I'm not sure what the NHL is thinking. The idea is to bring the game back to the fans. We all love the new rules. But no one I know thinks the NHL is bringing the game to the fans when they're taking away the Canadiens from fans in Western Canada.'' The Edmonton-Calgary rivalry is arguably the best in hockey. But did anybody ask either franchise if they'd rather have two extra games against each other at the expense of seeing the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs two out of every three years? That's the deal. One visit by five teams from one division in the East a year. One visit by five teams from another division the next year. One visit by the five teams from the other division the year after that. The idea is to add "rivalry games.'' So far, the effect in these parts has been to dilute rivalry games and make fans feel too many degrees of separation from the East to bother watching games on television anymore.