Detroit Red Wings-Toronto Maple Leafs Matchup Has Lost Its Luster

The Wings' defense of the Stanley Cup starts on October 9. They will raise their 11th Stanley Cup banner and the puck will drop on a new season—and it will be against a familiar opponent, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I think it's great that the NHL schedule has set up two original-six franchises to face each other on opening night, but let's be honest here. Due to the way the divisions are aligned and a ridiculous NHL schedule over the past few years, this series has very nearly died in the hearts of Detroit and Toronto fans.

It still hangs by a thread. If you concentrate, you can still catch a glimpse of what used to be the greatest rivalry in the NHL.

Sure, there's a number of other factors involved in the growing insignificance of the Detroit-Toronto match-up that have nothing to do with the NHL's division alignment or scheduling. The hate just isn't there anymore.

Toronto to put it nicely, has fallen off the list of contenders for the Cup. However, if you really want evidence as to just how far this rivalry has fallen from greatness, Def Leppard has been booked to perform before the game—to hype up the crowd.

Chris Chelios thinks its ridiculous, saying that a band isn't necessary to get people excited for Detroit-Toronto. I'd like to agree with him, but I can't.

It is in the NHL's best interest for this rivalry to get big again. They've done everything they could aside from moving Detroit to the Eastern Conference, even scheduling two preseason games between the two teams just before the season opener, starting tonight.

The hope is that these two teams can learn to hate each other again after two meaningless preseason games.

Starting this season, the NHL has made more of an effort to recognize long-standing original-six rivalries, by pitting Detroit and Chicago against their Eastern Conference original six counterparts at least once a season.

This of course, is a reversal of what the NHL attempted to do the last three seasons—try to force rivalries inside the division. Detroit-Nashville is just not going to get there.

The Red Wings are truly in need of a real rival. St. Louis used to provide some heated divisional match-ups, Colorado used to provide some of the most entertaining playoff matchups in NHL history, but those didn't last and are now in the past.

For the next few seasons at least, the Red Wings' best chance for a true rival lies in the Chicago Blackhawks, who in the coming years should challenge Detroit for the division.

Meanwhile, Detroit-Toronto should prove to be a great opener if just for its nostalgic value, but until both teams are back where they belong—in the same division—this rivalry will lay dormant.