2012-13 NHL Season

Sharky99

Sharky99

Active Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2005
Messages
5,383
Reaction score
10
Ok hockey gophers.. now that we will probably have the 2012-13 NHL season to open soon once the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) is voted on and approved possibly by Wed this week, which is a 10 years CBA ...

Now, all I know is training camps might open on Saturday or Sunday this weekend and the NHL schedules will be out after the CBA is done with, following with TV schedules (bet some of the scheduled games are staying the same but other games might be replaced as we wont see conference vs conference teams playing each other.. ie Western Conference teams play each other only, Eastern Conference teams play each other only)

One way the 2 Western Conference and Eastern Conference teams will meet is the Stanley Cup Final, like back in 1995 with the shortened season if any of you recall for sure... so a 48 game schedule will happen once all is all set to go..

OK so what next? Stories to follow on this.. retirements of some players like Nikolas Lidstrom and others..will that be an effect or what for some teams like the Detroit Red Wings and others...

Will the Los Angeles Kings be able to repeat as Stanley Cup champions? I hope so but wonder if the other teams will have a say in this lol.. the Kings should be raising their Cup banner soon for the home opener (I hope that game is on tv so I can watch but might try online links to see for sure..)

Will some players who been playing in Europe like the KHL and etc return or stay away from the NHL?? that is gonna be a burning question for all NHL clubs to find out what will happen.. ohhh that gonna be a mess for sure with the new CBA that will likely stiff some players's contract lengths (max 7 years for long contracts if NHL clubs are signing other players but 8 years if they are keen on keeping their own players who are stars and a good fit..) I'm glad for once no more freaking 10 or 12 or even 15 years contracts for players like Kovchuchuk (NJ Devils) and Loungo (Van Canucks) and others.. that will stop the madness with the monsterous contract lengths for good..

Any predictions? Post in here but be warned I wont tolerate any ugliness or rude comments in here ok?? SO post away with good solid info or comments.. thanks!
 
Ok few things.

1. I'm sure that playing a 48 game season is different than a 80 game season. See, I'm sure that the Kings and everyone else were built for the 80 game season. I don't know if the Kings are built for a 48 game season. This season will be different.

2. How are everyone going to get under the salary cap in a week? It seems like a lot of work between the time the deal is approved and the season starts.

3. I'm looking forward to Blackhawks being in Playoffs. If I remember correctly, they lost in the first round. I would think that a shortened season will help Blackhawks, but they won't win it all.

As for those playing oversea, it will be up to their NHL and KHL club to determine the contract language.
 
Boston Bruins all the way:P
 
Folks.. the 2012-13 (shortened) season will start Jan 19th... should be a good opening weekend... cant wait to cheer on my Jets once again.. might wear my Jets jersey and watch and howl good.. hehehe
 
lukeadams2013 said:
It's good to have the "Jets" back. Next new NHL team is Quebec City in the near future.
Click to expand...

That could be possible... also heard Seattle could be in the NHL but I have to wonder about that.. Quebec City does have a good sponsorship support, ownership ready to take over and a new hockey arena on way (being built as we speak) so QC will get a chance...

Also there are several other locations but some of them might be a bit under the radar but it could happen.. will see with time to come...
 
Tomorrow it all starts... should be a great day watching hockey all day and howl at the tv and cheer hard.. hehehe!!!
 
Ok another update...

NHL and NHLPA are talking about realignment and the 2014 Sochi Olympics for NHL players to go there with their national teams to compete in ice hockey... so will post which countries are going and the pool groupings later...

Now as for realignment, I recently stumbled into an article posted in Twitter.. here is the full article below..

Rest easy, Winnipeg, realignment is coming
February, 12, 2013 7:18 PM ET
By Pierre LeBrun | ESPN.com

The NHL’s new realignment plan for next season could become reality within two to three weeks.

The league in conjunction with the NHL Players’ Association has worked diligently over the past two weeks on realignment, including a meeting Tuesday morning between the two sides.

"The last two weeks we’ve been in constant communication with the NHLPA on realignment issues," deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com Tuesday. "We’ve been exchanging information and we’re trying to get to a resolution as soon as possible."

Time is of the essence because the league’s schedule-maker needs to get going on next season’s matrix.

If all goes well between the NHLPA and NHL -- the two sides are slated to meet again next week -- the NHL could have a realignment framework for the 30 owners to vote on the week of Feb. 25. Similarly, the NHLPA would run the realignment plan past its executive board (30 player reps) for approval.

Several team executives and governors contacted by ESPN.com Tuesday were in the dark about what the league was determining for realignment. And just what exactly the league and union have been working on the last two weeks, neither NHL nor NHLPA officials would divulge Tuesday. But it’s believed the framework is a slight variation from the December 2011 realignment format. And when I say variation, I believe there are a couple of teams that have been switched around from the original December 2011 format.

Here’s how the board of governors realigned the league in December 2011:

Conference A
Anaheim
Calgary
Colorado
Edmonton
Los Angeles
Phoenix
San Jose
Vancouver

Conference B
Chicago
Columbus
Dallas
Detroit
Minnesota
Nashville
St. Louis
Winnipeg

Conference C
Boston
Buffalo
Florida
Montreal
Ottawa
Tampa Bay
Toronto

Conference D
Carolina
New Jersey
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Washington

The realignment plan in December 2011 was quashed by the NHLPA, which is why the league this time is working alongside the union before bringing it to a board vote.

Realignment, the union argued, affects the players’ terms and conditions of employment, and the CBA requires the league to obtain the NHLPA’s consent before implementation.

The two key bones of contention for the NHLPA at the time: (1) whether the new format would result in increased and more onerous travel; and (2) the disparity in chances of making the playoffs between the smaller and larger divisions.

My guess is the NHL has altered the playoff format or criteria in some form or other to help ease the NHLPA’s concern over the inequity of having seven teams in each of two conferences and eight teams in the other two conferences.

The timing of realignment talks between the NHL and NHLPA is no coincidence, with Olympic meetings scheduled for Thursday and Friday in New York with the IOC and IIHF. The NHLPA and NHL need to figure out realignment and how the Olympics fit within that schedule next season, if indeed all parties involved can agree on terms for NHL players to participate in Sochi.

So the whole thing is kind of tied together, beginning with realignment.

No NHL club, meanwhile, needs realignment to happen more than the Winnipeg Jets.

Traveling more than any other Eastern Conference club this season, playing in the Southeast Division as the former Atlanta Thrashers for a second straight season, the Jets need to find new friends to hang out with.

"It’s our hope obviously that we get out of the Southeast Division and we end up in something along the lines that we agreed to [in December 2011]," Jets chairman and governor Mark Chipman told ESPN.com Tuesday. "But I’m not aware of what, if any changes, are being contemplated."

Detroit, Columbus, Nashville and Dallas were among the clubs that had the most to say in the last go-around when realignment was a hot topic, the Red Wings and Blue Jackets a pair of Western Conference clubs in the Eastern time zone with obvious travel complaints under the existing format. The Red Wings have longed for a return to the East, which the Jackets would also like.

"I know our fans have spoken loudly about wanting to be in the East," Blue Jackets president John Davidson told ESPN.com Tuesday. "Whether that’s feasible or not, the league will tell us. We’re waiting to find out what they have to say. We’re an organization that wants to do what’s best for us and our fans, but we also realize we have to do what’s best for the league."

Dallas has long wanted out of the Pacific Division, annoyed by its massive travel plus late starting times for TV in its divisional road games.

So the December 2011 model certainly works for the Stars, who would play more clubs in the Central time zone.

"We’re fully on board with it," Stars president and CEO Jim Lites told ESPN.com Tuesday. "It needs to happen. You have to take care of Winnipeg, the Jets can’t run around in Carolina every night. That’s got to be fixed.

"Listen, there will always be issues no matter what," Lites added. "But what you can’t do is put your head in the sand about the Dallas Stars playing in a division that is two time zones away and the Detroit Red Wings playing playoff series every year against teams three time zones away. You have to address those issues, they’re anti-competitive."

In the end, the majority of clubs were appeased by the December 2011 model because of the schedule matrix, which called for all 30 teams to play each other at least twice in a home-and-home series.

"You have to play every team every year, you just have to," said Lites.

Not every club was thrilled. It’s believed the Tampa Bay Lightning rejected that realignment plan in December 2011, unhappy with the increased travel in its new grouping with Northeast clubs.

And then there’s the Phoenix situation to deal with. It’s doubtful the league will know for sure where the Coyotes are playing next season before it wraps up realignment plans. So the new format will most likely have to go ahead without knowing what future lies ahead for the Coyotes. If the Coyotes have to relocate after this season, whatever new locale the franchise moves to will have to live in its new conference for at least a season before the NHL can accommodate it. No different than the Jets franchise playing in the Southeast the last two years after moving to Winnipeg from Atlanta.

The four-conference model from December 2011 isn’t perfect, with two seven-team groupings and two eight-team groups. But it also invites future expansion to 32 teams -- thus four eight-team conferences -- which I would guess will happen within the next five years or so, whether that’s to Seattle, Quebec City or a second team in Toronto.

In the end, it’s impossible to satisfy all 30 teams in realignment. But the current format must change, that much is certain. And it will.
 
Ok latest rumor on NHL realignment... saw a report on NHL.com that says if the NHL get this realignment plan passed it will be ready for 2013-14.. so here would be the look for the NHL for 2013-14;

PROPOSED REALIGNMENT
Western Conference
Pacific
Anaheim Ducks
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
Phoenix Coyotes
San Jose Sharks
Vancouver Canucks

Midwest
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets

Eastern Conference
Central
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs

Atlantic
Carolina Hurricanes
Columbus Blue Jackets
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals

The National Hockey League is proposing a new realignment plan that would see the League go from six divisions to four divisions and introduce a form of divisional playoffs instead of the current conference system in place for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, according to a report by ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun.

The plan was detailed in a memo sent to the League's clubs Tuesday, according to LeBrun.

The plan needs approval from the National Hockey League Players' Association and the League's Board of Governors. If it passes, it would take effect for the 2013-14 regular season.

"We have been in discussions with the Players' Association for the past several weeks on the issue of realignment and we are trying to get to a solution that everybody can live with," Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told NHL.com. "There are no perfect answers here, so we have to do the best we can in trying to adequately address a number of competing concerns. Once we get to a point where we have the Union's go-ahead, we will present it to our Board of Governors for its consideration. We certainly hope to be in a position to announce something in the relatively near term."

Under the new plan, the conferences would be realigned with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings moving from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference. There would be no corresponding moves by Eastern Conference clubs, resulting in unbalanced-conference alignment that would see 16 teams in the Eastern Conference and 14 in the Western Conference.

The schedule matrix would see each team play teams in the other conference both home and away.

In the seven-team divisions, teams would play intraconference foes three times per season and five of the six intradivision foes five times a season. The sixth opponent within the division would be played four times. In the eight-team divisions, teams would play intraconference opponents three times and intradivision opponents either four or five times per season on a rotating basis.

Due to the unbalanced conferences, the League has proposed introducing a wild-card element to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, according to LeBrun.

Under the proposed system, the top three teams in each of the four divisions would qualify for the postseason. The final four spots would go to the two teams in each conference with the next-best records. So, in theory, five teams from one division and just three from the other division in each respective conference could make the postseason.
 
Its almost official.. the NHL will look like this for 2013-14... here is the full article plus the divisions for the teams...

The National Hockey League will present its proposed realignment plan to the Board of Governors after receiving consent from the National Hockey League Players' Association on Thursday.

If approved, the League's new realignment plan will go into effect starting with the 2013-14 season.

"The NHL Players' Association confirmed to us today that it has consented to a revised Plan for Realignment, effective for the 2013-14 season," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement released Thursday. "Our next step will be to bring the proposed Plan for Realignment to the NHL Board of Governors for its consideration. We will update the status of the process as future developments warrant."

The NHL worked in conjunction with the NHLPA to formulate this realignment plan.

"After discussions with the Executive Board, the NHLPA has given consent to realignment, to be re-evaluated following the 2014-15 season," NHLPA Executive Director Donald Fehr said in a statement released Thursday.

Daly confirmed to NHL.com on Thursday that in the NHL's proposed plan the League will be broken into an unbalanced two-conference, four-division set up with 16 teams in the Eastern Conference and 14 teams in the Western Conference. If approved, the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets would move to the Eastern Conference and the Winnipeg Jets would move to the Western Conference.

Detroit and Columbus are in the Eastern time zone; Winnipeg is in the Central time zone.

"We know how to deal with it. We've traveled back-and-forth across the United States quite a bit. But to move to the East, I think that would be a lot of fun," Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard told the Detroit Free Press. "That would be great for our fans, too, not having to stay up until all hours of the night to watch us."

Daly also confirmed that the Stanley Cup Playoffs will still consist of 16 teams, eight in each conference, but the League is proposing a wild-card system in which the top three teams in each division make the playoffs, with the remaining spots being filled by the two teams in each conference with the next-most points.

The eight-team Eastern Conference divisions reportedly would be called Atlantic and Central, while the seven-team Western Conference divisions would be called Midwest and Pacific.

According to reports, the Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers would be joining a division that includes all five teams from the current Northeast Division to make up the new Central Division.

The Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals would move into the new Atlantic Division and be joined by the five teams that make up the current Atlantic Division.

The Midwest Division would consist of the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets.

The Pacific Division would be made up of the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks and Vancouver Canucks.

"This isn't as hard travel as I had in Detroit; sometimes I'd get home at 6:30 a.m. from the [west] coast, but it's tougher as opposed to flying to Carolina or flying to Florida on a regular basis," Lighting general manager Steve Yzerman said. "I'm not going to lose much sleep over it. I understand the reason it's done and we'll move on."

The schedule matrix would see each team play teams in the other conference both home and away.

In the two seven-team Western Conference divisions, the intradivision schedule would be unbalanced; teams would play five of the six intradivision foes five times per season and the sixth opponent only four times. Teams would play intraconference foes three times per season.

In the eight-team Eastern Conference divisions, teams would play intradivision opponents either four or five times per season on a rotating basis, and intraconference opponents three times per season.

Proposed Realignment for 2013-14:

Western Conference
Pacific
Ana Ducks
Cgy Flames
Edm Oilers
LA Kings
Phx Coyotes
SJ Sharks
Van Canucks

Midwest
Chi Blackhawks
Col Avalanche
Dall Stars
Min Wild
Nsh Predators
St L Blues
Wpg Jets

Eastern Conference
Central
Bos Bruins
Buf Sabres
Det Red Wings
Fla Panthers
Mtl Canadiens
Ott Senators
TB Lightning
Tor Maple Leafs

Atlantic
Car Hurricanes
Clb Blue Jackets
NJ Devils
NY Islanders
NY Rangers
Phil Flyers
Pitt Penguins
Wsh Capitals
---
Click to expand...

This can be revisited with the NHL and NHLPA during the 2014-15 season and may be tweaked somehow if the NHL was to add 2 new teams via expansion.. so might be something to see in a few years...
 
Hi girls and boys,
i'm a fan of Usa sport, i'd like betting them but i Italy there more soccer, soccer ....
if you could help me about predictions or site web about news or predictions about MLB, NHL and NBA... for betting!

Thank you to all!
Erikinho
 
The 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs will start tonite with 3 series..

Chicago Blackhawks host Minnesota Wild
St. Louis Blues host defending champs Los Angeles Kings
Anaheim Ducks hosts Detroit Red Wings

will post more info and playoff history later when so...any predictions?
 
Back
Top