no more Smythe and Campbell, etc.. Now it's Northwest, Southwest, etc.
2007-03-16 12:39:10 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Hockey
Oh, gee. What a great idea. I am SO sure that thousands of people are huge hockey fans now because of THAT brilliant move! Tradition? Uniqueness? How horrible!! All those years wasted with people saying, "Gee! I was GOING to become a hockey fan, but then I saw that they use traditional names for their divisions. CURSE them!!" Thank goodness the NHL fixed that mistake.
Yes. That was sarcasm. :-)
2007-03-16 14:56:33 · answer #1 · answered by Mr. Taco 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It may be easier when trying to locate a team geographically, but when you change the name from Campbell and Wales to East and West you lose historical significance of the NHL. It is almost like if they would change the name from the Stanley Cup to the Championship Cup. It's still the trophy like the divisions are still divisions, but it no longer would have a specific historical value.
But since when does the NHL value history? When you change the names of the divisions to make it more fan-friendly you're defacing the history in order to get more people in the seats. Whether it's North America Vs. The World All-Star games, or East Vs. West, it's not the same NHL.
2007-03-17 12:03:30 · answer #2 · answered by outlawoftorn2003 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Its definitely better I mean calling it Campbell and Smythe is more confusing if you call it northwest you have an idea of the teams in that division. The changes in hockey have made it a better sport.
2007-03-16 13:07:32 · answer #3 · answered by Aries 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Just one more part of the tradition of the game being lost.
Not that it is a "good" or "bad" thing, but I don't see where making the change did anything positive for the sport
The names of the divisions were a form of respect for some of the forefathers of the game. If there was a compelling reason to change the names I might see an argument, but there just wasn't one.
Even a few of the geographic locations are not all that accurate with respect to the divisions.
Just one of those changes that seems to have occured for no real benefit to the game.
2007-03-16 13:26:52 · answer #4 · answered by Tim C 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't really matter to me. I never could figure out why they decided to forego the usual geographic alignment when they first used Patrick, Smythe, Norris, and Adams for division names in the 70's.
But that's the NHL, always on the cutting edge of stupidity.
2007-03-16 15:45:31 · answer #5 · answered by Awesome Bill 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I hated it. It gave a sense of history for your team to be in the Patrick, Smythe, Norris, or Adams division. Does anyone know who these men were? It might be less confusing, unless you don't know if you're northeast, southwest, north north, or north south.
2007-03-16 13:59:22 · answer #6 · answered by hot sauce 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I hated the change. Those names and many other subtleties are what separated the NHL from all the other pro leagues.
The 80's are very quickly becoming the long gone 'good ol' days' for an entire generation (or two).
2007-03-16 12:51:22 · answer #7 · answered by zapcity29 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Much easier now. Like back in the old days when there was just East and West divisions.
2007-03-16 12:48:06 · answer #8 · answered by buccaneersden 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It was kind of sad to see the tradition tossed away like it was, although you really had to be into the history of the league to even know who those men were.
2007-03-16 16:06:11 · answer #9 · answered by buz 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I don't have any idea what is better or what is worse. Or if they should change it or not.
What I will say is that this was a decision made by Bettman. On that ground alone, I have to say it was a HORRIBLE decision!
2007-03-16 14:18:05 · answer #10 · answered by JK Nation 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋