- Seems Rory Fitzpatrick's been catching some heat in the media over the fans write-in campaign to push him into the All-Star game.
Yes, the campaign makes a mockery of the All-Star game, but considering how the All-Star game has been a joke for years, this campaign fits right in.
So some fans have found a way to exploit the inept voting system devised by the league to stuff the ballot box for an unknown for a laugh. The system's been ripe for exploitation, and the only surprise to me is that it's taken this long.
Oh, and Fitzpatrick doesn't deserve to be run down because of this. He didn't seek it and has handled the unnecessary publicity well.
The way I see it, if he gets voted in, it's up to him to decide if he wants to go or not. I don't care either way because I stopped caring about the farce that is the NHL All-Star game a long, long time ago.
- Darcy Tucker to Edmonton? Nope, they need a puckmoving defenseman. To Montreal? Uh-uh, not with the Leafs clinging to a playoff berth. Trades between the Leafs and Habs are scarce as hens teeth and almost never occur during the season.
My guess is the Leafs won't trade Tucker during the season. They'll try to re-sign him but if he proves too rich for their blood could try to peddle him by the June draft weekend.
- I wouldn't be surprised if teams are inquiring into the availability of Florida's Olli Jokinen, but they're not gonna land him, especially if the Panthers are still in the hunt for post-season berth by the deadline. I also wouldn't be surprised to discover he's got a no-trade clause that'll kick in at some point in his contract.
- The Anaheim Ducks are facing real adversity for the first time this season, losing goalies J-S Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov, forward Todd Marchant and defenseman Francois Beauchemin to injury.
This'll be a true test for a Ducks team that has pretty much owned the Western Conference since the season began. Fortunately Bryzgalov is expected back soon whilst "Giggy" is listed as day-to-day, but for now it's up to Michael Wall to get 'er done until one of these guys return to action.
- How dumb is the NHL's playoff seeding system? So dumb that the New Jersey Devils with 43 points get third overall in the conference because they lead their division ahead of the Montreal Canadiens, who have 49 points.
And to prove I'm not biased, the same problem exists in the Western Conference, where the struggling Vancouver Canucks with their 39 points get the third overall seeding ahead of more deserving teams with better records like Detroit, Dallas and San Jose.
I don't care where a team places in a division, if their record isn't good enough for third overall, they bloody well shouldn't be there ahead of more deserving teams. In some cases, it's rewarding ineptness.
Spector-I agree with your thoughts on the playoff seedings. The same thing happened last year with Buffalo. They had the third best record last year in the East and they got the fourth seed.
If they had gotten the third seed, they would've faced the Canes in the second round with everyone healthy. Including Timmy C!
And for this year, I don't want to face the Habs in the second round. One of us is going to win the division, and the other is going to be fourth so they will meet in the second round unless an upset occurs.
They should adopt something like the NBA has while they still have three divisions per conference.
We have 30 teams in the league today. More than half of those teams make it into the playoffs. Does anyone else see that and laugh? It's ridiculous. And we wonder why a winter sport starts in October and ends in June...
The playoff picture is better than it used to be back in the 1980s, when 16 out of 21 teams made the playoffs. Some wise scribe once made the analogy that playing an 80 game schedule to eliminate five teams was the eqivilant of burning down your house to get the flies out of the dining room.
Still, I concur with your take, chaas. The season is still too long to eliminate 14 teams.
Last edited by Spector on December 29th at 2:31 PM.
I completely disagree with your view on division leaders being at the top of conference standings.
The Canucks deserve to be 3rd because they play in the NorthWest division where every team is competitive. Vancouver played four games against Calgary in December alone while those other teams with better records you mention (Detroit, Dallas and San Jose) play their games against such powerhouses as St Louis, Chicago & Columbus or Phoenix and LA.
If the schedule is ever corrected, then re-organize the conference standings... but until that's done, division leaders deserve to be the top seeds however how many points they have.
Hi Spector.
Given the ridiculous salaries being paid the players today, can anyone see the owners cutting any games off the schedule? There are 3 reasons why the schedule is so long. 1.Revenue 2.Revenue and 3.Revenue.
As for the number of teams in the playoffs, back in the 6 team days 80% of the teams made it. Now its barely over 50%
The ticket deal in Phoenix as of now is 4 tickets,4 hot dogs and 4 sodas for 79 dollars. That works out to about 14 dollars a ticket. If memory serves me correctly, tickets were almost that back in the 70's, but I doubt the top paid player back then made as much as the 200th highest paid player today [a guess on my part]. Man do we need a good TV contract in the USA. All we get in Lake Havasu Az is the Phoenix Poodles.
Happy New Year from One Islander to Another.
Cobra
Last edited by Cobra31 on December 29th at 8:42 PM.
I think lostkiwi hits it on the head - the schedule is more of a joke than the seedings. Collecting points off of terrible clubs over and over doesn't prove you are a good team it proves you are in a weak division. What is inept is the force fed division rivals and teams not playing others all season. I can see where some would be upset in the west with the point difference being so large between third and fourth, but in the east you are talking about 2 points. Where is the problem? Still, the bottom line is fix the schedule first then start on the playoff seedings.
Oh yeah, I hope Rory plays!
Last edited by Gregsky on December 29th at 8:53 PM.
I agree with the sentiments regarding scheduling changes. First, the NHL needs to revamp the scheduling, especially adding more "other Conference" match-ups. It's crazy that a team's fans can go years without seeing a team play in their home building.
Back to the topic of playoff seedings...If the NHL wants to have a representative from each Division, they could say that at least one team from each Division would make the cut. Meaning, the best team from the weakest division might bump out another team for the 8th spot in the playoff seedings (not slot #3). Wouldn't that make for some interesting standings-watching the last two weeks of the season?
Last edited by BlackGoldPenguin21 on December 29th at 10:03 PM.
"they bloody well shouldn't be there ahead of more deserving teams."
You sound like a mad Englishman. :)
Stop the whining guys. There is a reward for winning your division, and that's a higher seed. If your team can't win it's own division, then too bad. Get over it.
The habs more deserving then the Devils? The Devs own the habs on a consisent basis. Stop the whining.
As always, the best site for trade rumors and the first place I look. Keep up the good work Spector. :)
Last edited by Topshlf89 on December 30th at 10:27 AM.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
