The National Hockey League is up and ready to fire up a new regular season this Tuesday night. This is a phrase that all of us wanted to say last year, but were not able to because of the long drawn out lockout. That is now in the past and now we can all look forward to dropping the puck on a new full, normal regular season. Or, not so normal. The NHL this season will feature numerous changes, that should prove exciting.
The first being the fact that there will be six outdoor games this season. The first being the Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium. This game will be a battle of the new reunited rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings. The Coors Light Stadium series will feature four outdoor games. There will be two games played at Yankee Stadium in New York, one at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, and one at Soldier Field in Chicago. The final outdoor game will be the third installment of the Heritage Classic which will feature the Ottawa Senators at the Vancouver Canucks. It will be very interesting to see how this many outdoor games will change television ratings, and then there is the weather to worry about. It should be interesting.
The next big change will be the Olympic Break that will take place from February 9-25. The elite players of the league will participate in the Olympic Winter games in Sochi, Russia. The season will resume on February 26th.
The most noticeable change to the 2013-2014 season will be the realignment. Each conference will now have two divisions. The Western Conference will have divisions called the Pacific and the Central. Each of these divisions will have seven teams. The Eastern Conference will have two divisions called the Metropolitan and the Atlantic. Each of these divisions will have eight teams. The major change is that Columbus and Detroit are now in the Eastern Conference. The new realignment makes sense and should add excitement.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs have a new division based format. The top three finishers in each Division qualifying for the first twelve spots in the playoffs. The two additional playoff spots in each Conference will be the top two remaining points teams in that Conference, and will be ranked based on regular season points, regardless of Division. Each Stanley Cup Playoff series will be the best of seven games.
The puck drops Tuesday night in Chicago as the Washington Capitals come to town to knock off the Stanley Cup Champions.
Brad Burud the owner/editor of the Inside Edge Hockey News. I am a huge fan of hockey, from youth hockey, to junior hockey, and of course professional hockey. I have played, coached, worked as statistician, and watched hockey all of my life. Hockey is not just a game, it is a lifestyle and family. The game of hockey is great! It can bring you nights of great enjoyment. It also brings nights where you feel like your team will never win. I am proud to be a journalist for the greatest game in the world. I have a degree in Business Administration, Psychology from Minot State University. I also have a Hockey General Manager and Scouting, and Sports Communications/Journalism degree from Sports Management Worldwide. I am also a member of the Sports Executives Association. Most of all I am a fan. Hockey is a huge part of my life and my families life.