Crash

That's a difference of 3 games, depending on your division. If you're in an 8-team division, you'd play 77 games, while in a 7-team division, you'd play 80. How I got there: 8-team: 2 x 21 = 42. 5 x 7 = 35. 42 + 35 = 77. 7-team: 2 x 22 = 44. 6 x 6 = 36. 44 + 36 = 80.

This. Here's the specifics I left out with my "Bellevue is Glendale" argument. Thanks, DG!

Then that means it's a slam-dunk for Gary Bettman to relocate the Phoenix Coyotes there, am I right? Except that Bellevue (and Seattle) would have laughed their asses off at the idea of Yotefare.

I just have to say that trotting Seattle out as a place that "care about hockey" is a joke. It's not really a sports town to begin with, there's no arena, and the people that do care about hockey are already entrenched with other teams. The Thunderbirds do okay, but they don't have the huge expectations placed upon any NHL team. EDIT: Read further in the thread. I still stand by my statement, though. Also, from my perspective, Bellevue is the Glendale of Seattle. It's far away from the population centers normally thought of as the base for hockey, it's hard(ish) to get to, and it's in a city that I really just don't think cares enough.

I can't help but wonder if the NHL shouldn't take the NBA approach a bit and look to "alternative" markets. Instead of being #3 or #4 in a big market that just doesn't care that much because they have other options (and their sports hearts are already taken), head to the Portlands and Salt Lakes and San Antonios of the world, where you're the big dog. I'm not saying those cities specifically, just using them as examples. There are plenty of cities with metro areas of around a million where the NFL and even NBA don't have teams. If you're the only professional winter sport in town, I think you stand a better chance than in a place where teams from the 3 more popular sports are already entrenched. It makes sense to me to be the big dog for a million people, rather than the small fish for four million.

Can someone please link me to or send me the template that dgnmrwrw is using in this thread? I'm using Photoshop 7.0, so SVGs are out of the question. Thanks!