Update: Looks like a nine day break actually is going to happen:
Outside killing fan interest, this massive break promises to help Detroit, who are playing without an injured Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Kris Draper.
As a final, strange twist, the league is planning on scheduling the opening two games back-to-back (Friday and Saturday).
I don't get it.
---
Here's a link worth reading:
http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=279589
In case you can't be bothered - here's the gist of it. If both Conference finals do not end in a sweep (and the odds of that are very high; it's hard to imagine both Carolina and Chicago rolling over) the National Hockey League will take over a week off before the Stanley Cup Finals.
Potentially nine - 9! - days.
It's decisions like this that help... limit... the league's popularity. Hockey fans are in hockey mode right now - why would you kill any momentum you've built by taking a week (or more) off? Especially considering that week off will drag the Stanley Cup Finals well into June.
Mind you, this is the same league that is bending over backwards to keep a team in a building that is a 60-minute drive outside of Phoenix, AZ, so I guess this isn't a surprise.http://scotttougas.blogspot.com
Original Story:
http://scotttougas.blogspot.com/2009/...
Should the Penguins complete a sweep of the Eastern Conference finals against Carolina on May 26 and the Red Wings need five games to finish off the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference the following the night, there would be a nine-day wait until the Cup Finals begin.
Outside killing fan interest, this massive break promises to help Detroit, who are playing without an injured Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Kris Draper.
As a final, strange twist, the league is planning on scheduling the opening two games back-to-back (Friday and Saturday).
I don't get it.
---
Here's a link worth reading:
http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=279589
In case you can't be bothered - here's the gist of it. If both Conference finals do not end in a sweep (and the odds of that are very high; it's hard to imagine both Carolina and Chicago rolling over) the National Hockey League will take over a week off before the Stanley Cup Finals.
Potentially nine - 9! - days.
It's decisions like this that help... limit... the league's popularity. Hockey fans are in hockey mode right now - why would you kill any momentum you've built by taking a week (or more) off? Especially considering that week off will drag the Stanley Cup Finals well into June.
Mind you, this is the same league that is bending over backwards to keep a team in a building that is a 60-minute drive outside of Phoenix, AZ, so I guess this isn't a surprise.http://scotttougas.blogspot.com
Original Story:
http://scotttougas.blogspot.com/2009/...
