NHL and IIHF in Olympic Harmony
Now that the NHL finally agreed to allow it's players to attend the Olympics, it's down to business. Today, Canada and Russia announced their Olympic camp invitees, with other countries soon to follow suit.
Our official Olympic preview will, of course, be in February when rosters are set and they are about to play. For now, here is an initial reaction to how the group stage might work out:
Place
|
Group A
|
Group B
|
Group C
|
|
1
|
United States*
|
Canada*
|
Sweden*
|
|
2
|
Russia
|
Finland*
|
Switzerland
|
|
3
|
Slovakia
|
Norway
|
Czech Republic
|
|
4
|
Slovenia
|
Austria
|
Latvia
|
* Top 4 teams get a bye to the Quarter Finals.
I see the US taking Group A, Canada winning group B, and Sweden ending up in first in Group C. The 4th team will probably be Finland, as Russia might have trouble with Slovakia (again) and Switzerland and Czech will be a tossup for second in their group.
One final point on the Olympics: this might be the last one for the NHL. I think since this one in is in Russia, there is a lot of pressure for the NHL to get an agreement in place and basically play nice with the Russia's Hockey Federation and the KHL. For Pyeongchang, unless their is an influx of South Koreans in the next couple years, I can see the NHL trying every-which-way to avoid it. Hopefully I'm wrong and the NHL keeps participating in the Olympics.
NHL Schedule
Since the Olympics are a-go, the NHL announced their schedule shortly after, and I must say, starting in October is a nice concept and I hope the NHL does this every season. The season starts on October 1 with the Habs-Leafs (always good), Chicago raising their Cup banner against Washington, and Edmonton and Winnipeg in a loser gets coldest winter match (just kidding). Other notable dates (outside of the ridiculous 6 outdoor games) include:
November 8, 2013 - Hall of Fame Game
November 29, 2013 - NHL's US day-after Thanksgiving (highlighted by a Rangers-Bruins matinee)
January 18, 2014 - Hockey Day in Canada
January 19, 2014 - Blackhawks and Bruins first match since the Cup Final
February 9-25, 2014 - Olympic break
April 13, 2014 - Last day of the regular season
NHL Divisions
Along with the schedule, the NHL finally introduced the names of the new divisions. lets take a closer look.
Name: Pacific
Teams: Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks Vancouver Canucks
Thoughts: No problems here. You could nitpick that Calgary, Edmonton, and Phoenix aren't on the Pacific so why call it that, then realized that Dallas was in the same division and compromise that it ain't too bad.
What It Should Have Been Called: Canaforna? (really stretched for something).
Name: Central
Teams: Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets
Thoughts: Central is basically the only division with a perfect name.
What It Should Have Been Called: Central, Midwest, can't go wrong here.
Name: Atlantic
Teams: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs
Thoughts: Wait, no New York/Pennsylvania teams? What the hell kind of Atlantic division is this?
What It Should Have Been Called: Flortheast, and nothing else.
Name: Metropolitan
Teams: Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals
Thoughts: Ok, whose the effing genius that cooked up this name for a division?
What It Should Have Been Called: ANYTHING! The NBC-will-only-televise-these-teams division, the Bettman-is-the-best-commish division*. Anything other than the Metropolitan!
Conclusion: Should have gone back to the old Smythe/Norris/Patrick/Adams divisions.
*Maybe not anything, but you get the point. Metropolitan is for the Seattle team, not a division.
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