Rumor has it that Gary Bettman wants to expand the playoff field from 16 to 20 starting in 2006-07, with 7/10 and 8/9 matchups serving as the first round. This has to be one of the worst ideas ever taken seriously. One of the running gags made about the NHL playoffs every year is that everyone makes the NHL playoffs. Nobody takes them seriously, because the impression is that everyone made it. So, naturally, Bettman's response is to include MORE teams. Is this one of those things where you figure a guy's retarded, but it turns out he's the kind of retarded that makes him really brilliant, like Rain Man? Maybe Bettman's kinda like that, except he's the kind of retarded that makes him retarded.
How does the league expect its twelve best teams to stay playoff-sharp if they have to sit on their asses for two weeks while the bottom-feeders slug it out? If we've learned anything from the Carolina, Anaheim, Minnesota and Calgary playoff runs in recent years, it's that a lousy team's goalie can heat up at the drop of a hat. Combined with playoff-clutch-and-grab (let's not pretend the new rules will prevent this), some shitty team can do damage that it really has no business doing. I mean, look at how Minnesota, Anaheim and Carolina responded to their improbable runs... they didn't sustain any momentum, it was just a one-time fluke. Please explain how an excess of flukey losers is good for hockey.
I suppose, however, that this has nothing to do with making the best possible playoff. Having four more playoff teams means that four more teams get playoff revenue. You may recognize this short-term damn-the-torpedoes money-grab from such hits as "Expanion In The Early 90s" and "Putting A Team In Friggin Atlanta." Commissioner Charly should stop being a mouthpiece for greedy owners and start doing his job: shepherding hockey towards future revenues, instead of just snatching whatever money he can as soon as he can.
How does the league expect its twelve best teams to stay playoff-sharp if they have to sit on their asses for two weeks while the bottom-feeders slug it out? If we've learned anything from the Carolina, Anaheim, Minnesota and Calgary playoff runs in recent years, it's that a lousy team's goalie can heat up at the drop of a hat. Combined with playoff-clutch-and-grab (let's not pretend the new rules will prevent this), some shitty team can do damage that it really has no business doing. I mean, look at how Minnesota, Anaheim and Carolina responded to their improbable runs... they didn't sustain any momentum, it was just a one-time fluke. Please explain how an excess of flukey losers is good for hockey.
I suppose, however, that this has nothing to do with making the best possible playoff. Having four more playoff teams means that four more teams get playoff revenue. You may recognize this short-term damn-the-torpedoes money-grab from such hits as "Expanion In The Early 90s" and "Putting A Team In Friggin Atlanta." Commissioner Charly should stop being a mouthpiece for greedy owners and start doing his job: shepherding hockey towards future revenues, instead of just snatching whatever money he can as soon as he can.
posted by Jeff at
5:20 PM
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