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The NHL has been struggling for years with teams that are not profitable. Forbes said it best: "Of the league’s top 13 markets for revenue growth, which have collectively averaged a 48% increase over the past five years, none is further south than Pittsburgh." Why does the NHL insist on keeping 11 non-profitable teams afloat in markets that don't care enough about hockey to keep their team there? This is the year for the NHL to take dramatic steps. Not only realignment but relocation and resizing! 2 conferences, 4 divisions & 28 teams -------Eastern Conf----------------------Western Conf Division A----Division B---------Division C--------Division D Flyers----------Red-Wings---------Avalanche----------Oilers Caps-----------Canadiens----------Ducks---------------Flames Rangers-------Senators------------Blackhawks--------Canucks Penguins------Maple Leafs--------Blues---------------Sharks Devils----------Sabres---------------Stars---------------Jets Bruins----------Hamilton------------Wild-----------------Kings Hartford--------Quebec-------------Blue Jackets------Seattle Coyotes move to Seattle Panthers to Quebec Islanders to Hartford Hurricanes to Hamilton Predators and Lightning fold (current players enter draft with current contract) Division A & B in the Eastern Conference are perfect. Division C & D needs some help but works out the best as is. Breakdown of the schedule: 9 Games = teams in your division (54) 1 game = every other team in the league (21) 75 games total Shorten the season from Oct 15th - March 15th which is 150 days. That's an average of 1 game every 2 days. Playoffs Round 1 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d = bye Series 1 - 2a vs 3b Series 2 - 3a vs 2b Series 3 - 2c vs 3d Series 4 - 3c vs 2d Playoffs Round 2 Series 5 - 1a vs Series 2 Winner Series 6 - 2a vs Series 1 Winner Series 7 - 3a vs Series 4 Winner Series 8 - 4a vs Seres 3 Winner Playoffs Round 3 Series 5 winner vs Series 6 Series 7 winner vs Series 8 Finals are over by early May

You are right that the number of games does play a huge part. However, it is a significant milestone for the MLS. As for the NHL, maybe the number of games and the length of the season is what is holding the NHL back from growth. It's arguable that's a problem the MLB might start running into. Approximately October 1 to June 1 for the NHL. That's 9 months. When the 3rd round of the playoffs come around, NY south is building sandcastles on the beach. Drop the NHL season down November to May and the games to 60-65 games a season and I think you hit the sweet spot. The season is shortened to the fall/winter/spring months and the regular season games mean a lot more. The running joke among avid sports fan that could take or leave the NHL, is "There still playing" when May/June roll around. Followed quickly by "Man, how long is there season."

This year we've already seen major ups and downs in Philadelphia. The powerplay is either at peak performance or barely a powerplay at all, Hartnell is either on his feet or on his rear, and our 9 million dollar man Bryzgalov at times has looked stellar and at others looked lost. However the one thing that we continually repeat is the ol' "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mistake. The Flyers came out of the gates strong and jumped to a 4-1 start which for some reason signaled to Flyers brass the need to toy with the lineup and recall Brayden Schenn from Adirondack. Making his Flyers debut against Washington in an embarrassing 5-2 loss that saw him play 11 minutes and go -3. Since then the Flyers have gone a pathetic 1-3 and have played very mediocre hockey. To be fair I do not blame Schenn's play for the poor results of the team but what I don't get was the reason for bringing him up in the first place. He was performing at a very high level in the AHL netting 4 goals and 4 assists in 4 games while the Flyers were having very little problems putting pucks in the net and winning games of their own. There seemed to me to be very little reason to make the move. The move though was made and Schenn has played very subpar hockey. In 4 games played he is averaging 14:52 TOI and produced zero points and has a -5 rating. In the loss to Washington he was on ice for 3 of the 5 goals surrendered and during stretches you wondered if it was nerves or if the kid just isn't ready. Schenn has talent, there is no doubting that but to me this is signs of a bigger problem in Philadelphia and that is mismanagement of young talent. The list goes on and on of players that have been called up too early or at the wrong time by the Flyers and have either disappeared from the game or gone on to bigger better things with other teams. Patrick Sharp and Justin Williams to name a few. The problem with Schenn is that he was obviously started at the AHL level to circumvent a 1.4 million dollar roster bonus he was due if he was on the Flyers opening night roster. When it was announced he was sent down to work out an injury nobody questioned it but what it did was create a situation where everyone knew Schenn belonged in the NHL but was being put in the AHL for suspicious reasons. Fast forward to the Capitals game and now your dealing with a player who should have been here all along and inserting him into the lineup somewhere juggling things around to get him playing time and you end up with the results you've seen since. A complete botch job by the Flyers management if you ask me. (Repost - Cessna|10/27/2011|http://www.centericenews.com/_/articles/ahl/if-it-aint-broke-dont-fix-it-r71)

During it's inaugural season 1996, Major League Soccer's (MLS) average attendance was about 17,406 but dropped off between 1999-2002. This year marked an all-time average high of 17,870 surpassing the NHL and NBA bringing it to the 3rd most attended major league in the United States. MLS's average game attendance numbers still pale in comparison to the country's top two sports -- the National Football League (66,960) and Major League Baseball (30,352). Observers of the the MLS attribute the growing interest in part to the construction of more fan-friendly soccer stadiums as well as the league's recognition of an established soccer culture in the Pacific Northwest. That region now has three MLS teams: the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps. The atmosphere in the newly built soccer specific stadiums, which usually hold 18k-20k fans, helps the fans feel more connected to their team while the average ticket price remains around $25. On the contrary, ticket prices for NHL games only seem to be going up, pricing the die-hard fans right out of their seats. The current league wide average ticket prices to see a NHL game is approximately $48.50 before you factor in parking, food and drinks. That means for a family of four to attend a NHL game, they would need to shell out between $200-$250 for 3 hours of entertainment. That's about $100 more than the same family attending a MLS game. Not helping the situation for the NHL is the "post-lockout" rules. The clutch and grab ways have since gone by leading to more speed in the game, but that also seemingly turned the NHL into a special teams contest due to the number of penalties called. It's safe to say that a free flowing NHL game is something to behold but when 5 on 5 play is hampered by power plays it changes the game. The lack of consistency in the penalty calls between games, even from one period to the next, frustrates even the casual fans. Add to that the southern expansion teams inability to even draw a half capacity crowd leading to inflated number of teams in the league thus causing the dilution of skill. What's next for the MLS? It's eyes are locked on the MLB but that might take another decade. As for the NHL, the ability to regain it's ranking at #3 is squarely in it's hands. Realignment, rule changes, lower ticket prices and even league down-sizing should all be in play. As with most situations, time will tell.

More and more I wonder if Sean Avery has some kind of magical power. The Rangers traded for him in February 2007, helping to put Avery on a more prominent stage than he had in LA as a King. Avery’s antics and agitating suddenly seemed more noteworthy. Avery loved it in New York but couldn’t come to a contract agreement with the Rangers, so in the summer of 2008, Avery signed with the Dallas Stars. Avery had a four-year contract, but he wasn’t playing for the team he wanted to be. In Dallas, he made his infamous “sloppy seconds” comment and the Stars decided to part ways with Avery, whatever it took, whether it meant stashing him in the AHL for the rest of his four years, or simply paying him not to play for Dallas. But then, the Rangers decided they wanted Avery back and claimed him off of Dallas’ hands, with the Stars on the hook for half of Avery’s salary. Not only was Avery back in the NHL, he was back playing for the team he wanted to play for. Magical. And then, just a few weeks ago, Avery was once again sent to the AHL, told that the Rangers had no place for him. Avery’s NHL career seemed over. Again. Why would the Rangers ever recall him? What would they need Avery for? And yet, here we are. Avery is once again on his way back to the NHL. As a Ranger no less. Coach John Tortorella says Avery is needed because fourth-liner Mike Rupp is injured. There’s no guarantee Avery will even crack the lineup. Except you know he will. Because Avery is some kind of wizard who is magically keeping himself in the NHL. How many other NHL vets manage to get recalled to their team by a coach that seems to pretty actively hate them? Just like horror movies have taught us the importance of the double tap, Sean Avery’s career has taught us never to count him out. The man is a boomerang. Every time he’s tossed out of the NHL, he returns right back to where he was. And when he’s done with the NHL (if that ever actually happens), my guess is Avery will coach at Hogwarts. Maybe he’ll show them the spell to screen a keeper. (11.02.2011 | Author: Steven Ovadia | puckupdate.com)