j.hoop 64 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=264376&lid...s=headlines_nhl The travel resulting from the NHL schedule has long been a point of contention for west coast teams. Thoughts that changing time-zones and length of road trips took a physical toll have been around for years but now the Canucks have proof. The club took a very close look at their schedule for the 2008-09 season with some interesting results. "When we did the Fatigue Management Program this year, those guys predicted where we would have a real problem," explained Canucks general manager Mike Gillis to Team1040 radio in Vancouver. "And it's not ironic, it happened when we played that three-game segment where we were in Nashville and then went to Atlanta (Jan 1st and 2nd), they predicted that after that we would have a serious fatigue issue because of the number of games we played in the previous ten days and that type of travel and they were bang-on," Gillis told the radio station. The Canucks are 2-8 in January and have lost six straight. The team believes the slide is due to their travel demands and the NHL seems to agree. The league has begun to take steps to help the Canucks' road issues next season and Gillis is optimistic things will improve. "I think we have a great chance. In fact, we've got a draft in place for about 38 of our road games for next season already, which is unheard of," Gillis told Team1040. "They made us a number one priority in terms of travel for a variety of reasons. One of them is injury history, crossing borders, and the fact that geographically, we don't have a team within a couple or three hours of us." "We feel really good about their understanding now, and that they're prepared to work with us to get a better road schedule in place," Gillis added. The Canucks currently sit tied for 6th (51 points) in the Western Conference with the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks. They are tied for 2nd, with Edmonton, in the Northwest Division, nine points back of the Calgary Flames. In December, the Canucks made headlines by signing free agent Mats Sundin to a one-year deal. While the veteran centre has not hit full speed as of yet he is showing signs of getting back to his All-Star form. He has two goals and one assist over his seven games with the Canucks. The team also recently got goaltender Roberto Luongo back from a groin injury that caused him to miss 24 games. He is 0-1-2 with a 3.51 GAA over his three games since returning. :violin: :violin: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seeinred 1,488 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 I can understand not being happy with all the travel, but blaming your losing ways on it seems kind of bitchmade. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blueliner 69 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 That's funny because the Wings are forced to go out west four times, not just once. p.s. I like the guys playing the violins. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Earthhuman 8 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 The Canucks must being getting people coming off games the night before all the time- when you go out west, oftentimes you knock off the whole coast in one trip. Teams have to travel to get to them, it works both ways. Some of the older, long-retired players must see this and laugh their asses off. Here's guys that can't take a trip in first-class on a plane, when they used to have to travel hundreds of miles on a train (and much more often, because there were only six teams, so it's not like you can just go play them once a year). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edicius 3,269 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 Wah wah wah. 2-8 in January and even the mighty Luongo can't save them. Cry me a river. The Wings seem to do fine with their travel. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheSupafly 50 Report post Posted January 24, 2009 That's funny because the Wings are forced to go out west four times, not just once. p.s. I like the guys playing the violins. Oh come on, are you really trying to imply that the Wings travel schedule is just as hard as Vancouver's? At the same time, I agree that this sounds like sour grapes from Vancouver. Yeah, they have to travel a ton, but this is nothing new. Deal with it. Blaming your losses on travel is pathetic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted January 24, 2009 Geography= Vancouver's scape Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VM1138 1,921 Report post Posted January 24, 2009 I understand that it sucks having that kind of travel, but there's no legitimate way to show that it directly hurts your team. Any "facts" or stats used are simply a tool used to manipulate an opinion, not factual evidence. THere is no way to prove the connection is anything but spurious. Seriously, your team just sucks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Datsyerberger 279 Report post Posted January 24, 2009 Oh come on, are you really trying to imply that the Wings travel schedule is just as hard as Vancouver's? At the same time, I agree that this sounds like sour grapes from Vancouver. Yeah, they have to travel a ton, but this is nothing new. Deal with it. Blaming your losses on travel is pathetic. Well, actually, the Wings have consistently had one of the longest traveling schedules in the league the last few years. They also play the most back-to-backs this year . Funny how winning organizations seem to deal with it much better. I rate Vancounver's whining :violin: :violin: :violin: :violin: :violin: out of a potential 5. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernWingsFan 854 Report post Posted January 24, 2009 While traveling in the Western Conference is hard, I will sympathize with the Canucks regarding that, there are 14 other teams that have pretty grueling travel schedules in that conference as well. You think Vancouver has it bad for travel? Dallas should be the first team with gripes. They have the biggest distance to travel just to play conference opponents I think (Phoenix, LA, Anaheim, San Jose). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pjgj13 30 Report post Posted January 24, 2009 Check this out..... There are 4 teams that will travel more than the 'Nucks. None of the other teams are crying. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Louisville 112 Report post Posted January 24, 2009 Well, actually, the Wings have consistently had one of the longest traveling schedules in the league the last few years. They also play the most back-to-backs this year . Funny how winning organizations seem to deal with it much better. I rate Vancounver's whining :violin: :violin: :violin: :violin: :violin: out of a potential 5. Oh snap! But seriously, Detroit's West coast trips are awful. Games at 10:30? Back to back? That's tough and we didn't do too great on it either. I don't hear anyone from this organization crying bout it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kira 451 Report post Posted January 24, 2009 If they are looking for sympathy, I suggest a dictionary. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheOwl 77 Report post Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) I live in Vancouver and am forced every day of my life to not say bad things about the Canucks. I've never seen such a bad team with so many utterly blind supporters. Their terrible, and probably the most unexciting team in hockey, they rarely score more then 2 goals a game, and trap (and fail) in almost every game. Seriously, I was a Canuck fan (well a Bure fan) for like 10 years, then my eyes opened, no point in cheering for a team which will never succeed. Really, the two most exciting teams in the NHL are Detroit, and Washington. Edited January 25, 2009 by TheOwl Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daft_davy 0 Report post Posted January 25, 2009 the nhl seems to agree so i don't really get the attacks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ms_Hockey 0 Report post Posted January 25, 2009 (edited) Oh come on, are you really trying to imply that the Wings travel schedule is just as hard as Vancouver's? At the same time, I agree that this sounds like sour grapes from Vancouver. Yeah, they have to travel a ton, but this is nothing new. Deal with it. Blaming your losses on travel is pathetic. Detroit has gotten the short end of the stick in regards to travel schedule for awhile now. That said, we don't whine about it. These people are professional hockey players. It's their job to pull themselves together and go out and play their game. The Canucks should try doing that rather than complaining that their lives are so difficult. Once it's over, they can take their $3 million a year and go back to their mansions and rest. Edited January 25, 2009 by Ms_Hockey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kira 451 Report post Posted January 25, 2009 I live in Vancouver and am forced every day of my life to not say bad things about the Canucks. I've never seen such a bad team with so many utterly blind supporters. Their terrible, and probably the most unexciting team in hockey, they rarely score more then 2 goals a game, and trap (and fail) in almost every game. Seriously, I was a Canuck fan (well a Bure fan) for like 10 years, then my eyes opened, no point in cheering for a team which will never succeed. Really, the two most exciting teams in the NHL are Detroit, and Washington. What can I say except I'm glad you saw the light. Welcome to reality. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
going_top_shelf 6 Report post Posted January 25, 2009 I don't remember Anaheim complaining about travel back in 2007, Nor have I heard anything about San Jose's thoughts on travel. Those team are just as far west as Vancouver and have no trouble with travel. Unless you're talking about San Jose getting their asses handed to them at the Joe. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elriqo28 2 Report post Posted January 25, 2009 I believe the result of them sucking is because...DUN DUN DUN, they suck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cusimano_brothers 1,655 Report post Posted January 25, 2009 I don't remember Anaheim complaining about travel back in 2007 They did and it didn't take long for them to do it. They opened versus Los Angeles in England in 2007 and Brian Burke moaned about how they were never able to recover from those two games. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chrisdetroit 189 Report post Posted January 25, 2009 Dallas actually has the worst travel schedule in terms of miles. They have a long way to travel for their divisional games - Phoenix, Aneheim, San Jose and LA. And of course they play each of those teams 6 times. Vancouver is whining about traveling to the east coast and they only play those teams once. All that said, the schdules for lots of teams including the Wings is not very good. To many back-to-backs and to many away trips in the middle of home stands. There should be some guidlines in terms of schedules so that everybody gets a fair shake. Each team should have the same number of back to backs... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lovin Jiri Fischer 147 Report post Posted January 25, 2009 I'm sorry, but don't the Eastern vs. Western Conference games go by division? This year the Central division has one home and one away game against all Atlantic Division teams. Central plays the Northeastern division at home. And the Central plays the Southeastern away. I know that all of the other divisions are set up like this too. So that means that THE ENTIRE WESTERN CONFERENCE plays 10 Eastern Conference games at home, and 10 on the East Coast as well, not just Vancouver. The Northwest division will play the exact same Eastern teams, meaning Edmonton, Calgary, Minnesota, and Colorado will have the exact same travel schedule with regards to the East Coast. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kira 451 Report post Posted January 26, 2009 (edited) They did and it didn't take long for them to do it. They opened versus Los Angeles in England in 2007 and Brian Burke moaned about how they were never able to recover from those two games. Consider the source. Brian Burke needs a cheese factory to go with his whines. Edited January 26, 2009 by Kira Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WingNut 25 5 Report post Posted January 26, 2009 Anaheim whined all last season about their European opener and missing Scotty and Teemu. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Duck Guy 86 Report post Posted January 26, 2009 Any team that blames their record on "travel woes" needs to look into the mirror to find the problem with their team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
