PARITY

Posted 1:48 AM ET | Comments 3

That one word is all that's needed tonight.

The NHL wanted it. The NHL is closer than ever of getting it.

The NFL says it has it. Then it has the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts. Where do they fit under parity?

MLB says it has it. Then there's the Boston Red Sox.

NBA says it has it. Yet there's dynasty teams like the San Antonio Spurs.

It's what every professional league strives for - more so than anything, to get butts in the seats. To make some $$$. To make its product exciting and the games as unpredictable as possible, so that they can be as entertaining as possible.

Tonight, the Mighty Ottawa Senators fell at the hands of the dead-last-place Washington Capitals...and at home.

The Philadelphia Flyers were embarassed by a New Jersey Devil club at Prudential Center.

And the Tampa Bay Lightning ripped Carolina a new one...at the RBC.

The three top teams in the Eastern Conference lost to three of the "worst" four teams in the Eastern Conference going into tonight. Worst is in quotations because I don't know if there is a bad team in this league. Everyone is catching on to the new NHL, coaches and players are adapting all the time, and it's now - more so than ever - parity in front of us. Any team can win on any given night.

And I absolutely love it.

It's more fun this way. It makes following hockey interesting. Not that it wasn't before, but now I'm looking at all 30 teams in this league instead of just my own, or my division. It's just really fun to watch teams rise and fall, and to have momentum swing, and to have players on streaks, and to genuinely not know what's going to happen on a given night.

Granted it's VERY early, but just look at those "playoff hunts." Only a few points separate a huge set of teams in both conferences. It is the Parity of the New NHL.

I can live with this. Here's to the fun continuing throughout the year!

Filed Under: NHL parity league hockey good games entertaining fun

sabres51

November 9, 2007 9:34 AM ET | Delete
I agree 100%. All the teams, except the Leafs, Blackhawks, and Coyotes (nothing against the fine people of Toronto), have adapted really well since the lockout. Today on the Howard Simon Show Paul Hamilton was complaining about the boring hockey currently being played. He is saying that the new rules implemented by the NHL have turned out being a failure. I disagree because every team has a shot at the cup now 2 years later. You know what, if the NHL continues this path of boring hockey the Sabres better adapt because come April they might not be in the playoffs if they continue to be ignorant. I don't mind boring hockey as long as the team wins. Four years ago everyone knew who was going to make the playoffs. But like last year, teams like the New York Islanders and Rangers made a surprise run and made it to the playoffs. It's fun seeing new teams in the playoffs every year.

Schmengi10

November 9, 2007 10:17 AM ET | Delete
i also agrre with your post, i however wanted to say that phoenix and chicago have adapted this year. they both have very young fast teams that are on the rise. phoenix crushed dallas last night 5-2, while chicago is right in the middle of the conference. the parity in the league is amazing to watch, its very hard to pick who will win on any given night

KGBflyers10