NHL Metropolitan Division

[DaRadniz29]

I think the issue comes in part (if not all) due to Bettman saying they would not name the divisions like circa 93 because they wanted more geographically based division names. Pacific, Atlantic, and Central are all more geographically based names whereas Metropolitan seems to be one step above Division C. While some might feel Metropolitan fits the bill when talking about geographically-based division names, it's clear that a lot of fans don't see it that way.

While I don't really care too much right now about the names of the divisions, I kind of agree that when you say you are going to name them based on geography, Metropolitan is a copout. However I think this is one of the names where there are no arguments about close to the ocean vs inland. Granted the discussion turns to is the team's home city big enough to be considered Metropolitan. 50,000 btw is a low number - they might want to consider upping that. Otherwise the tiny town I lived in Kentucky for a year is a half metropolis and believe me - it isn't anywhere near that.

There was all the back and forth with people about you can't call Division C Northeast because of the Florida teams, and you can't call Division D Atlantic because of Columbus and Pittsburgh. The latter less of an issue since Pittsburgh's been the Atlantic for a number of years already.

If it was me, I would have gone less the geographical based names for something a bit more creative:

Frontier, Heartland, Atlantic, Oceanic

Frontier: Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancover

Heartland: Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, Winnipeg

Atlantis: Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, Montreal,Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Toronto

Oceanic: Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington

Frontier: Technically speaking, Edmonton and Calgary and even Phoenix (less so) are not near the Pacific Ocean, nor Pacific time zone. While, Phoenix is only in the Pacific time zone part of the year. So Frontier more encompasses the Canadian teams along with the California teams and the Arizona solo runner.

Heartland: Colorado and Nashville are not really in the heartland, but for this instance, and Colorado would probably be better served in the Frontier division, but it wasn't divided that way. I think the Avalanche could have been placed into either Western division.

Atlantic: Sure not neat the Atlantic Ocean, but think of Atlantic of a replacement for Eastern Division, since there's a Eastern Conference, that might be too confusing so Atlantic is to appease the Florida fan base that did want to be in the Northeast.

Oceanic: Yes Pittsburgh and Columbus are not really near any ocean, but the rest of the division is near the Atlantic Ocean.

Just food for thought.

Why can't Detroiters stay up late for a game? It's not like they have jobs to go to...

I will never understand this. "We can't let the Easterners stay up too late" like seriously, the main audience are adults. You'd think they'd be able to manage sleep patterns.

Not that I care, but it is kinda of annoying when most people get home from work here in Calgary at 530. Toronto and Montreal are both here midweek for 6pm MT starts, not a big deal but maybe it's because I'm not from there. It's not just the NHL, but the catering to Eastern markets is really annoying.

Indirectly it has to do with fans staying up because it has to do with TV revenue. The thinking is: The early the game starts, the more people will watch, the more ratings equalling more $$ for the NHL and TV Networks.

If a Sharks/Wings game starts at 7:30pmPT that's 10:30/ET. For Detroit's home market that's a really late start time for a sporting event. With the new format and the Wings in the Eastern Conference, they will play a total of 5 games in Pacific Time Zone, compared to whatever they played in previous years. Plus if they make the playoffs the won't have to travel to any of the Pacific division teams until the Stanley Cup Finals. However playoffs are a bit different - usually carried on National TV and the start times gathering from last year were a little earlier.

[rams80]

"Frontier" reminds folks of the number of Sun Belt teams in that division. Bad optics.

[zpqmaowl]

With the new format and the Wings in the Eastern Conference, they will play a total of 5 games in Pacific Time Zone, compared to whatever they played in previous years.

Five, as compared to eight (or nine or ten depending on when they go to Phoenix).

The Red Wings played 14 road games at 7 or 7:30 in 2011-12. The Kings had ten.

This year, the Kings will play 15 road games at 4, nine at 5, and four at 6, for a total of 28. Detroit played 14 games at 8, seven at 9, and eight at 10, for a total of 27 in 2011-2012.

Starts before people are off work are just as annoying as games that start two hours after dinner.

[DaRadniz29]

"Frontier" reminds folks of the number of Sun Belt teams in that division. Bad optics.

It's funny, I remember the name, but don't remember when that happened. Was that the Big 8 split? All I get now when I search is the NAIA's Frontier Conference.

With the new format and the Wings in the Eastern Conference, they will play a total of 5 games in Pacific Time Zone, compared to whatever they played in previous years.

Five, as compared to eight (or nine or ten depending on when they go to Phoenix).

The Red Wings played 14 road games at 7 or 7:30 in 2011-12. The Kings had ten.

This year, the Kings will play 15 road games at 4, nine at 5, and four at 6, for a total of 28. Detroit played 14 games at 8, seven at 9, and eight at 10, for a total of 27 in 2011-2012.

Starts before people are off work are just as annoying as games that start two hours after dinner.

Thanks, I was too lazy to try and figure it out, but ended up needing to research it anyway for something else.

Yeah early starts and late starts are not all that great in for viewership, etc.

[IceCap]

I'm fine with Columbus going to the East while Detroit stays in the west. One of those teams needs to at any rate. Bending to the will of both screwed everything up.

I don't know why people believe Columbus gets the automatic bid east. Geography? Columbus is what... 10-20 miles east of Detroit? The Blackhawks? The Wings owe the Hawks absolutely nothing... I don't get it.

Which team needs to be in the East? Detroit's on-ice success and fantastic ratings, despite playing in the west for twenty years, indicate that they're not suffering. Columbus though? They're trying to build a fanbase. More EST start times will help with that.

[Kramerica Industries]

It's also just a matter of balance. The East already has Toronto, Montreal, Boston, NY Rangers, in addition to some other high-popularity teams in Philly, Pittsburgh, and Washington right now. The West had Detroit and Chicago, and then who else, exactly? The LA market isn't nearly as strong in hockey as it is for other mediums.

The West just feels like a load of nothingness right now. Aside from the 'Hawks, almost every team of high-popularity is in the East. This is not the best thing for the NHL.

[njmeadowlanders]

I will never understand this. "We can't let the Easterners stay up too late" like seriously, the main audience are adults. You'd think they'd be able to manage sleep patterns.

Not that I care, but it is kinda of annoying when most people get home from work here in Calgary at 530. Toronto and Montreal are both here midweek for 6pm MT starts, not a big deal but maybe it's because I'm not from there. It's not just the NHL, but the catering to Eastern markets is really annoying.

But how about catering to Western markets for things like playoff games? Or Monday night football? Or the World Series?

We can't start a playoff game until 8:20 so that the six people who watch hockey in Los Angeles can still be in the office when the game starts anyway?

[JCRGraphix]

This actually turned into some interesting debate.

[DaytonBlue]

Atlantic should be NY teams, etc.

The Northeast/Florida division could be called the Continental Division since it runs almost the entire length north/south of the continent.

[Cosmic]

Atlantic should be NY teams, etc.

The Northeast/Florida division could be called the Continental Division since it runs almost the entire length north/south of the continent.

They could sell the naming rights to the division to Continental 1. Let's not pretend that the NHL is above something like that.

[JCRGraphix]

Atlantic should be NY teams, etc.

The Northeast/Florida division could be called the Continental Division since it runs almost the entire length north/south of the continent.

They could sell the naming rights to the division to Continental 1. Let's not pretend that the NHL is above something like that.

Not a bad idea.

[The_Admiral]

Discover Division (the Coyotes exist on bad credit), Enterprise Division, GEICO Division (the Leafs are cavemen), Advil Division (Crosby gets headaches). Gary Bettman said this plan was not necessarily unconsidered.

[Magnus]

It's also just a matter of balance. The East already has Toronto, Montreal, Boston, NY Rangers, in addition to some other high-popularity teams in Philly, Pittsburgh, and Washington right now. The West had Detroit and Chicago, and then who else, exactly? The LA market isn't nearly as strong in hockey as it is for other mediums.

The West just feels like a load of nothingness right now. Aside from the 'Hawks, almost every team of high-popularity is in the East. This is not the best thing for the NHL.

Southern expansion - the great failed experiment.

[Evil G]

Discover Division (the Coyotes exist on bad credit), Enterprise Division, GEICO Division (the Leafs are cavemen), Advil Division (Crosby gets headaches). Gary Bettman said this plan was not necessarily unconsidered.

LOL.

Anyways, Detroit should be in the West for the sake of rivalries (actually, doesn't this seem similar to Wisconsin when the B10 got divisions?) Columbus should be playing in the Quicken Loans Arena, and kept in the east.

[GFB]

Why can't Detroiters stay up late for a game? It's not like they have jobs to go to...

I will never understand this. "We can't let the Easterners stay up too late" like seriously, the main audience are adults. You'd think they'd be able to manage sleep patterns.

Not that I care, but it is kinda of annoying when most people get home from work here in Calgary at 530. Toronto and Montreal are both here midweek for 6pm MT starts, not a big deal but maybe it's because I'm not from there. It's not just the NHL, but the catering to Eastern markets is really annoying.

Indirectly it has to do with fans staying up because it has to do with TV revenue. The thinking is: The early the game starts, the more people will watch, the more ratings equalling more $$ for the NHL and TV Networks.

If a Sharks/Wings game starts at 7:30pmPT that's 10:30/ET. For Detroit's home market that's a really late start time for a sporting event. With the new format and the Wings in the Eastern Conference, they will play a total of 5 games in Pacific Time Zone, compared to whatever they played in previous years. Plus if they make the playoffs the won't have to travel to any of the Pacific division teams until the Stanley Cup Finals. However playoffs are a bit different - usually carried on National TV and the start times gathering from last year were a little earlier.

Start times are just one reason... Look at the amount of traveling done in the playoffs. For example, the Wings accumulated more miles in their first round series with the Ducks than the Bruins accumulated in their entire 2-month long Stanley Cup Finals run -- 11,250 miles to 7,690 miles... Meanwhile, their second round foes in Chicago had to travel a meager 800 miles in their first round series to play Minnesota. Granted, that's just one crapshoot scenario, but the playoff travel possibilities for any Western conference team located in the midwest are certainly less than optimal.

TRAVEL MATH

DETROIT:

Anaheim (2250 x 5) = 11250

BOSTON:

Toronto (550 x 4) = 2200

+

New York (215 x 2) = 430

+

Pittsburgh (570 x 2) = 1140

+

Chicago (980 x 4) = 3920

=

Total = 7690 miles

I'm fine with Columbus going to the East while Detroit stays in the west. One of those teams needs to at any rate. Bending to the will of both screwed everything up.

I don't know why people believe Columbus gets the automatic bid east. Geography? Columbus is what... 10-20 miles east of Detroit? The Blackhawks? The Wings owe the Hawks absolutely nothing... I don't get it.

Which team needs to be in the East? Detroit's on-ice success and fantastic ratings, despite playing in the west for twenty years, indicate that they're not suffering. Columbus though? They're trying to build a fanbase. More EST start times will help with that.

Columbus needs to be in the East to be successful? It seems to me that what they need is a competitive hockey team and the rest will take care of itself... Hopefully days of selling out in Columbus because Crosby or Ovechkin is coming to town are in the past (and I know Jacket fans like McCarthy agree with that).

The Wings have played their part in the NHL expansion plans for the last 25 years. They developed one of the greatest rivalries in NHL history with Colorado (which has since completely died), and we have only one true rivalry left in the entire conference in Chicago (and you could make the case that the Chicago/Vancouver rivalry has been better over the last 5 years)... all the while some of our favorite rivalries (Leafs, Habs) have been killed off in the name of the betterment of the league. In fact, since the turn of the decade, the Wings have played the Leafs and Habs twice each. Twice. Yet in that same window, we've played the Blue Jackets and Predators a combined 45 times. Enough is enough.

[The_Admiral]

Do you think we like all those games against the Blue Jackets and Predators any more than you do? This is what happens when you rapidly and haphazardly expand a league that, more than any other, thrives on its rivalries. Boatloads of games no one cares about and will never be made to care about at the expense of ones that do matter to people. Sometimes some blogger will say "in a way, with their stifling defense, the Predators are a spiritual successor to the old North Stars." In another, more accurate way, the Predators are a successor to nothing. There's no intra-midwestern competitive posturing, no tradition. They're just games you try to get through. This league blows.

[JCRGraphix]

Agreed. I only go to Predators games since I'm living in the south. The atmosphere there is actually pretty good, but there is NO tradition here. That's one of the best parts of the game. Cheering through the anthem in Chicago, the Montreal-Boston rivalry, getting carjacked in Detroit...

[rams80]

Really all those extra travel miles means you just spend a little more time napping on the team charter. Poor babies.

[IceCap]

Why can't Detroiters stay up late for a game? It's not like they have jobs to go to...

I will never understand this. "We can't let the Easterners stay up too late" like seriously, the main audience are adults. You'd think they'd be able to manage sleep patterns.

Not that I care, but it is kinda of annoying when most people get home from work here in Calgary at 530. Toronto and Montreal are both here midweek for 6pm MT starts, not a big deal but maybe it's because I'm not from there. It's not just the NHL, but the catering to Eastern markets is really annoying.

Indirectly it has to do with fans staying up because it has to do with TV revenue. The thinking is: The early the game starts, the more people will watch, the more ratings equalling more $$ for the NHL and TV Networks.

If a Sharks/Wings game starts at 7:30pmPT that's 10:30/ET. For Detroit's home market that's a really late start time for a sporting event. With the new format and the Wings in the Eastern Conference, they will play a total of 5 games in Pacific Time Zone, compared to whatever they played in previous years. Plus if they make the playoffs the won't have to travel to any of the Pacific division teams until the Stanley Cup Finals. However playoffs are a bit different - usually carried on National TV and the start times gathering from last year were a little earlier.

Start times are just one reason... Look at the amount of traveling done in the playoffs. For example, the Wings accumulated more miles in their first round series with the Ducks than the Bruins accumulated in their entire 2-month long Stanley Cup Finals run -- 11,250 miles to 7,690 miles... Meanwhile, their second round foes in Chicago had to travel a meager 800 miles in their first round series to play Minnesota. Granted, that's just one crapshoot scenario, but the playoff travel possibilities for any Western conference team located in the midwest are certainly less than optimal.

TRAVEL MATH

DETROIT:

Anaheim (2250 x 5) = 11250

BOSTON:

Toronto (550 x 4) = 2200

+

New York (215 x 2) = 430

+

Pittsburgh (570 x 2) = 1140

+

Chicago (980 x 4) = 3920

=

Total = 7690 miles

I'm fine with Columbus going to the East while Detroit stays in the west. One of those teams needs to at any rate. Bending to the will of both screwed everything up.

I don't know why people believe Columbus gets the automatic bid east. Geography? Columbus is what... 10-20 miles east of Detroit? The Blackhawks? The Wings owe the Hawks absolutely nothing... I don't get it.

Which team needs to be in the East? Detroit's on-ice success and fantastic ratings, despite playing in the west for twenty years, indicate that they're not suffering. Columbus though? They're trying to build a fanbase. More EST start times will help with that.

Columbus needs to be in the East to be successful? It seems to me that what they need is a competitive hockey team and the rest will take care of itself... Hopefully days of selling out in Columbus because Crosby or Ovechkin is coming to town are in the past (and I know Jacket fans like McCarthy agree with that).

The Wings have played their part in the NHL expansion plans for the last 25 years. They developed one of the greatest rivalries in NHL history with Colorado (which has since completely died), and we have only one true rivalry left in the entire conference in Chicago (and you could make the case that the Chicago/Vancouver rivalry has been better over the last 5 years)... all the while some of our favorite rivalries (Leafs, Habs) have been killed off in the name of the betterment of the league. In fact, since the turn of the decade, the Wings have played the Leafs and Habs twice each. Twice. Yet in that same window, we've played the Blue Jackets and Predators a combined 45 times. Enough is enough.

I'm sorry, I don't buy it. The late start times? Detroit's one of the top American tv markets for the NHL. Obviously Detroit fans aren't bothered by the late start times. The travel schedule? The Detroit Red Wings have made the playoffs for twenty-two straight seasons, have won the Stanley Cup four times since 1997, have played in six Stanley Cup Finals since 1994, and are always favourites to win the Cup each and every season. The travel schedule's obviously not affecting the team from an on-ice standpoint. Likewise I don't buy the "our poor Red Wings have suffered for far to long for the common good of the league" argument. Again, this is a team that's been the class of the NHL for a full generation and counting. The Red Wings haven't suffered by being "forced" into the West. They've thrived.

[Still MIGHTY]

The West just feels like a load of nothingness right now.

We're standing right here, guys...

---

Anyway, you know what Wings/Hawks fans? Boo- ing-hoo.

Travel miles? Everyone in the West is ed in that regard. You think the Ducks/Kings/Sharks/Canucks like schlepping all around the continent on a roadtrip? Did the Ducks also have to jet back and forth to Detroit with the Red Wings during the playoffs? Didn't the Kings have to jet back and forth to Chicago with the Hawks during the playoffs? It's a product of being in the conference. Everyone is at the same disadvantage, if you really want to make a deal about it. Hasn't hurt the Ducks/Kings/Wings/Hawks (on opposite sides of this travel spectrum) from winning Cups. Hasn't hurt the Sharks or Canucks in getting President's trophies in the regular season with more travel.

And Hawks fans, Sorry that you happen to be one of the 14 westernmost teams in a league that grew out of the northeastern corridor and expanded across the continent. (And to you Detroit, when it was 15 and what it should be, blood oath with Gary Bettman or not.)

Such damn sour grapes. Jesus. Biiitch, bitch, biiitch, bitch, biiitch.