another rant on the schedule

Kuklas Korner:

“It goes up and down from one thing to another,” [Blackhawks assistant GM Rick] Dudley said. “You take into consideration (travel) expenses. Then we say that is not good enough – we want rivalries. Then we say we want Ovechkin and Crosby coming into our buildings. Everyone has a different agenda. At some point, you have to think, `What is best for the game?’ “

What’s best for the game: a schedule that makes the fans happy, that encourages interesting rivalries and makes sure the best teams play each other so they can be given high profile on television, and which creates as much of a balance to the schedule as you can so that each team faces the same strength of schedule.

None of those things, IMHO, can be done within the context of the current unbalanced schedules. Basically, half the teams in the league won’t see any of the hot players this year, won’t see most of the original six teams, won’t see the canadian teams. The schedule also gives some teams (notably Rangers, Devils and Islanders) much softer travel schedules than others. While you can’t even out the travel schedule without a committment to make it equally painful for all (not a good idea), let’s not pretend that the current schedule is great for ALL teams. It’s (maybe) somewhat better for a team like Vancouver — and a cakewalk for the Rangers, who only leave their timezone once in the season (by my check of the schedule). The rationalization that this schedule improves travel for the teams is in fact a BAD rationalization, because travel is still painful for some teams, and it just increases the unfairness of the schedule for a team like the Kings or Canucks compared to the Rangers or Devils or Boston. Better all teams take some more travel pain, if it means the difference between the “easy travel” team and the “bad travel” team is narrower.

So once again, we get back to a couple of realities: the only way you can be fair to fans is to make sure teams are in their buildings once a year — because some of those fans you’re trying to get into San Jose are in fact toronto fans, or Philly fans, or Detroit fans, or St. Louis fans, people who’ve relocated, or who’s fam,ily brought them up as fans of a specific team. And no unbalanced schedule is fair to those fans, and eight games against Anaheim won’t get a Toronto fan into San Jose Arena — unless, of course, ?Anaheim signs Doug Gilmour.

Versus can’t schedule a game like Washington/Sharks (which might be a fun game!) if they don’t play. Or Anaheim/Rangers. or Anaheim/Pittsburgh this year — wouldn’t you want to see how Pronger and Niedermeyer could do against Crosby and company? I would. but it wno’t happen…

And taht’s the ultimate failure of the current schedule…. it makes sure there is NO CHANCE of interesting games happen, in favor of trying to build artificial rivalries through playing teams until you’re sick of seeing them. and while eight games between San jose and Anaheim is going to be an interesting series, how does that make people spending eight games watching Blackhawks/blues or Coyotes/Wild feel?

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