The NHL Realigns the Conferences and Everyone's Head Explodes!!

There has been so much chatter about different realignment plans the past month or so, but I guess I thought they were just rumors or suggestions to stir the pot for angry hockey fans. I had no idea the NHL was that serious about drastically realigning the conferences and divisions, so I was shocked when the NHL actually approved a realignment plan that also includes a new playoff format. I understand the logic in developing conferences or divisions based on geography, but I'm not too fond of the new playoff format. Also, I am not happy that the Kings will play the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks 6 times each! I know there's a rivalry among the California teams, but honestly, I HATE watching games against the Sharks, Ducks, and Coyotes. Hate them! When I decide which home games I want to attend, I immediately cross off all games against the aforementioned teams. Kings fans see so much of those teams season after season and having more games against them is not what I want. I remember several years back when the Kings played their division rivals 6 times per season and I thought it was terrible. I was so sick of seeing those teams over and over again. I am glad we get to see Eastern teams twice per regular season (including once at home!), so yay for that.

This past week I've been trying to format my thoughts into a concise sentence or two, but have failed miserably (see above in case you skipped my rant), so I'm glad I came across Pension Plan Puppets' brief initial thoughts on the realignment because this sentence is exactly how I feel:

It's not the end of the world, but I think a reorganization to accommodate Winnipeg didn't have to be such a complete overhaul.

Totally agree! I thought one or two teams would switch divisions or even conferences, but 4 new conferences with a drastically different playoff format? Not what I was expecting and I'm surprised to hear it passed fairly easily. People have been saying that this new format could be easily adjusted if, or rather when, the Coyotes relocate (probably east). But still, I don't like it! (Is my whiny voice getting through???) Since the realignment news was announced on Monday a lot of hockey bloggers and analysts have written about this subject, so here's a roundup of some of the best ones I read this week:

New Playoffs System Lacks Fairness by Tom Awad (at ESPN)
"The past few seasons, 91 points would have been enough to make the playoffs, on average, in a seven-team conference, but 94 points would have been required to make the cut in an eight-team conference."

NHL Realignment = Inferior Product by Empty Netters
"If we could put percentages to what we like and don't like about this plan, it's 75 percent bad and 25 percent good."

TRH Gameday 28 - Minnesota Wild: Realigning & It Feels So Good by The Royal Half
"The Kings are in a tough conference where you have to assume that the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks will make the playoffs each season. That leaves space for 2 spots from 6 teams."

What realignment tells us about the league’s opinion of the West by Harrison Mooney (at Puck Daddy)
"Not since I last played Oregon Trail have I heard so much about the horrors of going West. Heck, the settlers were better sports about it, and they were in covered wagons, dying of consumption."
(I LOVE any reference about Oregon Trail! I always looked forward to computer sessions in elementary school because playing Oregon Trail was SO MUCH FUN even on those super shitty computers that we once thought were amazing!)

A Spoonful of Sugar by Katebits (at The Willful Caboose)
"Two rounds of playoffs within the division is TOO MUCH."
(I wholeheartedly agree!!!!!)

So, fellow Kings fans (or hockey fans), what you do you think of the realignment plan? Love it? Like it? Nothing it? Dislike it? Hate it?

Weekly Hockey Roundup

I didn't read many hockey articles/blogs this week, but here a few that caught my eye:

So You Wanna Own Shares of a Sports Team @ Daily Finance

LA Kings Jack-o-Lantern Templates @ Life in Hockeywood

Marty Brodeur as a kid @ NHL Players as Kids

NHL Players as Kids is a tumblr site that you must follow. There's usually a new photo posted daily and earlier this week I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this photo of Marty Brodeur. Another great tumblr site is 'Eff Yeah Hockey Suits!'

Come across any great articles or hockey sites lately?  Let me know in the comments.  Happy Weekend, Everyone!

Weekly Hockey Roundup

Last week I only posted hockey links related to the Kings so some of these posts are old, but still good ones.

Financial Lessons from Sports Stars' Mistakes @ NYTimes via The Budgeting Babe

I'm actually a huge personal finance nerd so I came across this NYTimes article through a personal finance blog that I follow. A lot of the tips in this article can be applied to non-athletes. Basically, don't spend all your scrilla, don't invest in something without doing the research, and don't blindly trust family members, friends, and financial professionals with your money. No hockey players are mentioned in this article, but when I was younger I remember reading about Mike Modano going through financial issues due to blindly trusting either a friend or financial adviser. More recently there were reports of Darren McCarty going through financial problems and what Kings fan doesn't remember Lucky Luc's name being dragged through the mud over investments he made with the super shady Boots Del Biaggio. It's easy to not have any sympathy for athletes by arguing that they make so much money it should be nearly impossible for them to go bankrupt, but scale down the situation for people like you and me. I'm sure you know people who made bad decisions by investing in a "hot" stock or bought a house they couldn't afford or purchased a ton of stuff on credit cards without knowing how they're going to actually pay for these items. Everyone is vulnerable to financial pitfalls, even pro hockey players, so be smart with your money!

Player Numbers on Front of Helmets
Often times I wonder what NHL players think of changes to the game. I cracked up when I read this tweet from Joffrey Lupul:

I don't really notice the numbers on the front of the helmets when I watch games on TV, but I imagine it's much more noticeable for players....and unnecessary.

NHL Premiere
I was curious to know what Sabres and Rangers fans thought of their respective teams' opening games in Europe. Here are some bloggers' reactions:

10 Things @ Willful Caboose
Naturally Katebits was very pleased with the Sabres' performance in Europe. Can't deny the Sabres looked good....or maybe the Kings just looked that bad.

0-0-2: Take It and Run @ Scotty Hockey
I'd be disappointed too if my team lost to the Ducks, especially in the shootout. I think a shootout loss to the Ducks always feels way worse than a regulation loss and I don't always feel that way about every shootout loss. I don't follow the Rangers too closely, and I'll probably pay even less attention to the team now that Avery is gone, but Scotty Hockey provides good coverage and very honest commentary about the players.

I'm not going to provide any links to blog posts about the Ducks because my mind can't process any information about that team. However, I do enjoy reading Earl Sleek's stuff at Battle of Cali, but he hasn't posted any game recaps or thoughts.

NHL: The Movie @ Battle of Cali
I almost didn't read this, but since Rudy Kelly wrote it I decided to give it a few minutes of my precious time. I can't decide which one is my favorite: Winnipeg Jets = Blake Lively or Phoenix Coyotes = Terry Kiser
(I didn't recognize the actor's name, but based on the description I knew exactly who this was because "Weekend at Bernie's" was one of the go-to movies to rent when my parents went out for the evening and needed to make sure my brother and I were entertained. Oh the days before Tivo, DVRs, Netflix, Hulu, etc. Kids these days have it so easy.)

Where are they now: Brent Sopel @ Canucks Team Website
Kings fans, do you remember Brent Sopel? Apparently he's now playing in Siberia. I didn't follow him after his short stint in LA, but maybe he'll have success overseas like Kevin Dallman. It might be easy at first to take a cheap shot at a guy who has to (or decides to) relocate to Kazakhstan or Siberia to play professional hockey, but when you read a story like Sopel's and see the sacrifices his family is making, where his wife is raising their four kids in the States and "speaks with her husband, via Skype, at least twice a day", your heart kinda aches and then you realize that these guys just really, really want to play hockey and this is their job and will do what they need to do to provide for their families while they're still capable of bringing in a sizable paycheck. Good luck, Brent Sopel.

Weekly Hockey Roundup: LA Kings Edition

This week's hockey link love is all about the Kings because TODAY the 2011-2012 NHL season begins!!! YAY!!!

Even though there are quite a few LA Kings blogs I honestly only read a couple on a consistent basis. I know, I'm a bad internet Kings fan. But it doesn't mean they're not worth reading and/or following. With the start of the Kings season here are posts from on the line about the Kings by your fellow Kings fans and other hockey fans.

Season Preview: Expert Analysis @ The Royal Half
The Royal Half graciously rounded up the non-professional (read: unpaid) Kings bloggers (including me!) to talk up their own blogs and make some bold predictions about the Kings season. Most of my predictions were made under the assumption that Kopitar doesn't break his ankle again. Because seriously, that'll fuck us. (Thanks to The Royal Half for putting this together and asking me to participate. I really enjoy reading The Royal Half so I was and still am honored to have been included!)

The Royal Army is hosting a viewing party tomorrow (Saturday, October 8th) at ESPN Zone in Downtown LA (at LA Live across the street from Staples Center) for the Kings vs. Buffalo Sabres game. I can't say I've heard of The Royal Army before I did a quick Google search for "LA Kings watch party". I assume he/she is a diehard Kings fan so if you like watching Kings game with a bunch of strangers who share your passion for Kings hockey and you don't mind eating crappy food at ESPN Zone (because seriously, that place has some crappy ass food) then head over to Downtown tomorrow!


Here are links to Season Previews of the 2011-2012 Kings Season by several Kings bloggers:

Jewels from the Crown

The LA Kings Outsider

The 110 Report

Frozen Royalty

This morning I'll be sitting at home in my jammy jams wearing my Kings jersey watching the Kings take on the New York Rangers. It's a 10am game on the West Coast (on a Friday, wtf NHL!) so I'm sure at the first intermission I'll make myself an egg, bacon, cheese sammy and wash it down with some tasty pumpkin beer!

Go Kings Go!

Weekly Hockey Roundup

Since last Friday here are posts that I hope you didn't miss:

What the S*** @Battle of California
Last Thursday night the Flyers played a preseason game in Canada. As Wayne Simmonds (former LA King!) went on the ice for a shootout attempt some asshat in the stands threw a banana at him. If it wasn't a racist act, then it was the hugest coincidence ever, so yes, everyone and their mother assumes it was. I never wrote a post about it because (a) I couldn't figure out a way to put all my angry thoughts into nicely formed sentences and (b) Rudy Kelly at Battle of California said it best with this post.

Canucks' Mason Raymond Unsure When He'll Play Again @Vancouver Sun
I came across this article through Puck Daddy and absolutely had to read it because I remember watching the hit during the Stanley Cup Finals and thinking it was such an awkward hit. Even after watching several replays I couldn't quite figure out what happened. I thought maybe Boychuck got his stick up in Raymond's boys. As Raymond struggled to get off the ice with help from his teammates you could definitely tell that something was very wrong. It didn't seem like Boychuck needed to finish his check, but he did and unfortunately Raymond was in a very unusual position that left him vulnerable to an injury. Such a strange situation. Hopefully Raymond will fully recover and be back on the ice.

Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Engraving @Days of Y'Orr
It still makes me sick that another effing Boston team won a championship, but it's the Stanley Cup so I couldn't help but get a little teary-eyed looking at the awesome (hand?) engraving. I think it's a little odd the players' names aren't at the top since they were the ones working their arses off to win that Cup.

The preseason is almost over. It feels like it's lasting for-GD-ever. It started to feel way too long when I heard that players were being suspended for 5 preseason games. I think this is the first time ever that I even realized teams played that many preseason games.  Earlier this week I saw this tweet from Alix of The Humming Giraffe  at the exact moment I was thinking of how tired I was getting of preseason games.

Seriously, it's such a snooze.  I can't wait for the season to begin!!!

Friday Hockey Links

Here are a couple article/blog posts that particularly amused me this past week.  I didn't spend as much time on the interwebs as I usually do so I hope to provide more links on future Fridays.

"The first rule of the fight club is to never look down" - Brent Severyn
I don't normally read Sports Illustrated articles, but whenever I'm at the CNN mainpage I tend to click on any hockey related headlines in the sports section. The other day I came across this interview with former NHL enforcer Brent Severyn as told to writer Adrian Dater. It's a good one for hockey and non-hockey fans as it gives you a quick first-hand look into what an enforcer goes through.

Social media in the NHL has been a hot topic recently. There are four Kings players on Twitter: Jonathan Quick, Dustin Brown, Kevin Westgarth, and Mike Richards. (that's also the order in which I rank their twitter feeds in terms of entertainment. Richards' feed is definitely a snoozer.)

The Royal Half looks at what fans can expect the Kings to tweet about during the season. What I want to know is: What in the world is the "Peanut Butter Stomp"? If you have to be a parent to know what it is, then I'm not so sure I ever want to be a parent.

This is an older one, but I was reminded of it after I read The Royal Half's post about twitter. A couple weeks ago Megalodon from Battle of Cali(fornia) compiled the Top 5 Bryz Tweets, which have most definitely been replaced by the deluge of brilliant Bryz tweets within the past week, especially this one that includes a photo of Scott Hartnell. Seriously, 90% of his tweets absolutely crack me up.  If you can't get enough of the "why you heff to be mad?" video, then you have to follow Bryzgalov on Twitter.

Patty at Penalty Killing (a Dallas Stars blog) wrote about the emergence of Mike Modano on twitter.
I'll be honest, I was and still am skeptical that it's actually him on twitter and not a close friend or relative.

We'll see if I can make this "Friday Links" a weekly trend.  If you see any articles that you think I may enjoy, then don't hesitate to notify me.  I love taking breaks throughout the work day to read about hockey.

I sign-off with a quote I overheard from Crazy Bus Rider Guy #54,690 - "you gotta search the Googles better".  Amen, brother.