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George Zoran
Top Prospect
Canada
55 Posts |
 Posted - 01/23/2006 : 10:57:31
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The NHL’s new scheduling philosophy has not only disappointed fans, it has also essentially transformed each conference into two separate leagues similar to that of Major League Baseball.
Out of an 82 game schedule, only ten are played against the opposite conference. This creates a schedule where teams playing in opposite conferences will meet only two times over a three year period. Other than for the fan’s sake, what is the point of these meaningless ten games?
Increasing the amount of inter-divisional and inter-conference play has been good for strengthening rivalries, which was the NHL’s goal. However, the lack of cross conference play has led to two completely different styles of hockey. The East has become a high scoring conference with little clutching and grabbing and plenty of speed. The West on the other hand is more of a tight checking conference with a lot less scoring.
Both conferences have their fair share of superstars, but if you look at the statistics, there is one conference that stands out. The Eastern conference is home to the leagues most exciting offensive weapons – Jagr, Ovechkin, Heatley, Kovalchuk, the list goes on.
Out of the top ten scorers in the NHL, only Joe Thornton represents the Western Conference - and he played most of the season in the East.
Since there is such a divide within the league, why not just create two separate leagues? That way we can have a top scorer, rookie, goaltender, coach and an MVP for each league similar to how Major League Baseball has two Cy Young, and two Golden Glove winners.
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Is The NHL Slowly Moving Towards Two Leagues? 
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