from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

Adding two intradivisional matches while increasing the NHL schedule to 84 games next season is tantamount to putting a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound.

Such a move, which we’re told has a fair amount of momentum within the Board of Governors, would represent an increase from 32 percent of the schedule being played inside the division to 33 percent.

That is a difference without a distinction.

In fact, altering the schedule to ensure four matchups between division rivals (instead of four against five opponents and three against the other two) would only serve to codify the NHL’s infuriating setup that deprives paying customers of entertainment value.

The idea is to maximize meaningful confrontations over the year and to enhance rivalries in a league in which skill is spiking, but intensity often flatlines. It is to spotlight showdowns down the stretch in playoff races. The current matrix does exactly the opposite.

Do you understand that under the current system, it does not matter whether the winning team goes to overtime in the 39 percent of games played out of conference while it has great bearing on the standings in the 61 percent of games within the conference?

What kind of loopy system is that?

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