Around the NHL - 2013 season

[KyleFreadrich43]

Originally Posted by Matt

I don't get why the league would view LA winning last year as a bad thing, if anything it gives hope to those lower seeds that they can make a run. The league wants parity. Sometimes refs have a bad night, they're human..it doesn't mean there's something going on behind the scenes.

I never said it was a BAD thing. I meant it as, after the league saw them make it from the 8th seed, they'd much rather have Minnesota make it from the 8th seed this year, than Columbus.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by KyleFreadrich43

I never said it was a BAD thing. I meant it as, after the league saw them make it from the 8th seed, they'd much rather have Minnesota make it from the 8th seed this year, than Columbus.

I guess I'd buy more into the theory if a big market was involved, agree to disagree.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by astro

Joe Nieuwendyk fired... will be replaced by Red Wing Assistant GM, Jim Nill

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl...233116463.html

Very surprising. Nill has been sought after for years - including by us before Yzerman was hired.

[Xaej]

Originally Posted by Matt

I guess I'd buy more into the theory if a big market was involved, agree to disagree.

I'm not intending to take a side here, but for the sake of objectivity, Minnesota is a considerably larger market than Columbus.

As far as whether there's a conspiracy or not, I doubt it. It's certainly a possibility and I'm not going to come in here saying that I'm "never" going to believe it. If enough evidence were brought to light, I could certainly believe it. No one, and I mean no one in this world is exempt from corruption if their price (financial or otherwise) is met.

That said, at this point it is all idle speculation and there really isn't any way to know for sure. It could be the case, but we'll probably never know.

[Donnie D]

Yes there is. If you have any questions about a conspiracy, ask yourself how well referees would do in their negotiations with the NHL if they were being told by the league to throw games.

Certainly the league knows that a Detroit New York finals would be better than, say, Calgary / Tampa, but that doesn't mean that the league would make sure that it doesn't happen.

[KyleFreadrich43]

Originally Posted by Matt

I guess I'd buy more into the theory if a big market was involved, agree to disagree.

You mean like Minnesota, the home of hockey in the US? It's not NY or LA, but hockey wise it is. And as I said, they didn't want the 2 biggest UFA signings to miss the playoffs.

If you've seen the goal, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by KyleFreadrich43

You mean like Minnesota, the home of hockey in the US? It's not NY or LA, but hockey wise it is. And as I said, they didn't want the 2 biggest UFA signings to miss the playoffs.

If you've seen the goal, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

I didn't say it wasn't a hockey market but they don't have a big fanbase nationally that brings ratings like a Detroit, Boston, Chicago, etc. I really don't see why the league cares about the two biggest UFAs missing the playoffs or not, it's been trying to get away from big money deals so that seems irrelevant to me.

I've seen the play, it was a bad call and didn't look like a kicking motion. I just don't see it as any different from a blown goalie interference call that happens every couple of weeks. You're more than entitled to your view, I just don't see it the same way. The ref just got the call wrong.