We’re down to days, hours and minutes away from the opening faceoff of the 2014-2015 regular season.
And while some say that training camp is too long, with too many games, I argue that every coach and general manager would like to have another few weeks to make roster decisions.
More NHL on Sportsnet:
Subscribe: Rogers GameCentre Live
Rogers Hometown Hockey | Broadcast Schedule
With puck drop fast approaching, here’s a look at some of the key storylines and questions likely to surface this season.
Is expansion on the horizon?
Not according to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who told the board of governors last week there is nothing taking place on that front right now, other than answering the phone.
Are there major financial issues facing some teams?
It’s fair to suggest there aren’t 30 franchises in great fiscal shape but remember, the league had a glorious summer in 2013, when Bettman procured new owners for three troubled teams and last season saw little talk about franchise instability. And recent stories about changes in the Coyotes’ ownership structure are only being painted with positive strokes as the team has seen its value jump from $170 million to over $300 million.
World Cup of Hockey
The NHL is ready to step back onto the international stage with a World Cup in 2016, in partnership with the players association and the IIHF that will see more games in Europe and possibly Asia. Is an all-star game in London, England too wild to think about?
But those are visions, not issues.The biggest issues are on the ice.
How long will the West continue to rule?
To me, the biggest issue is something that has been building over the past few years, the West’s dominance over the East. But it’s been more than just wins; its also been the perceived difference in the style of the game. I had one executive suggest that teams in the west play a “deeper, faster, meaner, bigger, uglier” style of hockey.
And that certainly looks to be the case. But why? It’s too easy to just say there are better players in the West. The hockey is tangibly different in the West. Why are there six teams, maybe even seven that can say they have a real chance to win the Stanley Cup?
I asked a few executives around the league that question. Most pointed to the West’s superiority at centre, with puck possession, and to a lesser extent, puck-moving defencemen.
This is an arms race that didn’t start in 2010, or even after the lockout of 2004-05. Many people I talked to said it goes all the way back to the 1990s when the Red Wings, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche were at the top of the heap in the Conference. Those teams had speed, strength, depth and quality goaltending. One of the three represented the West in the Stanley Cup Final for eight consecutive years over one stretch.
It’s also interesting to note, that probably no team has better typified Western domination than the 2007 Anaheim Ducks. They were hard-hitting, deep, big, fast, resilient and played with a vicious edge. The Ducks were the evolution of what Brian Burke had learned in Vancouver while playing against the Stars, Avs and Wings. He combined those lessons with Randy Carlyle’s simple, yet comprehensive, coaching style.
Just as the 3Ds forced teams to evolve, so did the Ducks. Today, teams dread going to all three California NHL cities because of the size, speed and depth of those teams.
Change is coming to the East… slowly
You have to wonder if Marc Bergevin’s management style is slowly changing the ways of the East. He is patiently re-building the Canadiens to adopt a more western-style game. Bergevin of course cut his managerial teeth in the West, in Chicago with Dale Tallon, who himself is now hopeful of turning the Panthers into a more Western-style team, building around young centers like Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau and defencemen like Erik Gudbranson and Aaron Ekblad.
Will the recent move of both Detroit and Columbus to the East, accelerate the change in style in the Eastern Conference? Perhaps the fact that both the Blue Jackets and Red Wings made the playoffs in their crossover year, only accentuates the strength of the West.
A stronger East will take time. A lot longer than most realize.
So as the first of 1,230 regular season games inches closer to starting, take a moment to reflect on what the NHL is today.
Financial, political and legal issues have abated for the most part. Now we can focus on how the game is played, and by whom.
