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CANUCKS HOCKEY BLOG

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

All-Star Game Grumblings

Maybe it was a bit of the disappointment from how the whole Vote For Rory thing ended or I'm just grumpy, but I'm oddly not too excited about the All-Star game. I'll still watch it of course, but I'm almost apathetic to the festivities.

Maybe once I start watching the game, I'll get right into it. If anything, it's a good opportunity to see Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin play on the same line. And Heatley and Hossa. And Yanic Perrault and... never mind.

*****

The NHL gave us a sneak peak of the new RBK Edge jerseys. I have to admit, I don't mind them at all. We've seen several variations of the more "streamlined" jersey in the Olympics and the World Juniors and I don't think they look as bad as some hockey traditionalists were worried they might be. I still don't think I'd ever spend $349 for one, but...

Here's Roberto Luongo and his $0.02 on the new unis:

Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo said the biggest difference he experienced with the new jersey was that it repels moisture.

"It's very comfortable -- light, and doesn't absorb water," he said. "It's not only sweat, but when we drink from the water bottle, sometimes it gets all over the front, so you get weighed down by the end of the period.

"It's very loose and elastic. You can move around easily in it, it's not impeding at all."
For the NHL company line, click here.

*****

The NHL Board of Governors are meeting today (link courtesy of Kukla's Corner) and part of the agenda is another vote on the league's scheduling format.

The NHL will have its much-maligned schedule dealt with once and for all when the board of governors meets Tuesday and the betting is the league will likely go back to the pre-lockout format that saw all 30 teams face each other at least once a season.

(snip)

Chances are things will go back to the format used pre-lockout, where each teams plays its divisional opponents six times instead of eight, then plays four games against each of the teams in the other divisions in their conference. That would leave 18 games against teams in the other conference. Teams would play against each team in the other conference once, leaving three games for home-and-home series against traditional rivals.
If the league were smart, they would go vote to go back to this format. If they were smarter, they would take it a step further and ensure a home-and-home series with interconference teams every season. I've always maintained that it's stupid marketing to not allow every Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin, Joe Thornton and Teemu Selanne to visit every NHL city every season. While the pre-lockout format is a step in the right direction, it's still not enough to ensure that this happens.

[update: 01/23/2007, 9:33 AM]

*sigh* This just in via TSN:

The NHL will stay the course and will not change the regular season schedule for at least one more year.

That was the decision made the the league's board of governors on Tuesday in an effort to deal with its much-debated scheduling concerns.

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Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.

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posted by J.J. Guerrero, 8:09 AM

5 Comments:

At January 23, 2007 9:21 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I guess it didn't take the league terribly long to admit it isn't that smart, huh?

 
At January 23, 2007 9:30 AM, Blogger J.J. Guerrero said...

I wouldn't go that far yet. We'll find out this afternoon.

 
At January 23, 2007 9:35 AM, Blogger J.J. Guerrero said...

Never mind. I just saw the decision on TSN.

 
At January 23, 2007 10:41 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, I think I caught it as it broke. So much for introducing same sanity back into the schedule.

 
At January 23, 2007 3:10 PM, Blogger Daz said...

I had hope there for a brief few seconds. Oh well, back to smacking my head on my desk (its the only way I can get thru 8 games against the wild).

 

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