mbal23 Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 I suggest scrap the all-star game and have this for non-Olympic years as a quick tourny of each of the three leagues top 4teams overall in a two week tourny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nuxfanabroad Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 Cut reg season to about 70 games. Allow teams to carry about 25 players. More subs to rotate in different games. CONTROVERSIAL?..Teams must carry at least 10 players from that particular country(city team is from). Try to incorporate a national aspect to increase rivalries/fan interest, & perhaps hilite different country's playing styles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostViking Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I say leave the NHL preseason, regular season, and playoffs alone. This way the entire NHL product is unaffected, which I think would be critical to making such an idea work. That leaves 14 non-playoff teams who would be available to play in an international tournament of some sort during playoff time. Clearly this would not be a 'champions league' in the purest sense, but they can always call it something else. I would argue that it would be best to take the top 4 or so teams from that group to play in the tournament. The bottom feeder teams' fan bases would likely be looking forward to the draft and off season more than anything else, so let them enjoy that, while the teams who just barely missed the playoffs likely have jaded fan bases who are hungering for a bit more hockey, so you throw them a bone. Also, it means having the best teams available participating in the tournament. This would be great for NHL PR since they could (potentially) show the world that other leagues' champions are not capable of even defeating non-playoff NHL teams. It would be great for other leagues' PR because they would have an easier time against non-playoff teams than they would against cup finalists, thus giving them a greater chance to (potentially) show the world how their league is as good as the NHL As far as the scheduling, it wouldn't be a 'champions league' in that it wouldn't be played throughout the regular season, but it could be played throughout the playoffs. This means the euro teams would likely already be done their playoffs so no scheduling issues for them. You could have a few games played before each NHL playoff round, the few days off would help NHL playoff teams recover their strength (leading to better performance on the ice), and since everyone is waiting for the next round the eyes of all the fans (in the midst of the OMG HOCKEY phase of the year) would be on the tournament. Instant attention from NHL fans and a way to improve the NHL playoff product. There are still issues surrounding such a format, such as whether the euro teams/players would want to play extra games at that time of year or how it would interfere with the World Championships (perhaps players would rather represent their country), but I think such a format would be infinitely better than a true champions league style format. Edit: To add one final note. McSorely's comments about players/teams not caring about the tournament would be, in my opinion, moot under such a format. Teams that just missed the playoffs would have giant chips on their shoulders. They wouldn't want to just miss the playoffs and then lose to a euro team right after, they would be pissed off and out to win. Any injuries that occur during the tournament could be largely mitigated by the off season that follows, giving players (hopefully enough) time to heal up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Building Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I say leave the NHL preseason, regular season, and playoffs alone. This way the entire NHL product is unaffected, which I think would be critical to making such an idea work. That leaves 14 non-playoff teams who would be available to play in an international tournament of some sort during playoff time. Clearly this would not be a 'champions league' in the purest sense, but they can always call it something else. I would argue that it would be best to take the top 4 or so teams from that group to play in the tournament. The bottom feeder teams' fan bases would likely be looking forward to the draft and off season more than anything else, so let them enjoy that, while the teams who just barely missed the playoffs likely have jaded fan bases who are hungering for a bit more hockey, so you throw them a bone. Also, it means having the best teams available participating in the tournament. This would be great for NHL PR since they could (potentially) show the world that other leagues' champions are not capable of even defeating non-playoff NHL teams. It would be great for other leagues' PR because they would have an easier time against non-playoff teams than they would against cup finalists, thus giving them a greater chance to (potentially) show the world how their league is as good as the NHL As far as the scheduling, it wouldn't be a 'champions league' in that it wouldn't be played throughout the regular season, but it could be played throughout the playoffs. This means the euro teams would likely already be done their playoffs so no scheduling issues for them. You could have a few games played before each NHL playoff round, the few days off would help NHL playoff teams recover their strength (leading to better performance on the ice), and since everyone is waiting for the next round the eyes of all the fans (in the midst of the OMG HOCKEY phase of the year) would be on the tournament. Instant attention from NHL fans and a way to improve the NHL playoff product. There are still issues surrounding such a format, such as whether the euro teams/players would want to play extra games at that time of year or how it would interfere with the World Championships (perhaps players would rather represent their country), but I think such a format would be infinitely better than a true champions league style format. Edit: To add one final note. McSorely's comments about players/teams not caring about the tournament would be, in my opinion, moot under such a format. Teams that just missed the playoffs would have giant chips on their shoulders. They wouldn't want to just miss the playoffs and then lose to a euro team right after, they would be pissed off and out to win. Any injuries that occur during the tournament could be largely mitigated by the off season that follows, giving players (hopefully enough) time to heal up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogbyte Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 I actually like the idea, on paper that is. McSorely offers up great points on why it should never happen. With absolutely nothing on the line for NHL clubs there would be zero reason to dress your best players, what, the week after they win the Stanley Cup, for more games when they already have a shortened offseason as a result of a difficult playoff race? Good luck with that. I would love the best NHL team to play the best Swiss or KHL team, reality is though we will have to continue resorting to video games to do it. I guess I agree with canuckbeliever in the end, just not that it is a horrible idea, rather one that isn't feasible. edit: Premier League teams play less than 40 games a season, they can afford to run around a little more during Champion's League action... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyBoy44 Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 The reason the champions cup works for soccer because that sport has pride. Hockey is nothing but dollar signs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tre Mac Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Screw the love of the sport, lets find ways to make more $$$$$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxiebrown Posted September 12, 2013 Share Posted September 12, 2013 Here's how it should go. Trim the season to 75 games. After the regular season ends, there is a 2 week break before the playoffs. During that time, you hold the Champions' Cup. At the same time, you hold a single elimination tournament for the last playoff spot in each conference. Then you print money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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