Commandant Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 <p> Then give us Carolina and Washington and give them Florida and Tampa. It may look weird, but both conferences would have similar travel. This was never about travel. This was about Florida and Tampa filling their buildings 6x each per year with 3 games from Montreal, and 3 games from Toronto. And the survival of Florida and Tampa is important to the league, and this is one way of ensuring they maximize revenue. Having Boston and Ottawa for 3x each also helps them, even if they are not as good draws for them as Montreal, they still get a lot of travelers from those cities as well. And really, Florida and Tampa is like a three hour flight from Montreal. Not a huge issue, like say Anaheim or San Jose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 <p> This was never about travel. This was about Florida and Tampa filling their buildings 6x each per year with 3 games from Montreal, and 3 games from Toronto. And the survival of Florida and Tampa is important to the league, and this is one way of ensuring they maximize revenue. Having Boston and Ottawa for 3x each also helps them, even if they are not as good draws for them as Montreal, they still get a lot of travelers from those cities as well. And really, Florida and Tampa is like a three hour flight from Montreal. Not a huge issue, like say Anaheim or San Jose. I think you're right. Tampa and Florida against the Habs more times a year was the key point in the East, me thinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 True enough. Still, a pair of extra FLA/TB games isn't going to do much for building a rivalry I don't think. Think about the playoffs though! Every single year, 4 of these 7 teams will face each other in the first round of the playoffs and then two of them will face in the second round. There is such a small pool of teams to have first and second round playoff match ups against that you can bet there will be numerous repeats, which will lead to the building of rivalries. This format apparently makes it easier for the Habs to make the playoffs. That's really all I give a rat's ass about. Agreed. Montreal is in a pretty easy division with Boston being the only really scary team (and Montreal tends to do well against them). Then give us Carolina and Washington and give them Florida and Tampa. It may look weird, but both conferences would have similar travel. Florida teams need us though. Those winter vacation games are huge for them. The divisions seem to be based more on time zone (North-South location) than on geographical proximity. That's why the one that stands out to me is Colorado being with all the teams on the far West. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobin Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 According to Sportsnet, Tampa and Florida do not want more Canadian games. They sell far more tickets when Philly, Pitts, and Washington come to town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Habsy Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 According to Sportsnet, Tampa and Florida do not want more Canadian games. They sell far more tickets when Philly, Pitts, and Washington come to town. That's not what Dale Talon said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted December 6, 2011 Share Posted December 6, 2011 According to Sportsnet, Tampa and Florida do not want more Canadian games. They sell far more tickets when Philly, Pitts, and Washington come to town. ...Not sure I believe that. I was under the impression Canadian team games in the winter were pretty much the only sell outs they get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 The divisions seem to be based more on time zone (North-South location) than on geographical proximity. That's why the one that stands out to me is Colorado being with all the teams on the far West. Yup.... time zone means more money on Local TV contracts. Ratings fall for 4:30 starts (West team in the East) and for 10:30 starts (east team in west)... According to Sportsnet, Tampa and Florida do not want more Canadian games. They sell far more tickets when Philly, Pitts, and Washington come to town. Bullshit, why are the Leafs and Habs games premium priced? And why do the Habs always visit between Christmas and New Years, and the Leafs always visit during Ontario's Spring Break? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohmercy61 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 I dont care what format they have for playoffs if the canadiens dont start winning they wont see the playoffs a 500 club this late in the season give me a break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Four teams that voted against: Florida, TBay, Pittsburgh and... Montreal. According to a report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brobin Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Yup.... time zone means more money on Local TV contracts. Ratings fall for 4:30 starts (West team in the East) and for 10:30 starts (east team in west)... Bullshit, why are the Leafs and Habs games premium priced? And why do the Habs always visit between Christmas and New Years, and the Leafs always visit during Ontario's Spring Break? It was Doug MacLean who said it. He called it the great Canadian myth. While there are some snowbirds at games, they don't have a huge influx of sales for those games. He was adamant that Florida and Tampa did not want to be in our conference. As to your question about why we visit then, it is surely because more Canadians will be there and they will get a boost. ie.. .regular florida fans don't come to see those games. How will more games help, since they will be in October/November, Jan.... Their point is the average fan down there wants to see Washington, Pitts, Philly, etc and they are getting less of those games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trizzak Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Four teams that voted against: Florida, TBay, Pittsburgh and... Montreal. According to a report. Well Bettman would never let anything happen to his darling Southern teams, but Pittsburgh and Montreal? They will pay for their insolence. "Shanahan! 8 game suspensions to their best non-superstar! I demand it!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMMR Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 It was Doug MacLean who said it. He called it the great Canadian myth. While there are some snowbirds at games, they don't have a huge influx of sales for those games. He was adamant that Florida and Tampa did not want to be in our conference. As to your question about why we visit then, it is surely because more Canadians will be there and they will get a boost. ie.. .regular florida fans don't come to see those games. How will more games help, since they will be in October/November, Jan.... Their point is the average fan down there wants to see Washington, Pitts, Philly, etc and they are getting less of those games. Problem with that is there is are not many fans for Florida and Tampa I have been there for Habs games (all sell outs or close to) And games against Pitts Philly New York and Boston and not many fans at all (half empty buildings) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 This will not happen for next season. NHLPA just refused its conscent. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=610343 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commandant Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Possible reasons the PA rejected it. http://lastwordonsports.com/2012/01/06/breaking-news-nhlpa-blocks-nhls-realignment-plan-more-than-meets-the-eye/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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