Imagine Rangers vs Flyers at Yankee Stadium?

how can you not root for ovechkin? he is everything the nhl needed. well almost. bettman's still around......

In Montreal, their Prospects Games sell out...Please!!

ed

I love the massive eastern conference bias that the NHL has always had, and which shows especially here, especially in Canada.
The Habs got SWEPT in the playoffs by a Bruins team that then collapsed the next round. Montreal got both the Entry Draft and All-Star game, and are yet again getting ANOTHER 'special' game because of their ridiculously stretched out centennial celebration.
What next? Maybe if they don't do well, we can let them have a go at just taking good players off Western Conference teams. Or maybe we can give them the Winter Classic in 2011. Either way, it is getting old.
There are more than just 5 or 6 teams in the NHL, and more than just Les Habitants in Canada. Give other teams a chance Bettman. As people on here ranted about how bad it was to let the Flames host a second Winter Classic in 2010 and how it cheapens the experience, the experience is VERY cheapened when we keep seeing the same few teams playing over and over in these special games.

ugh... the habs are pathetic, hopefully one day they will return to respectability, they really need to clean house though

they won't put the caps in the fenway game because of the playoffs? didnt washington make it farther than philly?

@matt
The habs have done more for hockey than any other team in the NHL. And if you didn't notice, last year the winter classic had two west coast teams. In any case i dont see outdoor games being played out west in the us other than minesota and colorado. Why would the NHL invest in an event in the west when that same event would make much more money in the east? Not that i wouldn't love to see an outdoor game here in L.a.

Kings vs. Ducks at Dodger stadium would be awsome. I'm not going to watch these games anymore, I'm tired of the Crosby / Ovechkin show.

@The Hippomaster
Thats western conference buddy not west coast. West coast gets no love in these games

The West doesn't get love because of the 3 hour time difference to most of the East. More people are around/awake to watch games that start at 7 or 7:30pm eastern time, than 7 or 7:30pm pacific time zone (since that would be 10pm or after eastern time). So that means national TV ratings don't have the potential to be as good. Get it? I know, it sucks. I would love to catch a Flames, Sharks, Ducks, etc. game every once in a while, but can't unless it's a weekend.
How'd the Pens do this year?

what have eithe rof the teams being bandied about won?..Habs, limped into the playoffs, washington, had an epic colapse.. they just had to win 1 game?....centennial clebration?... what a joke..100 year old creaking, ruderless, leaderless, pathetic,.. disgaceful!!!... and butthead wants to give them more?.. why not just give tehm the first 10 pics in the draft, and 15 players of their choosing!!

@Hippomaster
I definitely agree with you that the Canadiens have done an incredible amount for hockey. Montreal is a great market and their, what, 24 cups? makes them a true asset to the league's reputation.
You only stated that Minny and Colo could support outdoor games. You failed to mention the three Western Conference CANADIAN teams that could also hold the game (Edm, Calg, Van). Yes, there are varying reasons people disagree with me (Edm had Heritage, Van weather is rainy/warm in the winter, and nobody seems to like Calgary haha).
It seems to be an inherent bias instilled into fans by the NHL that the Eastern Conference is where it's at. I beg to differ that the money made in the East is more than out West in EVERY case (though you are right that usually the East does sell better). I know the three Canadian teams have a diehard following and would pack any stadium, Olympic venue, and baseball field (if we really had any decent ones) for a Winter Classic etc.. Even teams such as San Jose could likely sell out an outdoor venue (if they could maintain decent ice in that weather).
@Brad S - I realize how time zones work and that people become disinterested after their game ends at 9pm in the East, and teams in the West are just firing up to play. And you're right, that's how it is and it sucks for them; the NHL is a business just like any other and needs to maintain high ratings.
However, it turns out, we also have lots of people in Western Canada and US. You make it sound like a barren wasteland out here haha. But, same thing for us though, Eastern games start at 4 or 430pm for most Western states/provinces, when the majority of us are still in work or school. I highly doubt the East benefits from Western viewership and vice versa (ie, just because Eastern games happen earlier doesn't necessarily mean that their TV ratings will be higher).
As for the Pens, season is over, they won, hoorah. It's the off-season now with a new season on the horizon. Therrien got the Pens to the cup the previous season, then lost his team this season. Bylsma could do the same. Or maybe Pronger will step on Crosby and Malkin and the team goes down the crapper.

I think it has less to do with "east vs west" bias and more with the fact that the Eastern teams are for the most part, other than Minny, Detroit, Chicago, Edmonton and Calgary, the only teams that have temperatures cold enough to sustain any kind of outdoor game. Also, during the warmer months, they can barely keep the ice manageable for the most part (playoff hockey on the west coast is a mostly sluggish affair, and that's not because of the play on the ice), so how are they going to do it in a "domed stadium" let alone any kind of outdoor affair.
I appreciate that west coasters feel slighted, but honestly - how the hell are Anaheim, Dallas, LA, San Jose, Phoenix, St. Louis or the vast majority of other Western Conference teams supposed to hold outdoor games in above freezing weather?

josersp3 - how the hell are they supposed to keep the ice frozen in an outdoor game in LA?

One problem with Calgary and Edmonton is that it might get too cold to play outside. Think about Heritage Classic. Vancouver has domed stadium too. They played an outdoor game as an exhibition between Kings and Rangers in las Vegas so they could do it in LA. Hope this is true as it will be my wife and my Anniversary and what better way for us to celebrate it but be in Montreal.

Lets try consistently selling out Joe Louis before we start talking about Ford Field.

I used to go attend several Montreal Expos games at Olympic Stadium and it's a horrible venue for hockey, actually pretty much everything. I understand the attraction of having the Habs in an "outdoor" game but they can find a better setting for their beloved team.
Do you really want to play in a place that looks like a giant toilet? Take a look people. It's a giant toilet!

1olivia is a freakin joke, they use him to draw a crowd to see how it is for a one player team to lose when it really counts. he will never ever win a stanley cup. that will be fantastic to watch him never get the chance to get one ha ha ha

This sounds to me like an apology by the NHL.
@pensfox: Careful, dear. The world has a way of making us eat the word 'never' and I will so enjoy stuffing it down your throat till you choke next June :)

i say 2 canadian teams play. have the habs play the leafs or sens. have komisarek or kovalev, two of the habs most loved players (well they used to be) play against the habs. ovechkin, crosby, malkin, kane and toews get enough publicity (i'm a pens fan). get some new people in on these things.

#10 Hippomaster. Since when are Detroit and Chicago on the West Coast? Western Conference, yes, but not West Coast! Detroit's even in the Eastern time zone! That being said - I agree with you that western teams do not receive nearly as much pub as eastern teams do - largely because the west has expansion teams that don't have the history and the fanbase that the original six teams do (among other reasons). I'd love to see an East-West all-Canada matchup in the Winter Classic, like Montreal vs. Vancouver or Toronto vs. Calgary. Let's honor the country that brought us this wonderful game!

Maybe they can do a outdoor NHL rollerhockey game in LA?

Pronger is a nut job. Can't wait to see Philly become the most penalized team ever.