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NOW, FEW GAMES OUTSIDE CONFERENCE
November 2, 2006
By David Pollak
San Jose Mercury News
The New York Rangers itinerary has them waking up in San Jose today for the first time since 2003. And the last time -- maybe -- until 2009 or 2010.
Maybe? That's because the idea of the NHL changing its schedule format is a little less farfetched than it was a week ago.
Fans have squawked about the schedule since its adoption in July 2005 because non-conference teams visit just once every three years. Tonight's game between the Sharks and Rangers, for example, is a rare chance for San Jose fans to see last season's two top scorers -- Joe Thornton and Jaromir Jagr -- in action. Saturday may be the one time fans here get to watch Pittsburgh phenoms Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin before they're considered veterans.
But this week, the squawking came from an NHL general manager. And a top NHL official acknowledged that a revamping "is something we're looking into."
"I hate the schedule," Vancouver Canucks General Manger Dave Nonis told the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce on Monday. "It does nothing for us.
"We should play every team in the league at least once," added Nonis, responding to a question from the floor. "We all pay the same dues and right now the Western teams are getting it right in the teeth for no good reason. We fly as much as we ever did and the Eastern teams don't do a bloody thing."
The public outburst was nothing that league officials hadn't heard privately, according to NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly.
"We're aware of his concerns," Daly said. "I certainly understand them and appreciate them, but they don't represent the majority of the teams in the league."
Still, he added, "if there are ways to make the schedule better, we would pay attention and seek to make it better. It's just identifying those ways."
Under the current formula, each team plays eight games against division opponents and four games against the other teams in its conference. That leaves just 10 games against teams from the other conference. The plan was put into effect after the lockout-canceled 2004-05 season.
The stated idea was to encourage divisional rivalries, though skeptics saw it more as an opportunity for owners to reduce travel costs.
But less travel, in theory, also means less wear-and-tear on players -- especially in the road weary Western Conference. For that reason, Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson said he still favors the current format.
"My opinion, purely as a general manager, is that it's giving our team the best chance to win hockey games and pursue the Stanley Cup," said Wilson.
But, he added, "I certainly understand fans' opinions about getting to see each team and all the stars."
The schedule is expected to be discussed at a general managers' meeting Tuesday in Toronto. It also could be on the agenda when the Board of Governors meets next month in Florida.
Daly said the NHL is open to the idea of a schedule that would bring Eastern Conference teams into Western cities more often. But, he added, he doesn't envision the league reverting to only six division games -- and can't see the NHL lengthening its season.
So what are the options?
One is to reduce the number of games the Sharks play against Northwest and Central division teams. If San Jose played teams such as Detroit and Vancouver three times instead of four, Eastern Conference games could be increased from 10 to 20. That would bring teams such as the Maple Leafs and Canadiens to San Jose twice every three years.
Or, there could be annual visits by non-conference teams if each franchise simply played a single home-and-away series against every team outside its own division.
Daly, however, talks more like someone open to the possibility of change rather than someone pressing for it.
"We're in touch with our clubs on it and have surveyed the fans," Daly said. "It's fair to say a clear majority of our clubs are satisfied with the current schedule format and the vast majority of our fans are happy with it."
Daly's sense of fan support differs from the results of an online poll by the Ottawa-based NHL Fan Association.
The poll question, without detailing the current format, noted that each NHL team plays divisional and conference opponents more often than non-conference teams. Of the 3,200 respondents, 46 percent said it was a bad idea, 31 percent said it was a good idea, 20 percent said it was neither good nor bad and 3 percent had no opinion.
Jim Boone, a founder of the 29,000-member fan association, said he thinks the NHL would have changed its format this year, but wasn't ready to tinker with the major overhaul that hockey had just gone through.
"I think the NHL clearly recognizes the schedule does not work," Boone said.
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