Mike Chen's Hockey Blog
Next entry: Tampa Bay’s Total System Failure
Previous entry: California’s New Owners
If Michael Stipe Sang About The Standings
by Mike Chen on 12/09/08 at 12:01 PM ET
Comments (4)
Since we’re a little bit past the quarter point of the season, it’s time to do my semi-regular look at standings if the whole system was changed. The league’s system trumpets parity, and it’s definitely working in terms of keeping things interesting as technically only five teams are below .500. In the east, four teams are within four points of eight place and in the west, 9-15 are within six points of eighth.
Now, how do those records look when you make a loss of any kind just a loss? Before we get to the pure numbers, cue up R.E.M.‘s Stand and sing along to the tune:
If OTs were losses, teams would be falling
Listen to reason, reason is calling
Your point system keeps teams around
Shootouts lift bad teams off the ground
Standings in the place where you live
They go north
Think about wins and losses like we had them before
Ok, so we’re not REALLY looking at them like we had them before (no ties in this number crunching) but here’s a quick look at how bad some good teams suddenly become. Chicago, Montreal, I’m looking at you. And Tampa Bay? Those are numbers that rival the worst NBA team.
Eastern Conference Standings
Atlantic GP W L
NY Rangers 30 18 12
Pittsburgh 27 15 12
Philadelphia 26 13 13
New Jersey 24 14 10
NY Islanders 27 10 17
Northeast GP W L
Boston 27 19 8
Montreal 26 15 11
Buffalo 27 13 14
Toronto 28 10 18
Ottawa 25 10 15
Southeast GP W L
Washington 28 15 13
Carolina 28 13 15
Florida 27 12 15
Atlanta 26 9 17
Tampa Bay 27 6 21
Western Conference Standings
Central GP W L
Detroit 26 18 8
Chicago 25 12 13
Nashville 27 14 13
St. Louis 26 12 13
Columbus 27 11 16
Northwest GP W L
Calgary 27 16 11
Vancouver 28 15 13
Minnesota 26 15 11
Edmonton 26 13 13
Colorado 27 13 14
Pacific GP W L
San Jose 27 22 5
Anaheim 28 15 13
Los Angeles 26 11 15
Phoenix 27 12 15
Dallas 26 10 16
Filed in: NHL | Mike Chen's Hockey Blog | Permalink
Tags: Standings,
Comments
I think if you are going to make a game that goes into overtime worth three points, why not reward a team that can win in regulation by making a reg. win worth 3? That way it makes sense dividing the three points amongst the overtime games, 2 to the winner, 1 to the loser. They way it is now makes some games worth more than others and that seems really illogical to me.
Posted by Steve Strowbridge from St. John's, NL, CA on 12/09/08 at 12:44 PM ET
There’s actually the issue that, if the League went to the 3 point game, with OT wins worth 2 points and OT losses worth one point, they’d be tipping their hat to the KHL (who are already doing this), and admitting that they were right.
Personally, I do not like acknowledging shootout wins as being on par with game wins, even OT wins. Hockey is a team game, not a solo show. No other League does this, so at the least, make it worth even less than an actual hockey win.
It would be great to see the game go to 3 points for a regulation win (you won after three 20 minute periods, 3 periods x 1 point per period = 3 points), 2 points for an OT win (you took an extra period, so 3 points - 1 point per extra period = 2 points), 1 for an OT loss (you survived a period longer than normal, so 1 point per extra period before losing = 1 point), and 1 point for a tie.
If you want to keep the shootout in, you get far fuzzier math in my land of crazy ideas, 4-0 point split for a regulation win, 3-1 point split for an OT win, with a 15 or 20 minute OT period, and 2-1 point split for a shootout win, the points awarded for a win decreasing with the extra help needed to win (-1 for extra period, -2 for shootout).
The things we do to try and excite new fans…
Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 12/09/08 at 12:56 PM ET
I don’t know if it’s so much about exciting new fans as it is about keeping the league competitive. I don’t follow the NBA too much but I knew they had a win/loss system and after checking their standings (for a grand post about attendance that never surfaced), I was pretty shocked at how bad some of their teams were. But when you translate the NHL into pure wins and losses, you get a similar deal.
Right now, fans in, say, Tampa could look at the standings and think, “Well, if we put together a really strong 10 game stretch, we’re back in it.” But if it was just wins and losses, they might as well write off the season.
The league wants its exciting races to start in October and run through March. I suppose the current system works for that but it still feels to me like everyone gets a freakin’ little league participation trophy.
Posted by Mike Chen on 12/09/08 at 01:15 PM ET
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Intent To Blow vs. In The Crease
What Do You Expect From A Rookie Season?
About Kukla’s Korner
Kukla’s Korner is updated around the clock with the work of our own talented bloggers, plus links to the best hockey writing around the internet. We strive to bring you all the breaking hockey news as it happens.
The home page allows you to see the latest postings from every blog on the site. Subscribe here. For general inquiries and more, please contact us anytime.
Get the top online sports betting bonuses available to sports betters!
When learning from experts it’s best to learn personally from them, or from their blog. We can provide that with poker lessons blog, your home to learn poker personally.
Do you get shocked from the luck in the game of poker? Stop getting shocked and start being a Poker Shoker.
As well as reading about hockey games, you can also find info about poker like which poker sites accept American Express or which are the best Canadian poker sites and also find the top rakeback sites at rakeback.net.
Kukla’s Korner is always a free service for readers, but it costs some money to maintain. If you’re ever in a position to donate a few dollars to help out, we’d be very appreciative.
1) As we wrote yesterday we advocate the elimination of the loser point from hockey entirely! No ties, or loser points!
http://newfaux.blogspot.com/2008/12/stop-rewarding-losing.html
Posted by fauxrumors from Here on 12/09/08 at 12:37 PM ET