The Red Wings really don't have any kind of rivalry with the Pens. NHL scheduling is absurd. Gotta disagree with you guys here. I like the separation in the two conferences. I don't like the inter-conference play in most other sports as well. Dont get me wrong, I love rivalries, I just would rather see those "rivalries" more often. So, I'll take eight vs. Chicago and see eight games of tough played, hard-nosed hockey instead of two or three odd games vs. whoever. YYM, it won't be long, maybe 1-2 years and the Hawks, Blues, and Jackets will all be good. The West Central, IMO, is shaping up to be a great division. Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, Kane, Toews, Nash, LeClaire, E. Johnson, Oshie, Perron all in the central for the years to come. And pretty much all within driving distance- StL, Det, Chi, Clb, Nash- I think the rivalries will be alive and well very soon.
The thing is, the Red Wings could be in the Eastern Conference. For starters, four of the original six teams play there and now the Wings only see them once of twice every two years or so. Also, the Wings used to have a good rivalry with the Toronto Maple Leafs until they were moved to the Eastern Conference. Now the Wings are lucky if they even get to face the Maple Leafs during the season. Finally, it is true that there are some talented players in the Western Conference (Nash, Toews, many others, but I want to see some diversity. I want to see how my team stacks up against Crosby and Ovechkin during the course of the season, something that is impossible with the current scheduling. And I am very sick of watching the Nashville Predators.
Hey if we're voting to move the Wings to the East, I'm all for that. In fact, I could arrange for a petition.
It would certainly ease the Wings' travel burden. West Coast trips can take a lot out of a team. The problem is, geographically the Wings are stuck. If the Wings move to the east, then why shouldn't teams like Columbus move too? And whoever replaces them will have the same travel problems. The Wings are essentially stuck in their division (not that that is a bad thing considering their success over these past many years).
It would certainly ease the Wings' travel burden. Yeah those poor, poor Red Wings. They gotta take a first class private jets to places like Los Angeles and Edmonton and San Jose. Sniff, sniff. Then they gotta beat all those teams and earn 100+ points every season. And after all that, there is months and months of playoffs, plus there's, ugh, salary bonuses. And all those trophies. Yuck. Sorry bout that, YYM. It's really hard for me to feel any sort of sympathy for the Wings. (Partly because I'm a Blues fan.) Wing fans, Pat fans, BoSox fans - all should be under a "no complaint" period of 10 years following the last championship season. (Yes, I'm jealous.) But really, looking at the conference set up, there isn't a team in the East that could move to the West, and make more sense of being there than the Wings do. Personally, I like the central division, I really do believe that it will be a strong division in the next few years. But I kinda relate with your feelings on the Preds, not sure why, that's just not a game that I jump to watch.
I understand. I wasn't really complaining, like you said there isn't much to complain about. There is certainly a rationale behind a move to the Eastern Conference though, however any team that switches with the Wings will be pretty much in the same boat. It is just the consequence of geography I suppose.
I also don't understand all this "VS is hard to find" bologna (now the NHL Network, that's another story). What's not to understand? Where I live (New Jersey), the Versus channel is smushed somewhere in the mid-200's and by the time I do reach somewhere near those numbers, I tend to find something more interesting to watch (most likely Family Guy). The thing is, I enjoy watching hockey but I just don't understand why the NHL would move to a station that really doesn't advertise the league like ESPN does with the NBA, NFL, Golf, Tennis or even the World Series of Poker (WSP). The NHL has two incredibly talented teams playing at this moment for the Stanley Cup, but considering that Versus isn't a household named channel like FOX, CBS, NBC or ESPN and it isn't as easy to locate (like some people would have you believe), most people just don't care enough to find it this late in the season and would rather watch what happened via highlights....on SportsCenter. At least that just my opinion.
This discussion about the crappy schedule is moot. It has been changed, I think. Every team in the league should see every other team at least once, starting next season. Or was I hallucinating a couple months back when I read this?
This discussion about the crappy schedule is moot. Huh, fabulon7? I don't know if you were hallucinating then or if you are now, but my preference of NHL scheduling has not been resolved, so it's not a moot point. However the schedule is being changed, you can find a simple breakdown here. Personally, I don't like it (as stated above), and the NHL can pretend that this prevents the players from getting bored, "seeing the same guys week after week". I believe they are instituting this format to benefit ticket sales and TV ratings. I don't believe that one game each year against a non-conference foe will create any sort of rivalry, it's a gimmick. As far as VS. is concerned, BI, I agree almost exactly. It's 603 on DirecTV, and by the time I scroll through the guide to get there, I usually find 5 other things to watch. And since the channel is so far off from the bulk of regular programming (202-360), I have a hard time believing that an average Joe sports fan will come across the channel while surfing and stay to watch past the first commercial.
As far as VS. is concerned, BI, I agree almost exactly. It's 603 on DirecTV, and by the time I scroll through the guide to get there, I usually find 5 other things to watch. And since the channel is so far off from the bulk of regular programming (202-360), I have a hard time believing that an average Joe sports fan will come across the channel while surfing and stay to watch past the first commercial. Thank you! It's good to see that I'm not the only one. I find it troubling that the NHL would stick with Versus and not consider the average fans perspective as to why the leagues TV ratings have not increased. Whatever the reason is as to why the NHL decided to move from ESPN to Versus beats the hell out of me but IMHO, it was such a very bad move. The NHL was having a difficult time bringing in the casual viewer in the 1st place so I look at this as another wise decision made by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. /bursts out in hysterical laughter with that last comment
Thank you! It's good to see that I'm not the only one. Although there is a simple solution, in DirecTV's case. Recently, a few channels have been moved. Spike was 325, now it's 241, right next to USA and TBS, etc... And CourtTV was like 204, now it's 246. So, the channel can be moved, and it seems there is a spot right next door to ESPN(206-209), The NFL Network(212), and The NHL Network (215). Moving the channel there (210, 211, 213, 216) would, by surfing default, allow more people to see the programming available. These companies should run their ideas through us first.
I just meant the schedule had improved -- at least each team will not only play four other teams all year, which is what it seemed like for the past few. (How many Toronto-Boston games do I need to see in a year?) As for TV coverage, I agree, it all sucks. But I live near Toronto, and I get TSN, so I'm not personally hurting for hockey coverage. I feel for you though.
