Tag: National Hockey League

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Colour Commentary: The puck drops on another NHL season

The National Hockey League’s regular season will start on Oct. 12

The 2021-22 NHL season is upon us, marking the start of another promising run at the Stanley Cup for some franchises and their fanbases, and continued suffering and anguish for others.

Here are the teams you should keep an eye out for in the exciting weeks of hockey to come, for better or worse.

Montreal 

Of course, I have to start things off with the local band. I just wish I had an inkling of a clue of what to expect from them.

The Montreal Canadiens are coming off their most successful postseason in over two decades, ultimately losing in the finals back in early July to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Stanley Cup champions of the last two seasons. Their regular season, however, was the epitome of inconsistency and turmoil. 

That’s easy to forget, given how well the team performed come playoff beard-oil time, but the Habs were scrapping for a playoff spot — an absurd notion considering the Canadiens started the season off incredibly hot. 

Cinderella runs like last season are few and far between, but there’s still reason to believe their chemistry last postseason wasn’t a fluke. That being said, the Habs will be relying heavily on their young guns Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki to take the reins and produce on a consistent basis. 

Toronto 

I don’t need to remind Maple Leafs fans about last season, right? 

Since the emergence of Mitch Marner, the acquisition of John Tavares in free agency in 2018, and the drafting of Auston Matthews in 2016, the pressure has been on for Toronto. They have an undeniably skilled core that most NHL franchises would kill for, and the results have been fairly positive in the regular season. 

But the postseason has been riddled with annual disappointments, and now is the time to translate their regular season success into postseason accolades. For the sake of my father — a long-time Leafs fan who has never seen them win it all — I’m admittedly rooting for them to return to glory. Yikes. 

Seattle

On paper, the newest expansion team’s roster looks to be average at best. After all, the Seattle Kraken should be near the bottom of the league in their inaugural season. 

But remember when the Las Vegas Golden Knights made a historic run to the finals in their inaugural season under similar circumstances? Nobody had them pegged as contenders. 

Seattle has some sneaky good depth at defense and should have an invigorated fanbase that could swing the momentum of games in their favour. Las Vegas’ feat in the 2017-18 season may never happen quite the same way again, but there’s a world where Seattle finds success right away while preserving their cap space for the future. 

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Realigning the cash flow

Image via Flickr
Image via Flickr

We all know of the popular expression, “why fix something that isn’t broken?” Well, it seems the NHL does not. Broken or not, if there’s a way to make more money, than it needs to be fixed.

The National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players’ Association have agreed on a deal that would see the current two-conference, six-division setup become a two-conference, four division format.

“The NHLPA has given consent to realignment, to be re-evaluated following the 2014-15 season,” said NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr to the New York Times.

According to the NHL, teams will now be more geographically aligned, cutting down on excessive travel time for certain teams. Teams living in Eastern time zones such as Columbus and Detroit will now be moved to the Eastern Conference, simplifying their travel schedule.

With the new alignment, the top three teams in each division will automatically qualify for the playoffs, with the remaining four spots going to the teams that have the best record in each conference.

The current alignment didn’t need changing. It consisted of two, 15-team conferences, with the first eight of each conference making it to the playoffs. Simple enough for anyone to understand. The new format does nothing to improve it.

Let’s be honest: the new alignment has its good side, but it definitely has its bad. With this new look, the Eastern Conference boasts two more teams than the Western Conference and has therefore been criticized for being unfair by some players. This discrepancy implies that teams in the Western Conference would have a better chance to make the playoffs than teams in the Eastern Conference.

When looking at the bigger picture, the ends justify the means, especially in monetary terms for the NHL. The fact that teams will now be travelling less miles is an enormous money saver. Also, putting small market teams like Florida and Tampa Bay in the same conference as most of the Canadian teams such as Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal means that their stadiums will be filled with our tourists when winter comes.

Not to mention that for the first time in years the NHL can seriously consider expanding. Considering the fact that one conference has two fewer teams than the other, a possible two-team expansion doesn’t seem that far-fetched.

A similar deal to realign the league was proposed in 2011, though it was turned down by the union due to the fact that it wasn’t organized correctly or well thought out. Why, then, accept such a similar one?

To be honest I think the NHLPA was simply thinking ahead. After having just recently come to an agreement with the NHL on terms that would see a shortened hockey season — but a season nonetheless — played after months of negotiating, would it be smart to veto the realignment and cause yet another stir? Let’s not forget that although it likely will happen, the NHL has not decided whether or not they will send their players to the Olympics next year. Vetoing the realignment might have pushed the NHL to retaliate.

There’s no doubt in my mind that the realignment is a valuable moneymaker. Not only will most teams travel less, but a likely expansion as well as more tickets sold make it a profitable choice for the NHL.

So let’s see how this pans out for the NHL. After all, they’ve agreed to revise the new alignment by the 2014-15 season if it doesn’t work out.

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Great traditions deserve great players

Image via Flickr

The Olympic games are a time when talented athletes from all around the world can get together to represent and show their support for their country. It’s a time where a country unites and supports their athletes. Being chosen to represent your country out of hundreds of athletes in the Olympics is a very prestigious honour and reward for all the hard work they put into their careers over countless years.

NHL players deserve the same kind of recognition, yet the NHL is contemplating whether or not they should ban them from participating in the upcoming 2014 Sochi Olympic games due to many logistical issues that have yet to be resolved. The Olympics are a celebration of the best athletes from around the world, where they can represent and compete for their countries and make them proud. The NHL should not be allowed to decide whether or not these athletes get to participate.

According to The Canadian Press, the NHL is after “some things that currently are reserved for broadcast rights holders,” like use of video highlights the Olympic rings symbol. The NHL is also asking for better accommodations, tickets and access for team doctors. An article published in The New York Times stated that “after losing three months of revenue during a lockout, NHL owners may be even more reluctant to forgo two weeks of revenue in 2013-14.”

I do agree that they are a money-making business, therefore they should get some insurance if one of their key players gets hurt, but the rest seems too greedy. The Olympics are struggling as it is, therefore they are very protective of their broadcasting rights and logos.

The Olympics represent the unity of five continents — Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania, as portrayed by the rings on the Olympic flag — as well as a time for all countries to come together. I think It should be the NHL’s obligation to let their athletes participate. The NHL is a powerhouse and can afford to lose 16 days of revenue every four years because it’s not going to break them. As a matter of fact, it will probably bring them more revenue and greater promotion because, as the Times stated, “The Vancouver games in 2010 produced record ratings for hockey and provided a public relations boost for the NHL.”

The organization is already in trouble with fans over this year’s lockout and they would be even more disappointed with the league if they forbid players from going. Hockey superstar Alexander Ovechkin made a vow that he would attend the Olympics and support his country regardless of the NHL’s decision.

Clearly players want to support their home nation and fans want to see them do it. NHL players should get treated no differently from any other athletes and should be able to make their own decisions regarding their participation in the Olympic games. They worked hard to get to where they are today and should not be denied the opportunity to show off a little.

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