Verdict Is In: The NHL Schedule Shortchanges Western Conference Fans

Ho Hum. Someone please pass me a pillow, my excite-o-meter's needle is teetering in the blah zone. 

Okay, so maybe the new NHL schedule isn't that bad, but almost two years have elapsed, and the outcome of the change isn't so good either.  Since the league switched the format from six games to eight games against division teams and significantly limited the number of East-West match ups, I can't say that I've been too happy.

I am passionate about the sport of hockey.  I love it, and on occasion I think I may even breathe it, but part of the experience is seeing teams that play in the Eastern Conference.  I don't just mean the new faces we're missing out West: Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Sidney Crosby. We also miss players like Martin Brodeur, a personal favorite of mine for over ten years. And just as we long for the likes of Mats Sundin and Daniel Alfredsson (amongst others), there are surely some fans on the East Coast who wouldn't mind taking a peek at what the Western Conference has to offer.

The NHL's logic behind changing the schedule went as follows, according to CBC Sports:

"The new schedule strengthens division rivalries. The new schedule also maintains the integrity of the conference-based playoff format. Each Club continues to play 40 games against non-division, intra-conference opponents...The new schedule allows for continued exposure of teams and star players from the other conference."

Okay, I'll bite.  Let me and my opinionated self pick this apart. 

First, I'm not so sure that you can really create rivalries by adding two more division games for each team.  You might create rancor amongst the opposing fan bases, but there isn't even a guarantee of that.

And maintaining the "integrity" of the conference-based playoff format? I'm not too sure what this is supposed to mean. Maybe this is my inner non-sports-girl talking, but I'll take a stab here anyway: Hockey won't become baseball, no matter how many times the NHL tinkers with the schedule.

Moving on to the 72 games of intra-conference play (i.e. the 10 inter-conference games): This is the real killer. It means that most of us out West only get one more shot to see a lot of our favorite veterans.

I recently watched two separate interviews with Anaheim's J.S. Giguere and San Jose's Jonathan Cheechoo.  When asked what they thought of the current schedule, both tried desperately to sound diplomatic while giving the same answer: They want to see more Eastern teams.  I don't know what players on the East Coast are thinking, but these two gentlemen's sentiments mirror my own.

Over the course of an exhausting year, the new schedule clearly benefits the Eastern teams. And the reasons aren't just rooted in travel anymore. Compare the talent: How many Eastern teams stack up to Detroit, Anaheim, San Jose, and, more recently, Nashville?

I'm sure there's somebody out there who likes the post-lockout schedule. Of course, everyone's entitled to an opinion, but I for one miss the days when NHL fans got to see all the teams in a great league. I'll still go to the arena every time the boys are in town, but I can't help but feel like I'm missing something.

That's my opinion and I am sticking to it.

Until the next time, this is Shellymarie signing off.