Optimism (NHL)

[Tub(a)]

[Q]Chris 02 Wrote:

 [Q2]Section A Banshee Wrote:

 [Q2]jy3 Wrote:
sweet, cant wait to see the devils pound the sabres[/Q]
"along with a potential expansion of the NHL playoffs from 16 to 20 teams. "

.... with that maybe even the Sabres can even make the playoffs this year.[/Q]
That can't be good.  It will lead to some teams sitting around waiting for 2 weeks while first round series are played.  Will these be shorter series?  [/q]

Yeah, I read somewhere that they would be 3 game series.

[Tub(a)]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature.asp?fid=7314

The Sabres, Rangers, Blue Jackets, and Penguins all have the highest chance at getting Sidney Crosby. ::dribble::

[Jacob '06]

[Q]Tub(a) Wrote:

 

The Sabres, Rangers, Blue Jackets, and Penguins all have the highest chance at getting Sidney Crosby. [/q]

Hopefully its the rangers, although paying for him would probably make them have to cut someone else.

[DeltaOne81]

[Q]although paying for him would probably make them have to cut someone else[/Q]

That's true, and they'd probably just trade him for Hasek next year anyway.

As for the 20 team playoff thing, the NHL admits it's on their list for consideration, but none of the various people who have to approve it have done so yet (nor have they done so for anything). The AHL just this season dropped the 20 team playoff to go back to 16. If it's too hokey for the AHL (who will generally test anything the NHL asks them to), then I have a hard time believing the NHL will pick it up. Then again, I never thought I'd see a day they'd seriously consider 3-on-3 OT or shootouts, so they just may be that stupid too.

[Brian]

How will these rule changes effect players like Murray and Baby in the long run?  It seems to me that defensive players that have a physical presence will no longer be in high demand.  Teams will be looking for speedier defensemen with more endurance.  Perhaps this could hurt recruiting for Cornell because we play a very physical style of hockey which I enjoy the most, instead of speed skating with a puck and sticks.  Does this mean that Schafer will have to change his style of play to draw the speedier players?  It seems as though the NHL could have an impact on NCAA hockey.  We could see more olympic sized ice surfaces and of course the Minnesotas will get even more of the better players because they play the speed skating version of hockey which may be more beneficial if the goal is to make it to the NHL.

[ajec1]

20 teams in the playoffs? Why not just go completely Little League on the bit and let every team in and give them all medals and trophies? It is sad enough that as it is over half of the league makes it to the playoffs. Hopefully I am not the only one disturbed by the fact that all of Bettman's ideas seem NBA-esque (ie expansion, too many teams in the postseason, etc).

[cbuckser]

[Q]ajec1 Wrote:Hopefully I am not the only one disturbed by the fact that all of Bettman's ideas seem NBA-esque (ie expansion, too many teams in the postseason, etc).[/q]

Although I would prefer that the playoffs not be expanded, I think that adding teams to the playoffs would be a return to the NHL's roots, rather than another example of transforming the NHL into the NBA.  In the Original Six days, four teams made the playoffs.  A 20-team playoff would have the same ratio of two out of three teams qualifying for the playoffs.

Between 1979-80 and 1990-91, during the Ziegler regime, 16 of 21 NHL teams made the playoffs.   That playoff-qualification percentage was roughly equivalent to having 23 teams make the playoffs today.

[Trotsky]

Have 32 teams make the playoffs and fill out the bracket with the NCAA finalists. ;-)

[KeithK]

Ah the days when you made the playoffs as long as you weren't in last place (except for the one 6 team division).  Now that was ridiculous.  But Craig's right - having a huge number of teams in the playoffs is a traditional NHL thing.

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

Except that the NCAA already plays with many of the "proposed" rules that the NHL is thinking of adopting, and Cornell's style of play is just as appropriate as Minnesota's.  In the short run, I think you may see a shift toward more open play, but in the long run, I don't think you'll see a net change unless they make other more radical changes, such as larger goals, more stick curvature, etc.  In fact, Cornell's focus on strong positional defense rather than clutch and grab based solely on size may even help our players in the long run.

[Trotsky]

Being a defense-oriented team is probably even more valuable in a high scoring league.  Holding a team to 2 goals when the average is 3 is more valuable than holding a team to 3 goals when the average is 5.