Time for the NHL to Become a 30 Team League?
With Leafs, Habs and Islanders fans still sitting on the edge of their seats awaiting the results of the Jersey/NYI game today, the question we’re left with is – do any of these three teams deserve to make the playoffs? I’d say no. Does Colorado? I’d say yes.
So, is it time for the NHL to become a 30 team league instead of two 15 team leagues?
As it stands now, there are basically two leagues in the NHL right now. Each league almost exclusively plays each other all year, fights each other for 8 spots in the second season and then kill each other in the playoffs until they head into that final series against some strangers who swim in a different ocean and eat dinner while the rest of us are getting into bed.
There’s a certain amount of logic to that. Travel costs money. Scheduling is much easier when you’re basically dealing with 15 teams who are pretty close geographically. Jet lag is less of a factor.
So, what’s the problem? Well, there’s always the case of the outsiders looking in. Columbus and Detroit are in the same time zone as Toronto but play against teams 3 hours behind them on a regular basis. They are clearly on the Eastern half of the continent, but play in the Western conference. Unless you give the West four more teams, the Jackets and Wings are stuck out there. That’s pretty silly.
There’s also the problem of certain stars never being seen by fans in all cities. Vancouver almost never gets to see Crosby or Ovechkin. How many times did Zetterberg play in Boston this year? Future faces and current superstars are unknown entities to fans around the continents. This is a HUGE problem for a league looking to build fans. Phoenix could really use Crosby coming through twice a year every year as apposed to…oh, never.
Now, to come to the problem that made me think of writing this article in the first place. Montreal and Toronto last night. Both teams stunk in up.
Montreal was guilty of their usual problem – not seeming to care. Kovalev touched the puck maybe once. The guy had Mexico or golfing on his mind. Who knows where Samsonov even was…not earning his millions in any case. The rest of the team appeared to be sleeping as well. Even the goals could be given to Raycroft. So, a talented team loses because they have no heart. That’s Montreal. They don’t deserve to make it.
Toronto. A not-so-talented team with a lot of heart. Sundin hadn’t scored in 459 games. Raycroft suspect goaltending all season. Not quite BAD (there’s always a screen or a mistake by a d-man or some other factor in his goals it seems) but certainly not Joseph or Belfour. And, so, the game went just like their season. Another team that doesn’t deserve to make it. They had their chances against the New York teams and didn’t deliver. They didn’t deserve to win against Montreal. They don’t deserve to make it.
New York Islanders. Another inconsistent team. Not a BAD team, but not a good team either. Fighting for the bottom, just like the other two. They had their chances too, and didn’t deliver. They don’t deserve to make it either.
So, who does deserve that 8th spot in the East?
The Colorado Avalanche.
This is a team that was…I think 8 million…points behind Calgary and went on a crazy winning streak led by their captain (compare Sakic to Sundin in the past few weeks) and closed the gap – only to fall short at the last minute. THAT’S how a team is supposed to make the playoffs in the 8 spot…not back into it playing .500 hockey like the Leafs/Habs/Isles.
The league should think about making it a true 30 team league and having the top teams league-wide make it into the playoffs. You could still have the divisions and more games against your division than anyone else, but have Toronto play Detroit and Vancouver as much as it plays Carolina and Atlanta.
I’m not even sure if I think this is a good idea, but it’s worth examining.
I would much rather see the Avs making the playoffs than any of these bottom feeders from the East.