Endless Possibilities. Zero Consensus.
With the news coming down that only two cities actually ponied up the $10M to apply for expansion, we have to look at the very real possibility that the perceived “Westward Expansion” ain’t happening. That said, I threw together a quick map that I shared on twitter (feel free to follow me @NHLMaps), but neglected to post …
The Florida Panthers have always been the easy whipping-boy for the “hockey doesn’t belong in non-traditional markets” crowd. They are also always the first picked on by the “NHL realignment is easy, just do this….” crowd. The reality is, they have one of the cushiest arena leases out there (and for 14 more years). So …
Since the Coyotes are locked in (for at least five years), what might an NHL with expansion teams in Seattle and Quebec City look like? Let’s face it, relocation isn’t happening anytime soon (breath easy Panther, Devil, Blue Jacket fans). NHL expansion is the next hot thing (despite “talent pool” arguments to the contrary). Let’s …
In his NY Times post, FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver steps away from politics and baseball to take on the NHL. The post’s title, “Why Can’t Canada Win the Stanley Cup?” is a lead-in premise to his re-imagining of a more balanced league in terms of where and how intense fanbases seem to be. It’s nice to …
Included in the following ZIP file is a Photoshop file of the NHL realignment the league announced recently with a ton of layers you can turn on and off, and selectable teams that can be relocated (or contracted) at will. If you want to add team logos that aren’t part of the current 30, there …
My final proposal is just a little too late. And it’s too bad, because I went all “Howard Hughes” obsessive with it and made it into more of an infographic — and the Scheduling Pods and Scheduling Quads concept was so cool… oh well. In both phases of this two phase plan: Chicago fans can …
You all knew I wouldn’t be able to stop. Here is the most radical, yet positively doable re-imagining of the NHL yet. It’s a crazy hybridization of the plans being tossed around lately, plus relocation and expansion. It addresses the biggest gripe of the latest realignment—Chicago losing Detroit as a more-than-two-games-per-season opponent. It does however …
Schedule: Against each divisional opponent — 3 home and 3 away games: 6 games x 4 teams = 24 games Against each non-divisional conference opponent — 1 home and 1 away game: 2 games x 10 teams = 20 games Against each non-conference opponent — 1 home and 1 away game: 2 games x 15 …
The Benefits: • Rivalries — Like I mentioned earlier in this post, with reader inputs I’ve done my best work so far in keeping most of the major rivalries together. The more obvious ones are all here, of course, but even the “secondary” ones like the Sabres and the Leafs have been maintained where possible. Some …
The Benefits: • Media — With one conference boasting all eight members as previous Stanley Cup winners, we might score a bit of a running narrative for TV/print/electronic media to latch on to. Kind of like the SEC has in college football now. The teams in the Orr will obviously hate each other a ton, but …