changing the playoff format. Its not like the playoffs had been lacking in fanfare and excitement.
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Why not take the best 16 and make it random ala soccer
or go for it ala ncaa basket, and create an "April Madness ".
Easy way the better 16-1, 15-2 ….
but I just don’t wanna play playoff against Boston. Those are good but unless we go in semi-final,we just can’t play other teams. This is going to be boring.
I don’t like the lack of variety.
From 82-93 the Habs played
Boston (9)
Quebec (5)
Buffalo (4)
Hartford (4)
NY Islanders (2)
Calgary (2)
Philadelphia (2)
NY Rangers (1)
Los Angeles (1)
Mind you, the Habs went to the Finals three times and the Conference Finals 5 times.
At a certain point your whole playoff fate can be destroyed by being stuck in a division/conference with a powerful team.
Look at the Jets in the 80s. They are viewed as a failure, but how successful can you expect a team to be when they had to beat Calgary AND Edmonton to get through the first two rounds EVERY year. Then Gretzky gets traded within the division and they have to get through Calgary, Edmonton and LA.
I think it is a poor plan that is the result of political moving and totally revenue based. Competitive balance is the least of their concerns.
I just can’t wait until the media starts with the stories about how we’re gonna face Boston in the playoffs every year and how we need to build a team that can compete against them. Trade for Konopka!
On a more serious note, I’m not sure if that’s possible. Do you guys think it’s possible for a team to be built in a certain way depending on its division rivals or is a good team a good team no matter what?
There are definitely ways to build teams specifically to beat another team. The Bruins/Habs rivalry is a good example. Boston dominates almost every team in the NHL but just can’t seem to get over the hump against Montreal most of the time.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Dec 6, 2011 2:27 PM EST up reply actions
It didn’t make sense in the current format, but it did in the 1980s when you couldn’t get out of the Adams unless you beat the Bruins. The Bruins and Sabres used to play in smaller buildings.
It is one thing that is lost when looking at the great Montreal teams from 1988-1992. If they had the 1-8 format of the 2000s then they probably would have made a couple more Conference Finals/Stanley Cup Finals, but they couldn’t beat the Bruins in Boston Garden in the playoffs.
1988 0-2 in Boston (Montreal 2nd overall/1st in East)
1990 0-3 in Boston (Montreal 4th overall/3rd in East)
1991 1-3 in Boston (Montreal 6th overall/2nd in East)
1992 0-2 in Boston (Montreal 5th overall/3rd in East)
The Habs went 1-10 in the old Garden, but under the current format they would have avoided the Bruins in the second round almost every season. So that teams success was primarily determined by their inability to defeat Boston in Boston.
In 88, 90, 91 they wouldn’t have been able to see the Bruins until the Conference Finals.
The only year they would have faced them in the first round was in 1992.
That 80s team is really under rated in terms of talent and success. Instead of looking at their dominant stretch from 1980-1994 their two cups are viewed as flukes.
Haven’t you heard? Those teams were just Patrick Roy being a hero and a bunch of scrubs!
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by Andrew Berkshire on Dec 6, 2011 3:10 PM EST up reply actions
It always amazed me that people would discount the team on the basis of it’s goaltender. Like the goaltender wasn’t a member of the team.
Is is like saying you guys suck, but you have an awesome quarterback or you guys are garbage but your center is amazing.
I don’t have a problem with his over inflated place in the history books, but he is overrated because of the myth making that surrounded his career.
We’re starting to see the same stuff about Tim Thomas. That the Bruins were an average team and only won because Thomas is inhuman, despite the fact that it’s the Bruins system that makes Thomas more than the other way around.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Dec 6, 2011 3:21 PM EST up reply actions
Inhumans don’t wait until they are 30+ to make the NHL.
THe media would love us to believe he is Roy Hobbs, but if Roy Hobbs showed up in real life everybody would scream “STEROIDS”.
The MSM never lets reality get in the way of a good story.
The MSM never lets reality get in the way of a good story.
This is the long and short of it and very sad.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Dec 6, 2011 3:47 PM EST up reply actions
What I find funny is that Roy was never, at any point in his career, considered the best player in the game. Yet it was Roy who made the Habs great to a much larger degree than Lemieux or Gretzky making their teams great.
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It’s rare for a goalie to get that label. The only one I can remember is Hasek and I don’t think he ever deserved it. He was great on trap teams and had amazing focus. I don’t see Hasek as much different from Tim Thomas.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Dec 6, 2011 3:22 PM EST up reply actions
It was a different time. Goaltending was more vital in the 80s and 90s because it was more of a reflex based position.
I think Montreal would have been just as successful with Fuhr, Cujo, Belfour etc. The thing that separates Roy as one of the greatest all-time IMO is not his Stanley Cups and Conn Smythes, to me his greatness is defined by altering the position forever.
He didn’t create the butterfly, but through new technology and techniques he brought the style to the forefront and created all of the 90s clones which morphed into these hyper athletic goalies like Price and Fleury who are ridiculously athletic as well as technically proficient.
He also spanned three generations of goaltending. The kick save and the beauty generation, the blocking generation and the hybrid generation. All of that added to his on ice success places him in the argument for greatest of all-time. The only goaltender who is even in the conversation with him is Plante because of the mask and the innovation of playing the puck as well as dominant on-ice play.
Hasek fits only one of those categories.
I’m assuming you’re saying Hasek only fits for his dominant on-ice play?
Hasek was a top international goalie in the 1980s for Czechoslovakia, so I think one can safely argue he bridged the generations like Roy did. He broke a lot of ground for European goaltenders, ground that definitely would’ve been broken regardless of Hasek but he made the transistion quite smooth for a lot of future goalies.
Plante is the tops in my books, though.
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I grew up watching Hardy Astrom, Jiri Crha, Markus Mattson, Kari Takko and the disaster that was Sergei Mylnikov.
Hasek wasn’t even the first European goaltender who was dominant, that was Pelle Lindbergh. Lindbergh won the Vezina and got lit up in Gretzky’s memorable All-Star game outburst almost a decade before we saw Hasek in the NHL.
He bridged the generations, but he spent his 20s outside the NHL. The Euro invasion was inevitable with expansion and once the Russians started coming over.
Belfour maybe, but I was never impressed with Cujo. He strikes me as the same kind of goaltender that Marc-Andre Fleury is. Can make amazing saves but often plays just well enough to lose. Fuhr also was intensely overrated while playing on a run and gun team. While Roy is probably overrated historically, it’s difficult to argue that he wasn’t the top goalie among his peers for his career.
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by Andrew Berkshire on Dec 6, 2011 6:04 PM EST up reply actions
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