Runaway Future

Bob McKenzie just wrote a column about the NHL’s scheduling dilemma and how not every team plays every other team every season. (This whole thing has me with my fingers crossed that the Ducks will play in Toronto next year). Anyway, it appears the NHL is going to revisit the schedule at upcoming meetings later this month.

Of the proposals mentioned by McKenzie, we find this one:

Here’s another option that addresses those concerns to some degree:

• five games vs. each of four divisional opponents (20)
• three games vs. each of 10 conference opponents (30)
• two “wild-card” games (2)
• two games vs. each of 15 out of conference opponents (30)

This format still provides an emphasis on divisional games, is a little more consistent in terms of playing conference rivals and most importantly allows for the home-and-home series with the other conference.

Sound familiar? It should.

Back in February, I posted a similar solution here. The only difference is mine accounted for 76 games (4 games against division rivals) and this one is for 82 games with an additional two “wild-card” games. Preferably, the schedule wizs would try to make the wild-card games matchups that people would want to see like Toronto-Montreal, Montreal-Boston, Ottawa-Toronto, Calgary-Edmonton, LA-Anaheim and so on.

In my mind, that solution makes the most amount of sense, but who knows.