Proof that NHL Parity Is Not Working.

[Broken 16 381]

Sounds to me more like we've proven that the shootouts don't work.

Shootouts are fine. It's the consolation point awarded after it and/or overtime that has to go. If you lose in any fashion... 0 points.

[eva unit zero 271]

The main problem is the imbalance between the conferences, and the fact that the three-point game exists in its current fashion.

Change the point system to:

3 points for a win in regulation or OT

2 points for a win in a SO

1 point for SO loss

0 points for regulation/OT loss

Follow this up with:

Each division winner is guaranteed a top-8 seed and therefore first-round home-ice in the playoffs. The playoffs are seeded 1-16 by points. For example, the top three teams could all come from one division if that's how the points rolled, as there are two "wild-card" spots which get first-round home ice. Teams are re-seeded each round based on seed (division sinners retain their playoff seed) as the playoffs progress.

This would provide for a fairer playoff system as the best teams would be in, regardless of division or conference. Think about it. These would have been the first-round matchups:

(1) Washington vs. (16) Calgary

(2) San Jose vs. (15) St. Louis

(3) Chicago vs. (14) Boston

(4) Phoenix vs. (13) Ottawa

(5) Vancouver vs. (12) Colorado

(6) New Jersey vs. (11) Nashville

(7) Detroit vs. (10) Los Angeles

(8) Buffalo vs. (9) Pittsburgh

Likely leading to:

(1) Washington vs. (9) Pittsburgh (OH SNAP!)

(2) San Jose vs. (7) Detroit

(3) Chicago vs. (6) New Jersey

(4) Phoenix vs. (5) Vancouver

(1) Washington vs. (5) Vancouver

(2) San Jose vs. (3) Chicago

(1) Washington vs. (3) Chicago

And Chicago wins the Cup. They'll win it this year anyway, just over a different opponent.

[Guest CaliWingsNut]

A bunch of text in some funny looking font to make it look different from other accounts....

3 points isn't the answer. 2 points win, 1 point OT win, 0 loss.

[VM1138 1,921]

I wish everyday the Wings played in the east...******* western road trips man... Although Chicago, Columbus and St-Louis are in the same boat

I kind of do, but then again being in the West keeps the Wings sharp. If we played in the East we could lose the grit we have and end up getting blown out like most Eastern teams. Either that or we'd simply dominate, but since anyone can beat Eastern teams it's that much more satisfying when the Wings make it through the ringer of the West.

[wings1110 184]

east sucks but they still get all the media attention and s***.

[eva unit zero 271]

3 points isn't the answer. 2 points win, 1 point OT win, 0 loss.

Detroit goes undefeated, winning every game in OT. 82 points.

Chicago wins 41 games in regulation and one in OT, and loses 40. 83 points.

Which team is better?

Systems where points awarded in each game are not the same from game to game are epic fail because they provide extra points that suddenly appear, or in your case remove points. If you want a simple W/L system, just use a simple W/L system and discard points altogether.

[servo 15]

For all of Bettman's desire to have NHL teams playing at parity in the post-cap world, and for all the 3 point games this year that helped inflate point totals around the league, the NHL is still very imbalanced. All we have to do is look at these playoffs. In the West the top 2 seeds have made it where they are suppose to have, the semi finals, while in the east you have two teams left in Philly ad Montreal that are so awful they would have been 12 and 13 seeds in the West. While some might say that having them make it this far shows parity (personally I think it shows PARODY), but all it proves to me is that the East is terrible. There is a awful imbalance between the two conferences. In fact, 4 of the 8 eastern playoff teams would have finished behind Colorado for the 8th seed. how crazy is that? It only further pushes the idea that playoffs should be seeded 1-16, regardless of conference. Would have been a very different playoffs this year:

Washington/Calgary

San Jose/St. Louis

Chicago/Boston

Phoenix/Ottawa

Vancouver/Colorado

New Jersey/Buffalo

Detroit/Nashville

Pittsburgh/Los Angeles

notice that the two eastern conference finalists are not even in the playoffs! no wonder this league isn't taken seriously sometimes.

I've always thought that the teams should be seeded like this. Especially from about 94 when the east *except NJ* absolutly sucked. Again, the winner of the WCF wins the cup.

[Crashnburnluder 385]

Please go back to a simple 2 point system. If you win the game 2 points if you lose the game 0 points. No reward for getting to overtime or a shootout.

I know the NHL added the extra point so that teams would compete in OT, but all they did was make the dying minutes of the 3rd slower due to the fact that teams now will try to get to the OT for the point.... If you do a 3 point system once again you mak teams play a defense OT so that they don't risk ending thr game with 0 points because the shootout loss reward you with one. A two point system is the best and easiest way to due the standings and it needs to

be changed to back this season... NO MORE 3 POINT GAMES!!

[NC WINGS FAN 5]

For all of Bettman's desire to have NHL teams playing at parity in the post-cap world, and for all the 3 point games this year that helped inflate point totals around the league, the NHL is still very imbalanced. All we have to do is look at these playoffs. In the West the top 2 seeds have made it where they are suppose to have, the semi finals, while in the east you have two teams left in Philly ad Montreal that are so awful they would have been 12 and 13 seeds in the West. While some might say that having them make it this far shows parity (personally I think it shows PARODY), but all it proves to me is that the East is terrible. There is a awful imbalance between the two conferences. In fact, 4 of the 8 eastern playoff teams would have finished behind Colorado for the 8th seed. how crazy is that? It only further pushes the idea that playoffs should be seeded 1-16, regardless of conference. Would have been a very different playoffs this year:

Washington/Calgary

San Jose/St. Louis

Chicago/Boston

Phoenix/Ottawa

Vancouver/Colorado

New Jersey/Buffalo

Detroit/Nashville

Pittsburgh/Los Angeles

notice that the two eastern conference finalists are not even in the playoffs! no wonder this league isn't taken seriously sometimes.

The problem I see with this set-up is that it would diminish rivalries.

Most of the NHL's best rivalries come from memories of past playoff bouts. The Canadiens/Bruins, Redwings/Avalanche, Blues, Blackhawks, Oilers/Flames, etc either originated and/or were greatly intensified from meeting in the playoffs numerous times.

You add more teams to the realm, and you decrease the likelihood of teams meeting in the playoffs. As a result, rivalries may suffer. Some would argue they already have diminished rivalries since the league abandoned the divisional rounds.

[NC WINGS FAN 5]

For all of Bettman's desire to have NHL teams playing at parity in the post-cap world, and for all the 3 point games this year that helped inflate point totals around the league, the NHL is still very imbalanced. All we have to do is look at these playoffs. In the West the top 2 seeds have made it where they are suppose to have, the semi finals, while in the east you have two teams left in Philly ad Montreal that are so awful they would have been 12 and 13 seeds in the West. While some might say that having them make it this far shows parity (personally I think it shows PARODY), but all it proves to me is that the East is terrible. There is a awful imbalance between the two conferences. In fact, 4 of the 8 eastern playoff teams would have finished behind Colorado for the 8th seed. how crazy is that? It only further pushes the idea that playoffs should be seeded 1-16, regardless of conference. Would have been a very different playoffs this year:

Washington/Calgary

San Jose/St. Louis

Chicago/Boston

Phoenix/Ottawa

Vancouver/Colorado

New Jersey/Buffalo

Detroit/Nashville

Pittsburgh/Los Angeles

notice that the two eastern conference finalists are not even in the playoffs! no wonder this league isn't taken seriously sometimes.

Another thing you must consider is that the owners would not go for it for a few reasons.

On problem here would be travel costs. Another reason is television ratings. How many fans of East Coast teams do you think would stay up until 10:30 on a weeknight to watch their team play a game in the first round of the playoffs against some team on the West Coast?

Imagine if you are Boston and you have to play San Jose in the first round. The travel would be daunting to say the least and who in Boston gives a rat's ass about the Sharks?

I agree that the Redwings and a few other teams get screwed by the status quo

[mmamolo 287]

If Washington had to fly all the way to Calgary in the first round, they'd have a s***-fit. Let it stay the way it is, if you're not good enough to make your conference, you're not good enough to win the cup.

Like Detroit having to go to Phoenix...or San Jose

Ask and you shall receive:

East vs West

New Jersey 7-9-2

Pittsburgh 9-7-2

Philadelphia 8-7-3

New York Rangers 7-10-1

New York Islanders 10-6-2

Buffalo 10-5-3

Ottawa 9-8-1

Boston 7-7-4

Montreal 7-9-2

Toronto 5-12-1

Washington 10-5-3

Atlanta 8-7-3

Carolina 5-12-1

Tampa Bay 6-7-5

Florida 7-7-4

Cumulative: 115-118-37

West vs East

Chicago 11-5-2

Detroit 9-6-3

Nashville 12-4-2

St. Louis 9-7-2

Columbus 8-7-3

Vancouver 13-5-0

Colorado 12-5-1

Calgary 11-5-2

Minnesota 10-4-4

Edmonton 7-9-2

San Jose 12-4-2

Phoenix 11-6-1

LA 14-4-0

Anaheim 9-7-2

Dallas 7-9-2

Cumulative: 155-87-28

Is it me or shouldn't the cumulative East vs. West record equally reflect the West vs. East record?

Persaonlly I think there's parity in this league but that doesnt mean the conferences are balanced. No one can say that the Eastern Conference is anywhere near as good as the West. Even if the East were able to end up with a cumulative winning record in the regular season against the west I still wouldn't necessarily be sold - but that clearly wasnt the case. Look at the point totals from this season and look at the rosters of the teams. The West is a powerhouse compared to the East.

You may end up with an Eastern SC Champ and that's all fine and good. Anything can happen in a SC finals series but that doesn't prove superiority despite what a lot of jackasses may say (in terms of conference superiority). THe problem is the NHL, as a league, can't really do much to control the balance of power between conferences. General Managers sign, trade and manage their teams how they desire.

At the end of the day, it's almost kind of sad (from the NHL's perspective) that the West is so much stronger. The fact that so much of the NHL's audience base is out of the East it would be so much more beneficial to have more stars and better teams in the Eastern conference. That would create more exposure, more merchandise sales, more ticket sales, etc. etc.

[Frozen-Man 144]

For all of Bettman's desire to have NHL teams playing at parity in the post-cap world, and for all the 3 point games this year that helped inflate point totals around the league, the NHL is still very imbalanced. All we have to do is look at these playoffs. In the West the top 2 seeds have made it where they are suppose to have, the semi finals, while in the east you have two teams left in Philly ad Montreal that are so awful they would have been 12 and 13 seeds in the West. While some might say that having them make it this far shows parity (personally I think it shows PARODY), but all it proves to me is that the East is terrible. There is a awful imbalance between the two conferences. In fact, 4 of the 8 eastern playoff teams would have finished behind Colorado for the 8th seed. how crazy is that? It only further pushes the idea that playoffs should be seeded 1-16, regardless of conference. Would have been a very different playoffs this year:

Washington/Calgary

San Jose/St. Louis

Chicago/Boston

Phoenix/Ottawa

Vancouver/Colorado

New Jersey/Buffalo

Detroit/Nashville

Pittsburgh/Los Angeles

notice that the two eastern conference finalists are not even in the playoffs! no wonder this league isn't taken seriously sometimes.

Most US sports have this problem. The West has had the vast majority of dominate teams in the NBA for a long time. That's just the breaks sometimes, there is no way to create that type of parity because the good teams change, back when Jordan played the East was much better then it shifted to the West. The point to the parity is that teams in either conference have a realistic shot of winning, and the fact that there is parity is shown in the two teams that reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

[toby91_ca 620]

Is it me or shouldn't the cumulative East vs. West record equally reflect the West vs. East record?

The records are consistent, it just doesn't look that way because of OT and SO wins/losses. Both records include 270 games. if you look at the total losses of each conference (L + OTL or SOL), that equals the wins of the other conference.

I think the "proof" the OP's is suggesting show parity is not working is quite the opposite, I think it goes to prove that parity is working. You also see different teams succeeded year after year, which is part of the goal.

I think the OP's real beef is that the EC is weaker than the WC and if you seeded 1-16 instead of the top 8 in each conference, there would be teams in the EC that wouldn't make it.

I don't think you can really do something like that without wildly adjusting the schedule and doing something like that would essentially remove the need to actually have separate conferences. There's real no need to have separate divisions at this point either, other than the fact that division winners are seated 1-3.

While it may seem easy to point to records and show that the West is the superior conference, I don't think it's that cut and dry. I think the West is stronger, but you really can't say for sure if the teams are no playing a balanced schedule. Most say that the Western teams have to deal with a lot more travel, which is fair, but who's to say that if the Eastern teams travelled more, they would get more used to it, therefore limiting the impact they'd face when they do make the trip, vs. today's scheudle, which only includes rare trips. Always 2 ways of looking at it.

[PotbellyJoe 10]

Have you guys noticed....At least one team from the past 2 Winter Classic games have made it to the final (Pittsburgh and Detroit)

And lost...

[55fan 5,133]

And lost...

Good point.

And I just now understood your avatar.

I think the fact that over half of the teams in the league make the playoffs in and of itself insures some sort of parity. The top spots may be the same teams year after year, but the bottom spots are up for grabs and as the Habs have shown us this year, anything can happen once you're in.

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

Don't talk unless the West sweeps the East in the finals. Montreal and Philly are playing good enough hockey to beat the Hawks or the Sharks. Don't take that away from them because they just made into the playoffs in the East. Montreal took out 2 very good teams and I wouldn't be surprised to see them beat the West if they can get past Philly. Same goes for Philly. They are getting through with goaltending from career back ups. They are playing good don't take that away from them.

exactly. and it's funny where injuries during the season place you come playoff time. philly is a better team than the penguins, and jersey only has parise, zajac and kovy. and boston would have lost to buffalo if they sabres were healthy. philly is built for the playoffs.

[toby91_ca 620]

Detroit goes undefeated, winning every game in OT. 82 points.

Chicago wins 41 games in regulation and one in OT, and loses 40. 83 points.

Which team is better?

Systems where points awarded in each game are not the same from game to game are epic fail because they provide extra points that suddenly appear, or in your case remove points. If you want a simple W/L system, just use a simple W/L system and discard points altogether.

You know, someone can look at that and honestly say, I'm not sure which team is better. Both appear to be evenly matched against their opponents every night, Detroit happened to win them all, but it took OT to get there and Chicago happened to win some and lose some.

I think what those records might show is that Detroit is the more consistent team, no one coudl be them, but they weren't strong enough to win without going to OT (they scrapped by every game). Chicago would appear to be more inconsistent, some nights they are really strong and others not so much.

Perhaps under that scenario, finishing with similar point totals makes some sense?

What probably doesn't make sense is a team that goes 82-0 (winning every game in OT) finishing with 82pts and a team that loses every game has zero points. Is one team really that much better than the other?