from Mark Lazerus of The Athletic,

I casually asked Jonathan Toews if he ever thought about the differences in travel playing in the Eastern Conference, particularly the New York area, versus the Western Conference, particularly Chicago, the second-easternmost city in the West.

“Yup,” he said sharply, as if he had been waiting for this question all his life. “A lot.”

Toews then beat me to the follow-up.

“And from what I hear,” he continued, “Phoenix is getting added to our division (when Seattle joins the league) and that just makes for a lot of back-to-back games where you’re playing at home and flying there, or vice versa. Yeah. It’s getting out of control.”

It’s easy to see why Toews is frustrated, and a little road-weary. The Blackhawks were in the New York area for the second time in 11 days, having just played the Islanders on Long Island. The Blackhawks left for that trip the day after the Winter Classic. This, after playing in Denver — more than two hours away, with an hour time difference — two days before the Winter Classic.

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