All Things Hockey 2011-2012

Well Boudreau wasn't out of work for long!
 
Also, what say all of you on the subject of realignment? Here's what Bettman thinks
 
I think it would be nice to have all original six teams in the same conference, or at the very least have some arrangement where they could play a little more often. Its not an easy question given the ratio of teams in the Eastern time zone. Any chance they will go back to the Wales and Campbell conference names?

First, I'd love to see the names of the conferences and divisions brought back. Next, I think it's important for some type of realignment to occur. It's terrible that Winnipeg plays in the Southeast, and as Bettman said, it's unfair that Dallas plays in the Pacific Div. and their fans have to stay up very late to watch all of those divisional road games.

I'll have to dig into the divisional side as well to formulate a cogent opinion on realignment. I've thought about it a little, but there are many things in play for this. The talk about moving Detroit to the Eastern Conference just got me thinking that would leave the Hawks would be the only Original Six team in the west. Meh.

What a month of November for the Bruins! 12-0-1 for the month after that horrible start of the season. 1st in the Northeast Division, and 2nd in the Eastern Conference. Awesome.

How about Winnipeg to the Western Northwest, Dallas to the Western Central division, Nashville to the Eastern Southeast Division and Colorado to the Pacific?
 
Eastern Conference
ATLANTIC
Same: NYR, NYI, NJD, PHI, PIT
NORTHEAST
Same: BOS, BUF, MON, OTT, TOR
SOUTHEAST
Diff: CAR, FLA, NSH, TAM, WSH
 
Western Conference
CENTRAL
Diff: CHI, COL, DAL, DET, STL
NORTHWEST
Diff: CAL, EDM, MIN, VAN, WPG
PACIFIC
Diff: ANA, COL, LAK, PHX, SJS

 

As for Boston, they are clearly the best team in the sport, full of skill and toughness. I'm very interested to see how my upstart Rangers stack up against them when they meet.

AdRock18


How about Winnipeg to the Western Northwest, Dallas to the Western Central division, Nashville to the Eastern Southeast Division and Colorado to the Pacific?

Eastern Conference
ATLANTIC
Same: NYR, NYI, NJD, PHI, PIT
NORTHEAST
Same: BOS, BUF, MON, OTT, TOR
SOUTHEAST
Diff: CAR, FLA, NSH, TAM, WSH

Western Conference
CENTRAL
Diff: CHI, COL, DAL, DET, STL
NORTHWEST
Diff: CAL, EDM, MIN, VAN, WPG
PACIFIC
Diff: ANA, COL, LAK, PHX, SJS

 
 
I like this...a lot.   One of the things I like best about it, is that when (totally wishful thinking here) the Coyotes get relocated to Seattle, you wouldn't have to change a thing!  

Even better, when the Isles get shipped to Quebec, you can move Boston into the Isles spot in the Atlantic and put Quebec into the Boston's Northeast spot with Buffalo and the other 3 Canadian teams!
 
Actually, as a longtime Rangers fan, I love the rivalry and hope the Isles stay in the area.

I wouldn't have a problem going back to a 4 division alignment.  So, I would have the divisions look a bit like this:
 
WALES CONFERENCE
 
Adams Division:
Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Buffalo, Toronto, NY Islanders, Pittsburgh, Columbus
 
Patrick Division:
NY Rangers, New Jersey, Washington, Carolina, Philadelphia, Florida, Tampa Bay
 
CAMPBELL CONFERENCE
 
Norris Division:
Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Nashville, Dallas, Minnesota, Winnipeg
 
Smythe Division:
Anaheim, San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Colorado
 
While I like the idea of moving Nashville to the Southeast Division based on geography, I think their division rivalries, especially with Detroit, are too good to break up.  The only way the Blue Jackets are going to survive is if they move east.  Getting Dallas out of the Pacific Division also makes a lot of sense.
 
I think the biggest issue the league has is what to do with Detroit.  As a fan, I don't want to lose the rivalries with the Blackhawks, the Sharks, the Avs, the Blues, and the Preds.  I don't doubt that rivalries in the East would develop quickly, especially with Pittsburgh and Boston, but let's face it, the Wings have intense rivalries out West, and it would be bad for the league to break those up.
 
Maybe they need to look at the NFL and MLB, where there are East and Western alignments within each league/conference.  So, imagine an NHL that realigns into Northern and Southern Conferences.  Like maybe this:
 
Northern Conference:
 
East Division:
Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, NY Rangers, NY Islanders
 
Central Division:
Detroit, Chicago, Buffalo, Toronto, Columbus
 
West Division:
Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Minnesota
 
SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
 
East Division:
New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, Carolina
 
Central Division:
Nashville, St. Louis, Florida, Tampa Bay, Dallas
 
West Division:
Anaheim, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Colorado, San Jose

Similar to AdRock's but with one less change. I like the idea of Dallas going to the east. I'd like to have Colorado, and not Vancouver, in the same division as Winnipeg but it doesn't really seem to make sense distance wise. Colorado might as close to Winnipeg as Vancouver but Colorado is much closer to the teams in the Pacific division than Vancouver. I say this not because Colorado is currently near the bottom of the league, that obviously changes from year to year, but simply because I'd rather not have all the Western Canadian teams in one division.  I realize that the Eastern Conference Canadian teams are all in one division too but it's hard to get away from that.
 
Eastern Conference 
ATLANTIC 
Same: NYR, NYI, NJD, PHI, PIT 
NORTHEAST 
Same: BOS, BUF, MON, OTT, TOR 
SOUTHEAST 
Diff: CAR, FLA, DAL, TAM, WSH 
  
Western Conference 
CENTRAL 
Same: CBJ, CHI, DET, NSH, STL 
NORTHWEST 
Diff: CAL, EDM, MIN, VAN, WPG 
PACIFIC 
Diff: ANA, COL, LAK, PHX, SJS 

 
I think it would be interesting to spread the Eastern conference teams out a little bit so that their travel distances / fatigue factor would be similar to those in the Western conference but it wouldn't make sense financially.

romdrums


I wouldn't have a problem going back to a 4 division alignment.  So, I would have the divisions look a bit like this:

WALES CONFERENCE

Adams Division:
Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Buffalo, Toronto, NY Islanders, Pittsburgh, Columbus

Patrick Division:
NY Rangers, New Jersey, Washington, Carolina, Philadelphia, Florida, Tampa Bay

CAMPBELL CONFERENCE

Norris Division:
Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Nashville, Dallas, Minnesota, Winnipeg

Smythe Division:
Anaheim, San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Colorado
 

I like this idea actually.
 

Boogie Stax

romdrums


I wouldn't have a problem going back to a 4 division alignment.  So, I would have the divisions look a bit like this:

WALES CONFERENCE

Adams Division:
Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Buffalo, Toronto, NY Islanders, Pittsburgh, Columbus

Patrick Division:
NY Rangers, New Jersey, Washington, Carolina, Philadelphia, Florida, Tampa Bay

CAMPBELL CONFERENCE

Norris Division:
Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Nashville, Dallas, Minnesota, Winnipeg

Smythe Division:
Anaheim, San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Colorado

I like this idea actually.

I actually LOVE this idea, but rivalry teams need to be in the same group if the schedules are weighted towards divisional play (ie/ you play more games against teams in your own division). That would mean that the Rangers and Islanders (and Devils, really) should be in the same division and the Maple Leafs and Canadiens should also be together. Same goes for Philly and Pittsburgh, too. I think you had the Campbell Conference down 100% correct, but my Wales would look like this:
 
WALES CONFERENCE

Adams Division:
Boston, Washington, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Buffalo, Columbus, Carolina

Patrick Division:
NY Rangers, New Jersey, NY Islanders, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Florida, Tampa Bay
 

Very Excited! David Perron returns to the lineup Saturday
night for the Blues after being out 14 months suffering from a concussion thanks
to a cheap shot from San Jose’s Thornton. He’s a pretty exciting player to
watch, very crafty and a hard worker…highly skilled and looked to be on his way
to a nice sophomore year last year until Thornton thrust an elbow into his head
when he wasn’t looking. He’s by far no Crosby so I’m not expecting a 4 point
night right off the bat….I mean who is like Crosby? ….but he is pretty hard to
knock off the puck, has soft hands and a hard accurate shot. It’s good to get
him back.

Claude Giroux is just flat-out awesome.
 
That's all.
 
Oh, and I love AdRock's Wales Conference idea.

Pretty Goal by Perron 7 minutes in to his return game after missing 97 games. That'll help any butterflies he might have had.

Nice to meet you, Brian Elliott!

DTD


Nice to meet you, Brian Elliott!

Nothing like a good ol' fashion A$$ whoopin' by your top rivalry....at home!!
After that Hossa short hander I knew we were in trouble. You can't turn the puck over time and time again against a team like Chicago....especially when they are making the most of it EVERY time.
 I can't be to ticked though, that's only thier 2nd regulation loss in 12 games..Oh well. My night was made the second Perron stepped onto the ice.  

gmillerdrake

DTD


Nice to meet you, Brian Elliott!

Nothing like a good ol' fashion A$$ whoopin' by your top rivalry....at home!!
After that Hossa short hander I knew we were in trouble. You can't turn the puck over time and time again against a team like Chicago....especially when they are making the most of it EVERY time.
I can't be to ticked though, that's only thier 2nd regulation loss in 12 games..Oh well. My night was made the second Perron stepped onto the ice.  

A close second for making your night had to be the BRUTAL no call on the Blues second goal by Stewart. You can't demonstrate a tripping penalty better than that! Serious WTF moment, but glad the Hawks persevered and beat the snot out of the Blues anyway....

My man Staalsy (Marc) has started to skate on his own and will likely play at some point this season, which wasn't certain just a week ago. The Rangers are playing very well without him, but the other d-men are playing too many minutes right now, especially youngsters, Del Zotto, McDonagh and Sauer. Hopefully Staal will come back in February and be able to keep the other guys fresh for the playoff run.

Yeah, that no call was pretty bad…..but……there were two
calls the Hawks got that were a bit questionable…….oh well. The way I see it
over a season it all evens out I suppose. The bottom line is the Blues didn’t
play near the quality that they had been playing the previous dozen games. Sure
I’d like to see them win every game at home but I know that’s not possible, it
just sucked because they were really never in that game….even when they were up
2-1 the Hawks were dominating that game. Hitchcock’s main strategy is puck
control and the Blues had a major FAIL in that department that night from
combined Hawks pressure and just being ‘off’. Can’t really blame Elliot because
I think he only ‘saw’ 1 of the goals he gave up. And, the Hawks are a great team with a TON of
skilled players. I would have just conceded that 4 on 3 power play as a goal to
start and been done with it. Those 4 players on the ice against ANY three
players IMO will result in a goal 9 of 10 times. As a Blues fan, I am just
pleased to see that they’ve been responding and playing like they should be and
they are showing promise. We are definitely not in the top tier just yet, but I
do think that they have a dangerous playoff team in terms of gritty, hungry
players. The issue is as you know this conference is just brutal. 4 points here
or there and your either in or out of the playoffs, no room to lose 3 or 4
games in a row.

Bruins vs. Penguins tonight should be a great game!

NHL approves radical realignment.
 
http://espn.go.com/nhl/st...ference-alignment-plan
 
This should be interesting.

I love the Bruins!! What a game!!
 
On a side note, that collision between Crosby and Kunitz looked nasty. Hope they're both ok.

^^ Sure you do.

Check out the Twitter trend #NHLConferenceNames for a few laughs.
 
A few of mine so far:
Rush, Geddy, Alex, Neil
Tyutin, Shattenkirk, Clutterbuck, Anything-chuk
Undertow, Aenima, Lateralus, 10,000 Days
Ozzy, Tony, Geezer, Bill
Hawkeye, Trapper, FerretFace, HotLips

Love the new avatar DTD. 
 
One that I thought was kinda funny:
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young

romdrums


Love the new avatar DTD. 

Thanks. Think it might be time to change yours? It's so 1997.

Washington and Pitt now in the same division. Surely that was just an accident.

Chris Pronger's out for the season.

Did anyone see that shootout goal by Patrick Kane on Wednesday?
 
All I could do was laugh...that was SICK.

DTD


Did anyone see that shootout goal by Patrick Kane on Wednesday?

All I could do was laugh...that was SICK.

To me, this is the perfect penalty shot. Nothing fancy, just wait that goalie out until he either makes the first move or falls asleep.

Love the fact that the Blues took it to the Rangers last night with the HBO camera crews in town as they continuted documenting for thier show. Now, I only wish I had HBO to see what type of coverage, if any they got. Or, what the Rangers players had to say after getting whooped.
On a side note, as a career Blues fan I am used to getting all excited about the Blues and then having a horrible let down (See the 2000 leauge points leader Blues team). I find myself once again atop a great mountain of excitement because the Blues appear to be playing great and more consistent than they have in years. It's neat to remember what a REAL hockey team looks like.
It just sucks because I know its the Blues...............

Always, always good to see the Rangers get whipped.  Doing it with the HBO cameras just makes it that much more sweet.
 
How 'bout those Flyers?!!!  No Giroux?  No Pronger?  No Gustafsson (very good rookie defenseman)?  No Schenn (promising rookie forward)?  NO PROBLEM!
 
Seven in a row, baby!  All for HBO!!!

Mike Milbury has been fired from Versus/NBC Sports.  Surprisingly, it's not because he's a terrible analyst.

The Devils' top line (Parise, Kovalchuck and rookie Adam Henrique) has been utterly unstoppable the last few weeks. They're consistently winning high-scoring games for the first time since... well, I can remember.
 
And Patty Elias just broke John McLean's team record with goal #348. 

Ummm, HUGE BUMP!
 
 
Playoffs are near, lets get our predictions in!
LA (8) Vs. VAN (1)    Van in 6
SJ (7) Vs. STL (2)      SJ in 7
CHI (6) Vs. PHO (3)  CHI in 5
DET (5) Vs. NSH (4) NSH in 7
OTT  (8) Vs. NYR (1) NYR in 4
WSH (7) Vs. BOS(2)  BOS in 5
NJD (6) Vs. FLA (3)    NJD in 5
PHI (5)  Vs. PIT (4)    PIT in 7
 
 
And....In other news
 
Oilers get 1st pick in draft for 3rd straight year!  Holy crap the pressure is on now!  

According to the radio today, Pittsburgh is the odds-on favorite in Vegas to take the whole thing - 4-1, I think.
 
That's nice.
 
 
In other news, I heard that Sidney Crosby is growing a beard for the playoffs.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Her name is Jessica!

Very thankful that the Stanley Cup Playoffs are finally here! I was happy the Blackhawks stayed at #6, as playing the Wings or Preds in the first round was not preferable in my mind. Phoenix is no cake walk, but a better matchup for the Hawks. Mike Smith is a hot goalie right now, but hopefully we can cool him off!
 
On to my predictions:
LA (8) Vs. VAN (1)    LAK in 6
SJ (7) Vs. STL (2)      SJ in 6
CHI (6) Vs. PHO (3)  CHI in 6
DET (5) Vs. NSH (4) NSH in 7
OTT  (8) Vs. NYR (1) NYR in 5
WSH (7) Vs. BOS(2)  BOS in 4
NJD (6) Vs. FLA (3)    FLA in 7
PHI (5)  Vs. PIT (4)    PHI in 7

Not sure about the Wings this year.
 
The Phil vs. Pitt series will be some damn entertaining hockey. I'm almost as excited
to watch that series with no horse in ther race just to see the mayhem!