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Guest4178
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 Posted - 05/18/2011 : 10:38:09
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In the "Atlanta in talks to move to Winnipeg" thread, there was some talk about team travel.
There are a few misconceptions out there, but for the most part, people have a good understanding that teams in the east travel far less than teams in the west.
A lot of people might think that Vancouver has the worst travel schedule (especially since they're the most western team), but based on stats for the 2009-2010 season, the teams with the worst travel schedules were as follows:
Calgary: 55,331 miles
Dallas: 51,182 miles
Phoenix: 49,707 miles
Edmonton: 49,101 miles
Anaheim: 49,068 miles
Vancouver was 6th, with about 48,000 travel miles. Interestingly, the San Jose Sharks had the most number of travel miles in 2008-2009, but they were somehow able to knock 10,000 miles off their travel in 2009-2010.
As far as eastern teams go, there are a few sitting just under 30,000 miles, but most fall in the 30,000 - 40,000 range. Here's a link to the website where I found this info:
http://www.ontheforecheck.com/2009/7/16/950950/how-much-does-your-favorite-team
One thing about travel miles. It would be a stretch to complain about travel in the playoffs. As soon as the first game starts, both teams' travel schedules are the same!
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nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2011 : 10:55:36
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quote:
A lot of people might think that Vancouver has the worst travel schedule (especially since they're the most western team), but based on stats for the 2009-2010 season, the teams with the worst travel schedules were as follows:
I believe that VAN does have the worst travel schedule, and I'm not sure how they could not. Their nearest opponent is CGY, who are 1000km away. That being said, total km are only part of the picture - the general organization of road trips can sometimes lead to additional travel that never seems to make sense.
The 09/10 was an unusual year for because of the Olympics, so VAN had a couple of very long road trips - road trips that would otherwise have been split into more than one trip and thus would have had fly between destination and VAN more than once. I bet if you look at the 10/11 travel stats, you'll find a different story.
AFAIK, Vancouver and Colorado (out of Denver) are the only 2 NHL teams that do not have a single opponent within 1000 km of their home. I'm actually surprised that COL didn't make that list.
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One thing about travel miles. It would be a stretch to complain about travel in the playoffs. As soon as the first game starts, both teams' travel schedules are the same!
When they complain about travel schedules, its usually cumulative over the playoffs. By the time they get to the finals, the eastern champion has always had a far easier travel schedule than the western champion. Which I think will work to SJ's or VAN's advantage in the finals, as they are used to that sort of travel while the eastern teams are not. |
Edited by - nuxfan on 05/18/2011 10:56:41 |
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nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2011 : 11:05:29
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| oh, can add Dallas to that list of no opponent within 1000km... |
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Guest4178
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Posted - 05/18/2011 : 13:48:43
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[quote]Originally posted by nuxfan
[quote]
"I believe that VAN does have the worst travel schedule, and I'm not sure how they could not."
I don't get your point about Vancouver's travel schedule. ("That you're not sure how they could not" have the worst travel schedule.")
The stats, which I believe are accurate, show five teams with worst travel schedules (as in total miles travelled) in 2009-2010. And the year before that (which was not an Olympic year), the Canucks were 5th worst in total travel miles. So that's two years in a row where the Canucks ranked below either four or five teams in total travel miles. I don't have the stats for this past season, but I would speculate that things wouldn't be much different?
Are you saying you don't believe the stats provided, or that regardless of the stats, you just believe the Canucks have it tougher than everyone else?
As far as the playoffs go, one could make an argument (as you appear to be) that teams who are used to grueling travel schedules will have an advantage, or you could make an argument that the teams who have travelled more in a season are more worn down by the extra travel.
I'm kinda in the middle here, and believe that there's no significant or meaningful advantage either way. Once again, by the time you get to the playoffs, both teams (in every match-up) have the same travel requirements as soon as the first game has begun. |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2011 : 13:54:39
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Originally posted by Guest4178 Once again, by the time you get to the playoffs, both teams (in every match-up) have the same travel requirements as soon as the first game has begun.
That's not entirely true when you think about it. San Jose has travelled to Van for games 1 and 2. If Van were to sweep, they'd have only had to fly to SJ whereas SJ would have flown to Van and back! That's part of home ice advantage i guess? |
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Guest4178
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Posted - 05/18/2011 : 14:05:38
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I agree Alex. That's why I said "after game one has begun," but you're technically correct.
And I also agree with you that it's another benefit of "home ice advantage."
But let me ask you something: as a Canucks fan, are you surprised about the stats on travel mileage. I would have guessed Vancouver to have the most travel miles, so seeing the stats was a bit surprising. Emphasis on "bit" though, because the teams with more travel miles than Vancouver do not edge them out by a lot.
What it tells me is that there is quite a disparity in travel, and there are more than a few teams who could make travel miles an excuse. Most do not though, and primarily because they knew this when they were granted a franchise. (And I also think they do not want to remind free agents, etc. about this.) Fans will point out all challenges faced by a team though, and for the most part, that's understandable.
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Beans15
Moderator
Canada
8286 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2011 : 14:05:55
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Travel has less impact on the game today than it did 15-20 years ago or even before that. Every team charters flights and have their departure times catered to. The NHL also doesn't often have Vancouver play Florida in FLA directly after a Vancouver home stand for example. You will often see a team from the west skip across to the east on a road trip. For example, I recall a few road trips for the Oilers last year that would include 4-5 games that would start in Minnesota or Chicago, go to to New York or New Jersey, continue south and play Tampa and Florida, then play in Nashville before coming back to Edmonton. I also recall these teams will often get a 2 day break after a road trip like that.
It doesn't always happen like that, but it does for the most part. |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2011 : 16:05:31
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I'm guessing teams bring up the travel thing as a constant reminder to the league to try to set their schedules up as fairly as possible. As far as it being used as an excuse, i do understand it can have an affect, but like you pointed out, one team is not the only one dealing with it! It's not as though there's a team in Hawaii having much more travel than the rest!
As far as east vs west teams, sure, the west is at a slight disadvantage, even with having preference to flight times and their own planes, etc. There still is travel between hotel and airport, security, delays, etc where a team is stuck in transit and others are home resting. I do think sometimes it's blown outta proportion by teams like Vancouver especially come playoff time when teams rely so much on adrenaline! Sure, during the season, a team may come out flat and that could be a result of recent travel but is there any real proof to that??? |
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nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2011 : 16:19:40
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Are you saying you don't believe the stats provided, or that regardless of the stats, you just believe the Canucks have it tougher than everyone else?
sorry guest, I didn't actually look at the link, and didn't realize that it had miles travelled for the year before. 09/10 was an anomaly year, but 08/09 was not. 6th worst in miles seems to be the case.
As I did say though, I do think the Canucks have it worse than miles indicate. They are one of only 3 teams (VAN, COL, DAL) that hop on a plane for at least 1 hour any time they leave home. Even teams like CGY, EDM, ANA that appear to accumulate the most miles get to play at least 3 games a year they can take a bus to.
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as a Canucks fan, are you surprised about the stats on travel mileage
I am surprised, but I guess the schedulers try to minimize travel requirements for some teams. The stats page has a link at the bottom to an article where Gillis asked the league to try and reduce the Canucks miles in March 2009. I'm guessing that if the stats went back to 08/09, they would show that the Canucks were indeed the highest mileage team in the NHL.
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Beans15
Moderator
Canada
8286 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2011 : 20:31:31
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| Take a bus to?? Where would Edmonton take a bus to?? It's 3+ hours to Calgary by bus or about 35 minutes by plane. The Oilers NEVER take a bus anywhere from Edmonton. |
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nuxfan
PickupHockey All-Star
3670 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2011 : 22:19:16
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It's 3+ hours to Calgary by bus
Its 3+ hours to CGY by bus??? Are you kidding? I've travelled that road many a time, the only time its 3+ hours is if there is a whiteout or a major accident. Or my mother is driving it.
I'm surprised that GGY and EDM don't take a bus between the two cities, interesting. |
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Alex116
PickupHockey Legend
6113 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2011 : 23:20:09
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| Dunno nuxfan, i thought it was just under 3, maybe even 2.5 but by bus i could see it being 3 any time of year! Not to mention, a domestic flight with no customs / immigration stuff is really quite quick! |
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Pasty7
PickupHockey Veteran
Canada
2312 Posts |
Posted - 05/19/2011 : 04:48:32
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i don't even think the habs take a bus to ottawa and that can be done in 2 hours flat...
"I led the league in "Go get 'em next time." - Bob Uecker
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Guest4178
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Posted - 05/19/2011 : 10:31:46
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How about the New York area teams (Rangers, Islanders and Devils)? Surely, they must bus!
Wow – the east has it good with their travel regardless. Once again, I'm not sure how big a factor this is as it relates to how teams perform on the ice? I'm not suggesting that travel disparity is meaningless. Just wondering the extent to which it's a factor. |
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Team Travel Stats 
