Scheduling Changes?

[BleedsBlue 0]

Anyone know if for the 06-07 season there will be 8 games vs. each divisional opponent again? if so thats crap, how's it fair that a team like toronto has to play ottawa, buffalo and montreal 8x and then Tbay makes playoffs playin Fla, Was, Atl 8x..all they got is Carolina. toronto goes 4-0 vs. atl...4-0 vs fla...1-3 vs was...2-2 vs carolina....and then lose pts playin 8 in division...go back to good ol days with 6x division and interleague....hockey turnin into baseball with this scheduling..its a joke

[Eazy_b97 1]

It sucks for season ticket holders.

[gp3r 0]

BleedsBlue, from what I see, you might be a Leafs fan. I think 8 divisinal games is great. The race for the last playoffs spots was amazing this year, better than it was the last few years. Toronto didn't make the playoffs not because of the teams they were facing all along the season, but because the didn't have a good team. GM and coaches didn't ajust to the new nhl. Toronto had a lot of big, but slow guys on their team (Allison, O'Neil, Kilger, Antropov, etc.). Yes, it does suck for season ticket holders, since they don't get to see all teams play. But personnally, I think the new scheduling is great.

One thing you have to realize is that the new scheduling was made to promote rivalries among divisions, and it did. Sabres/Toronto, Montreal/Toronto (which doesn't really need to be promoted though), Toronto/Ottawa, Montreal/Boston.

What brings more and more people to the games (especially in the states) are exciting games. Usually, game between teams that have a pretty good rivalry are interesting, even exciting.

Also, think about it this way, if Toronto can't beat most teams in their division, they don't deserve to be in the playoffs.

[Eazy_b97 1]

Kilger is actually very quick. O'Neill isn't fast, but isn't slow either. The NNHL promotes speed, but it also prevents hooks and holds, which should allow Allison and Antropov the oppurtunity to dominate down low because of their size and strength. There were alot of issues with the team that went wrong, I won't go into anymore detail though.

None of the rivalries you listed needed any extra emphasis. Rivalries are usually created from playoff series and heated games. I guess playing 8 times a year increases the chances of that happenening, but it also gives a "well get'em next time" excuse because you know you'll be playing very soon. It helps extend rivalries, but not really create them. For the rivalries that are created/prolongued, there are also those that are taken away.