The Metropolitan Division Is Terrible

[Dabura 12,206]

A piece from Sean McIndoe

When does this realignment test-run dealy expire? After next season? If the Metro doesn't turn things around, do you think The Powers That Be go for a different alignment scheme? Maybe the Metro and Atlantic can swap a team or two? Or is everyone perfectly ok with the Penguins securing the top spot in their division every November?

[martinezsvsu 240]

ive noticed that metro sucks too. its not as bad as it seems though. tampa is playing great which is unusual. so that leaves 5 other atlantic teams that are usually good. wings, bruins, canadians, leafs, sens. for metro they have pens and caps. rangers and philly are usually good and will probably somewhat finish the year better. islanders are a team on the rise too. so the only reason metro looks so bad is because philly and the rangers have had bad starts to the season, which i think they will turn it around.

[cnot19 191]

Yea, New Jersey is usually a much better team as well. It's no worse than the old Southeast.

[T.Low 1,011]

So you want them to realign every time teams get better and worse?

[Dabura 12,206]

the only reason metro looks so bad is because philly and the rangers have had bad starts to the season

Um, not to be a jerk, but how closely have you been following things? Because it's accepted as fact that the Metro is an abomination. (Read the piece I linked to, it's eye-opening.) In addition to the Flyers and Rangers, The Devils have been wretched. The Blue Jackets have regressed. The Islanders have looked average at best. The Hurricanes and Capitals - I'm not seeing how you can compare the Metro to the Atlantic. The latter has its weak teams, but it also boasts the Bruins, Leafs, Wings, Habs, and the newly respectable Bolts. All of those teams are doing very well, which is the opposite of very poorly, which is how the Metro is generally performing. And sooner or later the Sens are going to turn things around, which should leave just the Sabres and Panthers as division cellar-dwellers. The Atlantic is arguably the toughest division. The Metro is without question the worst.

I mean, it's still early in the season, I guess. And anything can happen in The Age of Parity. But things aren't looking good for the Metro. Not good at all.

[Dabura 12,206]

So you want them to realign every time teams get better and worse?

What? No. I just know The League is all about "engineering equality" and trying to sex things up. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I see the Metro as kind of a black eye for The League. But then, I guess you could say there's a lot of "parity" within the Metro's ranks, which is...a plus? I dunno. The Leafs and Lightning are top teams now. Nothing makes sense any more. *rocks back and forth in a corner*

Edited November 7, 2013 by Dabura

[Nev 1,085]

Meh, remember when the Central was Detroit and 4 bad teams? It's all cyclical.

[Dabura 12,206]

You guys are no fun.

[T.Low 1,011]

I take objection to that. I am a hell of a lot of fun.

[55fan 5,133]

You guys are no fun.

We are too. We're just not drunk yet.

The suckage of the Metro will help Detroit. If the Metro sucks, the Atlantic will get to send five teams to the playoffs, thus increasing our chance of being one of those teams.

[Guest Crymson]

Meh, remember when the Central was Detroit and 4 bad teams? It's all cyclical.

The Central had five teams. the Metro has eight. And the Central was never that bad; in each of the past 15 seasons, it always yielded at least two playoff teams. In the 2008-2009 season, it came very close to having five.

Edited November 7, 2013 by Crymson

[Dabura 12,206]

I guess for me, living in the "Metro" area, it's a bigger deal than it maybe should be. There is, for example, an incredible level of negativity in the truly Metro area regarding the failures of all the major NY sports franchises. And the failings of the Metro Division just sort of feed that fire and lead some people to ask what's in the water.

It's all cyclical, I know. But, bottom line, I guess: it's pretty amazing just how bad this division has been thus far. In McIndoe's words, it's "historically bad." (And it is.) I thought it was worth trying to get a discussion out of it, but I guess there's not a whole lot to discuss. My bad.

Also: I like saying, "I guess."

[Son of a Wing 1,644]

I guess for me, living in the "Metro" area, it's a bigger deal than it maybe should be. There is, for example, an incredible level of negativity in the truly Metro area regarding the failures of all the major NY sports franchises. And the failings of the Metro Division just sort of feed that fire and lead some people to ask what's in the water.

It's all cyclical, I know. But, bottom line, I guess: it's pretty amazing just how bad this division has been thus far. In McIndoe's words, it's "historically bad." (And it is.) I thought it was worth trying to get a discussion out of it, but I guess there's not a whole lot to discuss. My bad.

Also: I like saying, "I guess."

You type the way you talk. It's ok....we accept you. (I like ...) lol

[LeftWinger 4,936]

Uncle Gary has to guarantee somehow that Cindy and the Bunch get to the playoffs every year easily! How else is he going to destroy another Detroit record? This is the start of Crapburghs 20+ year playoff run...that is also why Gary put Detroit the best division...too bad Detroit is once again, so far, spoiling his plans! Which would have worked too if not for those meddling kids!!! (from GR)

[matthewdanna 143]

The Metro sucking just means 5 Atlantic teams will make it...

It's been stated already, but the name "Metropolitan" is stupid - Columbus and Raleigh are not metropolitan cities. And "Atlantic" doesn't really fit for teams like Detroit and Toronto which aren't close to the Atlantic Ocean. Go back to the Norris, Smythe, etc named divisions or make the Eastern Conference division names make sense.

This is what I would like to see happen eventually:

PACIFIC

Vancouver

Edmonton

Calgary

San Jose

Anaheim

Los Angeles

Pheonix

Seattle (expansion)

With the addition of Seattle it would be an 8-team division which only makes sense.

CENTRAL

Winnepeg

Minnesota

Chicago

Colorado

St. Louis

Nashville

Dallas

Milwaukee (expansion) or Saskatoon

With the addition of another expansion team in the Mid West it becomes an 8-team division. Wisconsin is a great state for sports and hockey is huge there so I think a franchise should do well... Saskatoon also makes sense.

NORTHEAST

Detroit

Ottawa

Toronto

Buffalo

Columbus

Pittsburgh

Philadelphia

Hamilton (relocate Florida)

There shouldn't be two teams in Florida, move the Panthers to Hamilton. This division still has 3 Canadian teams, so there will be a bunch of border hoping, but the travel is more manageable without the Florida teams. The Michigan/Ohio rivalry is a natural one, so it makes sense for Columbus and Detroit to be in the same division.

ATLANTIC

Montreal

Boston

New York Rangers

New York Islanders

New Jersey

Washington

Carolina

Tampa Bay

The current Metro division has the least amount of travel and doesn't have one Canadian team. Give them Montreal so they have to cross the border and go through Customs. This would be a truer Atlantic division. Boston and New York are traditional rivals that should exist in the same division.

Edited November 7, 2013 by matthewdanna

[Son of a Wing 1,644]

Uncle Gary has to guarantee somehow that Cindy and the Bunch get to the playoffs every year easily! How else is he going to destroy another Detroit record? This is the start of Crapburghs 20+ year playoff run...that is also why Gary put Detroit the best division...too bad Detroit is once again, so far, spoiling his plans! Which would have worked too if not for those meddling kids!!! (from GR)

I think you've got all that backwards. Constantly playing weaker opponents makes you complacent. Players and coaches state this all the time.

[VM1138 1,921]

Yeah, it just means they will tear up the regular season but flop when they face real teams in the playoffs. Like they've done since 2009.

[BadgerBob 297]

CENTRAL

Winnepeg

Minnesota

Chicago

Colorado

St. Louis

Nashville

Dallas

Milwaukee (expansion) or Saskatoon

With the addition of another expansion team in the Mid West it becomes an 8-team division. Wisconsin is a great state for sports and hockey is huge there so I think a franchise should do well... Saskatoon also makes sense.

I really wish we could get a hockey team in Wisconsin, but I really don't think hockey is that big in our state. I am from Superior, which is right next to the lake and we mostly play minnesota teams due to the fact that the closest hockey teams are in Eau Claire (about 2.5 hours away) and the state tournament is pretty laughable. We already have the Admirals and I'm not sure how well they do as far as attendance but I've noticed the Kohl Center has had less and less people at Badger games. There's already so many people in the Milwaukee area that are dedicated Blackhawk fans I don't think that a team could survive there. If it was possible, I'd like to see Green Bay get the team.

[Hey man nice shot! 144]

We are too. We're just not drunk yet.

The suckage of the Metro will help Detroit. If the Metro sucks, the Atlantic will get to send five teams to the playoffs, thus increasing our chance of being one of those teams.

lol well played

[martinezsvsu 240]

Um, not to be a jerk, but how closely have you been following things? Because it's accepted as fact that the Metro is an abomination. (Read the piece I linked to, it's eye-opening.) In addition to the Flyers and Rangers, The Devils have been wretched. The Blue Jackets have regressed. The Islanders have looked average at best. The Hurricanes and Capitals - I'm not seeing how you can compare the Metro to the Atlantic. The latter has its weak teams, but it also boasts the Bruins, Leafs, Wings, Habs, and the newly respectable Bolts. All of those teams are doing very well, which is the opposite of very poorly, which is how the Metro is generally performing. And sooner or later the Sens are going to turn things around, which should leave just the Sabres and Panthers as division cellar-dwellers. The Atlantic is arguably the toughest division. The Metro is without question the worst.

I mean, it's still early in the season, I guess. And anything can happen in The Age of Parity. But things aren't looking good for the Metro. Not good at all.

im with you on the metro is terrible and the atlantic is really good. not too long ago i looked at the standings and the mertro was even worse because the caps just went on a three game winning streak. i think the atlantic will have 5 teams in the playoffs. but who expected the lightning to be so good and the flyers and rangers to be so bad? i think the islanders are a team on the rise. the rangers are going to get better fast with cally heating up and them getting more healthy. they won five out of their last seven btw. flyers are doomed. so what im saying is the metro has at least three good teams with the pens, caps, and rangers. how long can ben bishop and the lightning keep playing great hockey is another question.

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

When all the teams in the Metro div suck ass, they will get the 1st to 5th picks in the draft for a few years and start s*** kicking the Penguins just like the Pens have been doing to them after a decade of tanking to get to where they are now. Unless those teams draft like Edmonton

[martinezsvsu 240]

When all the teams in the Metro div suck ass, they will get the 1st to 5th picks in the draft for a few years and start s*** kicking the Penguins just like the Pens have been doing to them after a decade of tanking to get to where they are now. Unless those teams draft like Edmonton

as in, only draft skilled smallish one way forwards

[amato 3,210]

Or is everyone perfectly ok with the Penguins securing the top spot in their division every November?

As if Bettman doesn't absolutely love guaranteeing his golden boy a playoff spot? Maybe if the pens were at the bottom of their division because every other team were really good he'd realign the division