OT: Too many teams in the NHL

[JianYang]

Do any of you crusty old dudes remember when the first few rounds were a 5 game series?

Nope. That change happened sometime in the 80s right?

 

[Team_Spirit]

With less teams guys like Tage Thompson, Bratt, Point would be buried in the minors and never make it.

Great players are drafted in the 10s every year.

NHL's problem is the number of regular season games it's way too much that's why we love the 1st month and the playoffs so much every team is playing with intensity.

 

[the valiant effort]

With less teams guys like Tage Thompson, Bratt, Point would be buried in the minors and never make it.

Great players are drafted in the 10s every year.

NHL's problem is the number of regular season games it's way too much that's why we love the 1st month and the playoffs so much every team is playing with intensity.

Playoff intensity isn’t what it used to be now that the boys tend to avoid doling out CTE.

 

[AlwaysSunnyInDetroit]

I once had a conversation with a older gentleman who thought that many of the world's problems were due to overpopulation and he thought the solution is another world war. I said, "oh yea? are you going to sign up to fight on the front line? Would you encourage your son to do the same?"

So to the people that are in favor of contracting the league, would you still feel that way if one of the proposed teams to fold were the Canadiens? What if it were all 7 teams in Canada?

People are always ready to make sacrifices as long as it doesn't affect them personally.

 

[Chili]

I once had a conversation with a older gentleman who thought that many of the world's problems were due to overpopulation and he thought the solution is that we need another world war. Oh said, "oh yea? are you going to sign up to fight on the front line? Would you encourage your son to do the same?"

So to the people that are in favor of contracting the league, would you still feel that way if one of the proposed teams to fold were the Canadiens? What if it were all 7 teams in Canada?

People are always ready to make sacrifices as long as it doesn't affect them personally.

Businesses are always 'trimming the fat', looking to make the most profits and the NHL is a business. More recently they have moved unprofitable teams which is the more likely scenario going forward, as long as there are cities/areas to move to. It will be interesting though to see what changes are made when Bettman moves on and there is a new commissioner.

 

[Habs13]

Hard to compare eras..................kids are bigger, better, faster..................agents when they turn 14 yrs old...nutrition, training all of these things that did not happen 50 years ago....
Millionaires at 18-19-20 years of age.

But yes, todays NHL teams would wipe the floor with teams from 40-50 years ago....but in the last 25 years, the product has become tough to watch at times............not always, but at times.

I think modern teams would get smashed by 80s or 90s teams. Smashed!

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

I think modern teams would get smashed by 80s or 90s teams. Smashed!

LOL....not even close in the 80's and the players from that era have no problem admitting it. Players are much bigger, much stronger, much faster and much more skilled in today's game. Not to mention the evolution of goaltending was at the tail end of the troglodyte era where Rick Vaive and Gary Leeman were 50 goal scores.

The stars were more dominant back then because there were so many absolutely awful hockey players in the league for them to dominate.

This btw coming from someone who grew up with the late 70's and eighties as my most nostalgic years as a young boy and a teenager.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

delete

 

[Ben Grimm]

If they go over 32 teams, I'll just watch college.

 

[Estimated_Prophet]

Do any of you crusty old dudes remember when the first few rounds were a 5 game series?

Crusty....yeah sometimes.

Old ......just coming to grips with that now lol.

In 1974-75 when the addition of Washington and Kansas City took place the NHL divided what was previously a two conference league (East and West where Vancouver were in the east and Philly in the west lol) into 4 divisions (Adams, Norris, Patrick and Smythe) where the top team in each division received a 1st round bye and the 2nd and 3rd best teams from each division entered into a best 2 out of 3. The 4 winners in this round would advance to the 2nd round to play the division winners who were waiting for them in a best of 7.

This held up until 1978-79 where the 1st round byes were removed and the top 16 teams in the league made the playoffs starting with a best 3 out of 5 in the first round before changing to a 4 out of 7 for the remaining three rounds. This format remained in place for only 3 seasons before moving to divisional rival format in 1981-82 where teams played divisional rivals in the first two rounds before playing for the Conference championship as they do today. The difference being that the first round was a best of 5.

This held up until 1986-87 when they decided to change the first round from a best of 5 to a best of 7.

So, to directly answer your question......There never was a scenario where the first few rounds were best of 5's as best of 5's were exclusively first round series and were only in place from 1978-79 until 1986-87.

Curious to know how many here even knew about the 1970's best of 3 formats with 1st round byes for division leaders.

 

[CHwest]

Faster and bigger but still the same size of the rink. I thinks that is what is hampering the creativity. Having bigger rink would allow more finesse and spectacular play.

Like in basketball , keeping the net at 10 feet high is not good for the sport. Some players dont even need to jump now to dunk the ball. When the sport was created , the net being that high was a challenge, today not so much. I feel sports failed to adapt to today reality in a way.

I could go with widening the rink a little. Not European wide but a little wider.

 

[bsl]

21 team was my favorite era with the 1 vs 16 2v15..... playoffs

I think the po system needs to change. 1 vs 16 would be great. But 1 vs 8 would also be better. The nhl acts as if jets are from the 70’s. Heavy and tiring. You could put a team on a new a220 and spend 1/3 the money compared to 30 years ago. With double the fresh air.

 

[Beer and Chips]

I know I am a grumpy old man, however do we have too many teams in the NHL?

Is the talent too diluted? When you finish out of the playoffs can you get a good talent in the teens? Are we filling arenas? Do we have good rivalries any more? Do you even care about the other conference that much anymore? Can you still name 85% of all the players in the league and have a general idea of how they are playing.

I liked the 24 team 6 teams per division pre 1993 expansion. I even didn't mind the 7 team/div 28 team league. I find the current 32 teams to be too many and I just can't get excited about half of the games, and a further 1/4 I just won't even watch if habs aren't involved.

What are your feelings and or thoughts on the current talent/team/drafting/anything you want to discuss related to it.
Thanks in advance, I may not get back to the thread in a reasonable time because my grandkids keep me busy AF.

PS if a mod want to make a poll with maybe 6 options feel free as I couldn't figure out how to do it.
1 WAY less teams the hockey sucks now!
2 Don't care but lean towards 28-30 if option was on the table
3 I like it just the way it is. Good Balance!
4 I think we need more team, the NHL needs the markets
5 Why doesn't Quebec have a team given the crap attendance elsewhere *looking at you whinerpeg*
6 Scrap it all and set it up like in soccer with a lot more semipro teams and 2 up, 2 down each season to make sure teams play their hardest instead of tanking!

Edit -Happy New Year

Option 5 is a no-brainer for a Habs fan but otherwise, sorry, it really doesn't matter because the NHL is like all big business ventures now. We have gone past the "new NHL" and are into an era where consumer wants are dismissed for what big business wants to give. I am also a curmudgeon and I have yet to be impressed with this new world.

 

[Chili]

Don't know where the data originates, found this interesting though: NHL team revenues from the 2021-22 season (Top 5 were NYR, LA, Tor, Mtl, Edm followed by Chi & Bos so the original six were 5 of the top 7 revenue teams) from statista.com (pay site).

 

[Cournoyer12]

I could not care less about the financial status of the nhl, I want to see fights and high-flying wingers take slappers with wooden sticks that don’t break half the time and can catch passes.

12 teams 3 divisions tops. No more coaching challenges, bad calls are what get blood boiling and legends are made of. No cap for sure.

so 1

You sir are truly a wise sage!!!!

 

[Cournoyer12]

There are too many teams for sure and the rivalries of the past are all but gone. The salary cap sucks, rich teams have to revenue share to prop up the weak ones. Overtime points for losses help weak teams secure a playoff spot. Refereeing is inconsistent and everything is a penalty which is also a way to falsely inflate offense league-wide. I love the grumpy old men part, I wear that badge with honor.

We’re not old brother, just seasoned!

 

[Cournoyer12]

With less teams guys like Tage Thompson, Bratt, Point would be buried in the minors and never make it.

Great players are drafted in the 10s every year.

NHL's problem is the number of regular season games it's way too much that's why we love the 1st month and the playoffs so much every team is playing with intensity.

Speaking of number of games, how manymore goals would the Rocket or Gordie have scored in a 82 game schedule?

 

[themilosh]

I like it the way it is : half the teams making the playoff makes regular season significant, more teams means you don t always see the same games.

I do too.. for the first time in my life i am witnessing a league of true parity. Doesn't matter if you're big market or small, each an every team has the opportunity to build, develop, create depth and roster players. It is truly the team with best management that wins. Save for some lucky gen talents through the lottery, every team must identify (scout) and manage salaries..

The talent is wayyyyy better than the past, we are just spoiled.. you have to look at it like this:
Top line and pairing and G1: money, management, luck.
2nd/3rd/4th lines and 2nd/3rd pair and G2: entirely the organization itself.

The team with the most solid bottom 9F, 4D, 2G : is the best run organization in the league.. to win the stanley cup you need: money, management, luck.

We'll be gunning for the playoffs next year.. my theory surrounding top 6 has always been boomerang ranked. So if a team's top line is #1 in nhl, then their 2nd line should be #64. This team would then be equal to a team that has the #32 line 1 and #33 line 2. Any deviation from this +/- spells out whos going to make playoffs. As much as i despised mb he was right about one thing: when you make the playoffs, anything can happen... his issue was that he managed to max spend and enter a race stuck in 4th gear every year. Those teams have 0% chance of winning the SC.

Do any of you crusty old dudes remember when the first few rounds were a 5 game series?

Oh boy, i loved those best of 5s in round 1 with the old Adams div.. mtl-qc or mtl-hartford were some of the best... Bos-Buf was equally enjoyable..
We almost always met bos in the div final and then philly in the CF..