If ever there were an advertisement for fixing the NHL schedule format, and making sure every team plays every team at least once per season, the Pittsburgh Penguins' current sojourn through the Northwest Division is it.
The good citizens of Minnesota and Colorado were treated to the Sidney Crosby Show for the first time this week and Crosby didn't disappoint. Two goals in a 3-2 loss to Colorado last night and one goal and three assists in a 4-2 win over the Wild on Tuesday.
Under the current schedule format, which we all agree is on its last legs, the Penguins only visit the Northwest Division once every three years.
When Crosby is on his game, as he has been for the last two vs. Minnesota and Colorado, there's no marketing plan the NHL could come up with better than simply letting him play in markets that have never seen him live before.
That's what sells hockey. Those games in St. Paul and Denver were "events." They're still talking about them. There was a buzz.
The NHL board of governors will meet in Pebble Beach, Calif., later this month and the schedule will be the big news coming out of there.
It appears the governors are considering two options.
One, go back to the pre-lockout format. It is as follows:
- six games vs. each of four divisional opponents (24)
- four games vs. each of 10 conference opponents (40)
- one game vs. each of 15 out-of-conference opponents (15)
- three "wild-card" games vs. select out-of-conference opponents (3)
This format allows for every team to play every team at least once, but it would still be every other year before a player like Crosby would play in every building.
And watching the excitement in St. Paul and Denver this week is perhaps the tip off to the governors that they need to pick a second schedule option that includes a home-and-home series with every team every year, something the Detroit Red Wings have been pushing for.
That can be achieved with a couple of formats, neither of which are easy to explain, but here goes anyway:
- four games vs. each of four divisional opponents (16)
- four games vs. each of six conference opponents (24)
- three games vs. each of four conference opponents (12)
- two games vs. each of 15 out of conference opponents (30)
The downside to this format includes less emphasis on divisional games (only four instead of the current six) and a bastard format where you're playing four games against some conference rivals but only three games vs. the other conference rivals. But it does provide for the home-and-home with the other conference.
Here's another option that addresses those concerns to some degree:
- five games vs. each of four divisional opponents (20)
- three games vs. each of 10 conference opponents (30)
- two "wild-card" games (2)
- two games vs. each of 15 out of conference opponents (30)
This format still provides an emphasis on divisional games, is a little more consistent in terms of playing conference rivals and most importantly allows for the home-and-home series with the other conference.
The Red Wings, whose attendance woes and geographical misfit in the Western Conference make them the team most interested in re-establishing the home-and-home series with the other conference, had been floating its own proposal which would have seen the schedule jump from 82 to 84 games, which isn't ideal but coincided with a decrease in the number of pre-season games played.
The NHL more or less headed off any public discussion of that. Reaching consensus on a schedule matrix is one of the league's biggest challenges. Each team seems to have its own idea on what's best for its franchise. It really is an exercise in self serving. So the league prefers to try to build consensus behind the scenes and if NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has done his job, he'll go to Pebble Beach knowing exactly format will get the requisite number of votes.
Mind you, the Red Wing concept, outside of the increase to 84 games, makes a great deal of sense. It looked like this:
- six games vs. each of four divisional opponents (24)
- three games vs. each of 10 conference opponents (30)
- two games vs. each of 15 out of conference opponents (30)
The only thing not to like about is the increase to 84 games. But it's clean and simple. Good emphasis on divisional play, moderate emphasis on conference play and it provides the home-and-home with the other conference.
Whatever the NHL does with its schedule format, it better get it right this time.
The post-lockout change to what we have now was a big mistake and the fact that the league has admitted a need for change after three years of a six-year cycle is proof positive an error was made.
So, what's it going to be NHL? Is Sidney Crosby visiting every rink every year or every other year? Which is it?