All -Star Game determining SCF home ice advantage? I wouldn’t dream of it
Dream a little dream with me Thrasherville.
Let’s say all of the wheeling, dealing and signings that Rick Dudley has done so far…and will do before October…nets the ultimate result that can be imaginable. He puts together a squad that makes all of our wildest dreams come true in the Thrashers community.
Imagine if you will, even if just for grins and giggles, Dudley and Co. put together a roster that works it’s way not only to just a playoff birth…not only to just a playoff win…not only to just one playoff series victory, but three playoff series triumphs… and they find themselves in the Stanley Cup Finals next spring.
Can you even get that kind of visual tuned into your noggins?
Uh-huh…Trixie will be handing out paper bags for those of you so overwhelmed with this thought that you’re now hyperventilating.
Now, just which team might the Thrashers be facing off against in this hypothetical scenario? Oh I don’t know…let’s just say for the sake of this fantasy that it’s the Nashville Predators… a team whose fans I like a lot. And besides, it’s only 3-1/2 up the road from the palatial Rawhide Estates in north Cobb County.
Or maybe it’s the Los Angeles Kings, complete with an Ilya Kovalchuk who would be finishing up his first season with that organization. Oh, and he’s playing with them only after settling for a couple million dollars less per season than the Thrashers tossed under his nose last winter. Just sayin’…
Either way, it doesn’t matter… because in our little far-fetched daydream, the Thrashers enter into the SCF with the better record. This would mean, of course, that Atlanta would host the all-important, do-or-die, there-is-no-tomorrow, it’s-now-or-never, deciding game-seven. And whether you’re a player, a coach or a fan…you want that seventh game of a series in your barn, don’t you?
However… like a cold bucket of water taken to the face, you realize that any game-seven won’t be in played in Philips arena. Instead, [insert name of hypothetical Western Conference Champions her] will get to host it.
Why? Well… because four months prior, the Western Conference team defeated the Eastern Conference in an All-Star Game that was played in Raleigh, North Carolina. Thus won home ice advantage for that conference’s eventual champion.
Even more irritating, the game was decided by one goal. That game-winner was scored by Edmonton’s Dustin Penner who slipped one past Toronto’s Jonas Gustavsson…two players and teams that didn’t even make the playoffs.
sigh…
OK…naptime is over. It’s time to wake up and re-join the real world again.
Now, the reason I spun that little dream sequence for you was to illustrate just how baseball fans of American League teams must be feeling this morning…specifically fans in Texas, Chicago and New York whose teams are currently leading their respective divisions. This is because last night, the National League squad beat the American League 3-1 in Anaheim, CA, thanks to Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann’s bases-clearing double in the seventh inning. It was the NL’s first victory since 1996.
I doing so, they also secured home field advantage for the team that wins the National League pennant this fall. So it doesn’t matter if the Rangers, White Sox or Yankees…or any other AL team…finishes with the best record in all of baseball or not. They won’t get home field advantage should they reach the World Series.
Should the NHL All-Star Game decide who gets home ice advantage in the SCF?
- Absolutely! Putting something of value on the line will add an edge to the game. (12%, 16 Votes)
- No way! It's only an exhibition game...nothing more. (88%, 114 Votes)
Total Voters: 130
Loading ...Nope…it’s already been decided because, as many of you already know, MLB determines who gets home field advantage in the World Series by whichever league wins that year’s All-Star game.
This has been the case since 2002 after that mid-summer classic ended in a 2-2 tie.
It ended a draw because both teams ran out of pitchers.
They ran out of pitchers because both managers managed the game to get all players into the game, not necessarily to win the game.
Both managers did so because…well…that is how the MLB All-Star game had been played for decades.
It created such an uproar that commissioner Bud Selig and MLB scrambled to find a way to ensure this embarrassment would not visit their sport again. Their conclusion… to make the All-Star Game actually “mean something” again by putting home filed advantage in the World Series on the line in future All-Star Games.
Overreaction? Eh…maybe just a smidgen.
Since that time, the debate has raged as to whether placing such importance on what ultimately is just an exhibition game is the right thing to do. Those in favor of it argue that it has been successful in placing a competitive edge back into it. Players and managers, they’ll tell you, once again show up with the intention of winning the game…not just to going through the motions for the show.
Opponents of this rule insist that it’s not a real game…it’s just an exhibition for goodness sakes! As such, it shouldn’t be given the same weight of a “real” game by dangling home field advantage out there as an incentive. Besides, that is something that should be earned and should simply go to the team with the better record.
With that said…and as we await further news of signings and/or trades by Dudley and Thrashers… I throw this question out to you to chew on and debate. Should the NHL adopt the same policy as MLB and have the All-Star Game winner determine which conference champion gets home-ice advantage in the Stanley Cup Finals?
How would I answer the question? Simple. I would say, “No…I wouldn’t dream of such a thing”.
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107 comments Add your comment
HookyBob
July 14th, 2010
8:47 pm
One thing that caught my attention in the above posts is that the salary cap could go drop precipitously in a year or two,…and we could be looking at a strike or lockout. Folks, there is a new reality since the lockout 5. The NHL is no longer the monoply it once was, there is now the KHL, who would like nothing better than a strike of lockout. It is a ture wild card and in the players hand.
Glovesave was dead on when talking about the owners not dropping the cap too much. It could be the end of the NHL,..and dare I say, the Stanley Cup. What was that cosmonaut’s name again? Call me out if you think I’m off base here.
What do you say we limit Bettman’s salary to 10% or 8% of the team salary cap (as if had a say)? That might keep the league from dropping the cap too much.
HookyBob
July 14th, 2010
8:48 pm
English teacher,..please overlook the grammar of that last post.
World Be Free
July 14th, 2010
9:25 pm
I think everyone in the media’s imaginations are running wild with the thought of Don Fehr running the NHL “union” (snicker, snicker) until a new “union leader” (snicker again) can be groomed. Or, as noted in Star Wars, until someone will move the “dark side”. This isn’t a union it’s a million dollar boys’ club.
The Grim Reaper aka Red Light
July 14th, 2010
9:33 pm
The Cap was to create more balance among teams, which it has in some regards, since Carolina, Anaheim, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Chicago have won since the lockout, and Edmonton, Ottawa and Philadelphia also have appeared in the finals. Of course, no one can say that it has benefited teams like Atlanta and Florida just yet, but what is was not supposed to create was an artificially-high cap that has now escalated nearly $20 million in four seasons in a less than friendly economic climate. Who thought that was a good idea?
So, the owners were supposed to learn a lesson, but some gave out long-term deals to lock up star players in direct opposition to why the cap was created in the first place. Like fans and the media, owners and their managers got sucked in by star power, and are now trying to correct the market for their own imbecility.
Ilya sits and waits, not because he’s a cancer or simply a one-way player, but because the knuckleheads manning the wheel of the Morris Titanic finally figured out there is a jagged iceberg underneath the surface of that once crystal clear water, which has now turned surprisingly murky. Grossman also overestimated the market, which is why his client has no contract. The final days of the 10- to 15-year deals are thankfully past, and in two years we’ll find out how badly guys want to play in North America, when this nonsense also will come to an end.
Red Light
July 14th, 2010
10:21 pm
All current day players after their entry-level contracts are up, should be made to put 5 percent of their salaries and bonuses into the “I got screwed by Alan Eagleson Fund for NHL Veterans” before they pay their greasy agents one cent.
Speaking of cents, flip a coin to see who gets home ice advantage and be done with it.
Brendan
July 15th, 2010
12:19 am
Red Light, I really enjoyed that post at 9:33PM. Good job. I think a strong indicator that GM’s are being cautious can be found in the fact that the current CBA was extended by just one (1) year, to 2012. (And not say, six more years.) It was orginally set to expire at season’s end. With that in mind, if there is a work stoppage, via lockout, the players can go to leagues all throughout Europe, and it will be 2005, all over again. I seem to recall that Bobby Hull was trying to organize an 8 team league to take its place in those days. And then, there was the hardcore hockey fan in Toronto and Montreal who insisted that the roots of the Stanley Cup were in crowning an amateur hockey club in Canada, and wanted it to be awarded thusly. Of course, that’s not permitted. The Stanley Cup is property of the NHL, and has been for six decades or so. Only the NHL can say how and when the trophy is to be awarded, since 1926.
Another thought occurs to me. The concept of “NHL Europe” is not entirely dead. That’s why we’ve been having these games in Europe to start the season, that count in the NHL standings back here, in North America. I think the intent was for the NHL to create its own branded farm league. Gee, doesn’t that make the AHL happy? *crickets* Of course, I could be entirely incorrect. Maybe the intent of “NHL Europe” is to slowly create league of equal value/footing in the top European markets, putting the Swiss, Swedish, Finnish, and Russian leagues out of business, or at least rendering them less relevant, while stealing in their players. On both sides of the pond. With the whispered, but unspoken intent to eventually have an “undisputed World Champion” whereby the Champion of NHL Europe plays the NHL (North America/Stanley Cup) Champion, to determine the greatest team on the planet. Interesting concept, really. But is it really necessary to dismantle the existing hockey infrastructure in Europe to create this “Summit Series” on fine day? Talk about a power grab. The NHL would own most of the European hockey revenue and practically all the North American hockey revenue. It would sort of render irrelevant the “World Championship” of hockey, competed for with eliminated NHL players from the playoffs, every year. Kovalchuk has won some titles for Russia in this fashion.
For people who simply adore this concept of NHL Europe vs. NHL North America, for the “undisputed World title” of hockey, who gets “home continent advantage?” Don’t tell me, “It shall be decided by an Super Summit All-Star game,” where the Superstars of NHL Europe play the MegaStars of NHL North America? “C’mon, guys! We gotta win this All-Star game for our home league/continent.” Geez, if the NHL thinks they have travel budget problems now, wait ’til the Super Series Finals arrives. Hypothetically. Then the debate will rage, “Should they play 2-2-1-1-1 or a 2-3-2 format, to save travel money?” Then someone raises their hand, “How about 3-3-1? That’d really make winning that Super Summit All-Star Game important! Imagine 3 home continent games in-a-row!!” Look, this post just gets worse and worse. So, I’m gonna bail on it, right now, thanking my lucky stars that the NHL is the greatest league in the World, and is right here in North America.
R. Stroz
July 15th, 2010
12:32 am
I think the winning team in the MLB All-Star Game should get to throw balls at Bud Selig in a “dunk tank” for two hours after each game.
The player who puts Selig in the “dunk tank” the most wins a new award:
The Cy Young Selig Award.
Acer
July 15th, 2010
4:34 am
Why can’t you respect the uniqueness of each sport? I’m not a fan of baseball but I respect the system in place. Hockey has changed a lot since the lockout and I think it’s time to stop altering with the NHL.
World Be Free
July 15th, 2010
7:59 am
The common feeling here is that all star games should not be used to determine post season seatings. As a baseball fan, I think it is a bad idea to use the MLB All Star game to determine who gets home field advantage in the WS. That distinction should go to the team with the best record of the 2 team playing in the series. Ratings reports show Tuesday’s game as one of the lowest ever, so the concept having the game mean something isn’t drawing more fans.
I am a huge baseball fan and I am here to tell you that the game has changed dramatically since I was a kid, largely because the players are so far removed from the fans. Back I the day, you could go to spring training and meet the players, get autographs and even chat with them for awhile. That does not exist anymore; I took my son to spring training for his birthday this year and we could not get close to the players. I believe this disconnect is one of the things hurting the game. The players and management are so far removed from the fans, they just don’t see it.
The NHL is different in this regard. Players are more accessible, it is easier to get to know them as people. The NHL (and players’ assoc) have not removed the players’ personalities from the game yet. Hockey can’t afford to. So if we are going to have an NHL All Star game, keep it for the fans. Don’t make it a part of the playoff structure and make up an excuse to make the game more meaningful. It’s an exhibition game, leave it at that.
Adam
July 15th, 2010
9:06 am
F baseball.
Anyone have any info from Tuesday’s Prospect Camp activities?
Red Light
July 15th, 2010
9:13 am
Valid points World Be Free, although I will say I saw very few autographs being signed at prospect camp the two days I was there. It’s interesting to point out to the young players, if they play and practice 180 days out of the year, and spend five minutes a day signing autographs on those days, that’s a total of just 15 hours per year of their time and means the world to fans and kids.
I know they’re involved in other PR things like hospital visits, etc., but is it really a lot to ask?
World Be Free
July 15th, 2010
10:12 am
Adam-no need to F baseball, they are doing it to themselves.
Red Light-overall, hockey players are much more accessible than most atheletes. I cannot speak for camp, but I hope this openness between players and the fans in general, continues.
kracker
July 15th, 2010
10:29 am
Cough it up, Levensen!
Tweet – dchesnokov Afinogenov: “I wouldn’t mind staying in Atlanta but the current offers from the team are not satisfactory.”
kracker
July 15th, 2010
10:42 am
Previous comment continued…..Cough it up, Levensen!
Tweet – BenThrashers Pollstar has Philips Arena the #2 concert and event venue in the USA, #5 in the world. http://bit.ly/dCadTt
Which means they are making money, yes?
R. Stroz
July 15th, 2010
10:43 am
kracker – Call and email your ticket reps and let them know.
Money talks or customers walk.
R. Stroz
July 15th, 2010
10:52 am
Afinogenov should be offered a contract that runs concurrent with the remaining three years on Antropov’s contract.
Hockey Biltong
July 15th, 2010
11:09 am
It really is all about the beer.
glovesave29
July 15th, 2010
11:12 am
I’d love to see the NHLPA and NHL partner together work out a base salary for ALL players and a bonus structure put in place based on statistics, ice time, team success, all star appearances, playoff success, league profitability etc…
This way we don’t have moronic owners bidding against each other for FA’s and getting silly contracts like Yashin, Redden, and Campbell. No more dumping players and dismantling teams due to cap restrictions. There is no need for agents, so players need not spend their money on them. The base salary could be based on seniority, but the bonus percentages would remain in place for all players…no matter if a rookie or a 10 year vet.
Would certainly alleviate the perception that players dog it in the middle of a contract and they turn it up a notch during the last year of a deal. You would have to structure it slighly different based on position…but either way, you compare each player to similar position players at the end of the season, and then dole out the bonuses. If they are all stars…give them the check the day they are announced. After each round of the playoffs…ditto. If the league average for a RW is 15 goals, a certain player has 20 – bonus…if he has 30 – bigger bonus. The average SP for a goalie is .906…a player has a .910 – bonus, .915 – bigger bonus…you get the picture.
The owners control costs. It is a performance driven system. The players have more of a vested interest in the success of the team. Management and players would have to agree to the accounting principles, agree on the audit agency, etc. It would take a lot of work and cooperation between the two entities, but it would set up the league for success for decades to come.
rob
July 15th, 2010
11:23 am
glovesave,
your idea makes sense, and therefore, cannot be implemented, now or ever.
Red Light
July 15th, 2010
11:26 am
I like the way you’re thinking glovesave29, but I’d rather take individual performance out of the equation. Why not a system that rewards for tenure and then team bonuses for games won in true Musketeer fashion: one for all…?
Maybe that’s a trifle too Obamian (socialistic).
rob
July 15th, 2010
11:32 am
Everyone that wants Max back has to understand there must be a reason for the offer that was made him. Yes he scored some pretty goals last season. How many bad decisions did he make with the puck? He isn’t the most defensively responsible guy and if that is the system they are trying to start here and want the young guys to see played, then it is understandable that they may not want to resign Max but offered him a contract anyway out of respect for him since no one else gave him a chance last year. And I haven’t heard a lot of noise about other teams talking with him, has anyone else?
R. Stroz
July 15th, 2010
11:33 am
Maybe that’s a trifle too Obamian (socialistic).
No, that would mean every team wins the Stanley Cup due the redistribution of wins and losses so every team has a 40 wins and 40 losses regular season record. All playoff games would end in a tie, so everyone gets a trophy.
kracker
July 15th, 2010
11:44 am
I like it Stroz…it’s all about unearned self-esteem
The Smooth Spark
July 15th, 2010
11:49 am
Stroz – interesting idea perhaps. Should we start a blog petition to help get Afinogenov re-signed? However, I would caution against the 3rd year and give him 2 due to injury history. How about 2 years and $5.5 M?
Rawhide – can we take an informal poll on the next blog to see how many want Fins back versus don’t? I would assume the majority of folks who post and read here are at least partial STH. And the folks who only lurk / read would likely vote in the poll at least.
World Be Free
July 15th, 2010
11:56 am
rob-you sound like a Sabres’ fan, so you have seen Max’s act before. It is tough to forget but I have tried to put his Buffalo time behind me. Give him a 2 year deal here, because he earned such a deal with last season’s performance. I thought I would be the last one to say that!
We could spend the rest of the summer talking about Obama and his band of Socialistic, idiotic thieves or we can just wait to vote them out and hope we have a country when they are gone. Guess I have an opinion and don’t get me going any further.
Biltong-it is always about the beer!
Flagstaff
July 15th, 2010
12:26 pm
I am glad that the NHL has not chosen to implement Selig’s hare-brained idea. However, to play devil’s advocate, there is a flip side to this: Say that, in the fantasy that you just described, the Thrashers were to sweep the Predators/Kings. The sweep would complete here at Philips, and we could chant “Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!” just as Rangers fans did in ‘07.
rob
July 15th, 2010
12:37 pm
Smooth,
What are we basing the 5.5M on? Is there another team talking with him now? What is the offer he turned down? If we have a poll it would be good to have more than just “do we want him back?” I’m not anti-Max, I just am curious about both sides thought process here. He is good no doubt but is the fit right? Last season he was just what we wanted. JA didn’t have any defensive scheme that I could see and while Ramsey is saying forecheck forecheck, I hazard a guess he will ecpect the guys to work just as hard in our zone.
Viking
July 15th, 2010
12:46 pm
Guys, leave politic’s out of the hockey blog.
game on
July 15th, 2010
12:49 pm
Well said stroz
World Be Free
July 15th, 2010
12:50 pm
Viking-just a spill over from current events.
Another subject-has anyone heard anything about Chelios? I assume he is not coming back to Atlanta or even Chicago.
Philly is over the cap, but they just signed another defenseman for depth. They must be certain that they can trade Gagne and/or some other asset. I would take Max over Gagne for 2 reasons 1) he wants to be here 2) he’s free from a compensation standpoint 3) we are not helping Philly (cap relief) by signing him
steve
July 15th, 2010
1:04 pm
HELL NO!!!!
The Smooth Spark
July 15th, 2010
1:15 pm
rob – just throwing out a number that is fair relative to the several players who have scored over 60 pts and are also overpaid in the mid to upper $3 M. Considering Afinogenov’s production last year and his potential when healthy (50-70 pts), I think $2.75 M per year is reasonable. Perhaps he’s looking for less and the 3rd year. I have no idea. There has been no leak about what his asking price is.
Jack
July 15th, 2010
1:16 pm
Are you sure Max wants to be here??
glovesave29
July 15th, 2010
1:25 pm
RL – You gotta give incentives for people to be at their best. You need to reward individual excellence in addition to the team related goals when you are considering salary. I’d be a combination of both. I think it would also lessen the stress a player feels to live up to his bloated contract…just go out there and play the game.
Stroz – we could go so far as to model the NHL after those “touchy feely & sensative” parent run leagues that do not allow keeping score…can’t dare have anyone lose a game! That could hurt their poor little kids’ ego! Funny thing about that is, while the parents don’t keep score, I can bet ya every kid on that field knows EXACTLY what the score is and who got the goals!
Won’t touch the politics here, let’s just all be hockey fans. I do have to say that with the passing of Billy McKinney, we do have one less bigot around, and that is always a good thing.
rob
July 15th, 2010
1:35 pm
Smooth,
maybe we could ask CVivs if he could ask for us? A long shot I know but maybe Duds will be a little more candid as he is trying to get people back to the arena to watch???????? Or maybe his agent would speak about it? Seems like as much time as we spend talking about him we should be able to get A LITTLE more info anyway???
The Smooth Spark
July 15th, 2010
2:06 pm
Yeah, it would be nice if we could get C-Viv to ask a couple of questions regarding Max’s situation on our behalf. But I’m not sure how much Meehan is going to divulge, but if we show enough support for Max, perhaps Dudley will take notice and put more pressure on the owners.
To me, Max is a better alternative to Pavol Demitra, if that is the sort of veteran player we’re supposedly looking at in free-agency.
Alan R.
July 15th, 2010
2:36 pm
Sorry guys, I’m with Viking: Leave the politics out. Wanna talk politics? I’m pretty sure Bob Barr has an AJC blog.
Game On
July 15th, 2010
2:41 pm
Amen Glovesave, the world is a better place.
Tony C.
July 15th, 2010
2:42 pm
Ye gods yes! Give me Max of 2K9-2K10 over 2K9-2K10 NHL Demitra now if we could get 2K10 Olympic Demitra-not sure sure I’d still go with Afinegenov…
Spud Webb
July 15th, 2010
2:46 pm
Max=1 million, thats it! No way would I give him anything close to 2.5 and it appears nobody else in the league will either.
World Be Free
July 15th, 2010
3:37 pm
Sabres fans have long memories
Red Light
July 15th, 2010
3:57 pm
Petitions are a political activity and therefore should not be mentioned on this blog.
Red Light
July 15th, 2010
3:58 pm
Pavol Demitra has signed a one-year contract with Yaroslavl of the KHL, agent Matt Keator confirms to ESPN.com
Hockey Biltong
July 15th, 2010
4:15 pm
WBF-you got brudda.
Joey Crabbe has been picked up by Tronna!!!!
Congrats Hokie. I aint breedin’ so you can pick up my slack!!!
Hockey Biltong
July 15th, 2010
4:17 pm
WBF- you got it, brudda.
Ahh, but for proofreading…
English Teach will be fit to be tied…
Hockey Biltong
July 15th, 2010
4:18 pm
Time to sing the beer song…
glovesave29
July 15th, 2010
4:31 pm
Former assistant Todd Nelson just got a head coaching gig with the AHL Oklahoma City Barons, the top farm team for the Emmintin Oilers. The big club added Kelly Buchberger and Steve Smith as assistant coaches. Perhaps Smith can help the team do more of this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg1kG-q2wIk
This will put a smile on the face of all fellow Flames fans!
Alan R.
July 15th, 2010
4:57 pm
Depends on what you’re petitioning. Let’s not be obtuse.
lola
July 15th, 2010
5:28 pm
WBF: I was a happy girl Tues afternoon at prospect camp. Got my #36’s autograph!
A27
July 15th, 2010
5:47 pm
I love beer to… So it is all about the beer!!! Yahoo!!