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Wednesday, November 24, 1999
Emotional plea
Al Coates wants to see more passion, more anger, more grudges, more feeling.
He wants to see the fans more involved. He wants to see the papers more involved.
He wants incident, controversy, interest ... and most of all -- oh, pleeeease Lord! -- he wants to see the building more full.
Just like the good-old, bad-old days.
Too often these days, you find the paying patrons sitting on the edge of their seats, all right ... just before doing a faceplant for a quick catnap in the aisle.
Too often these days, there is no urgent emotional stake, for fans and players alike, on far too many nights.
"We need to find some mechanism to re-ignite rivalries," the GM was saying last night, as the Flames and Islanders -- hardly combatants to stoke the bonfires of hatred -- waged mild dislike below him on the Saddledome ice. "They are lacking in our game today.
"For instance, we don't play Edmonton, our natural rival, almost until Christmas. Meanwhile, the Oilers have already finished with St. Louis. Last year, we played Edmonton the third or fourth game of the season and didn't see them again until March.
"It's difficult to build up much of a rivalry with months between games."
To that end, Coates has proposed a formal discussion on the merits of strictly intra-conference play. He wanted the idea to be on the Q.T. but, as often happens when too many faxes fly, word of his intent leaked.
It is certainly not a new concept. But given the apathy of fans to the vast majority of games right now, the idea certainly merits a good, long, hard look.
Such a shift would not, however, come without sacrifice. Even here. It would mean no Montreal, no Toronto, no Big E, no Jagr.
But, as Coates points out, with the current unbalanced schedule, not all eastern teams make a visit to the 'Dome in a year anyway. For instance, Theo Fleury and the riches-to-rags Rangers opened the season in Edmonton nearly two months ago but bypassed Calgary and don't plan on coming back this way anytime within the next calendar year.
Coates is not, he insists, spearheading a relentless drive to institute intra-conference only. He isn't gathering signatures or planning to storm Gary Bettman's New York penthouse office. He doesn't know if it'll fly or if it's even feasible. Already he's heard some naysayers among his contemporaries. But he feels the merits and drawbacks on it -- or any other possible solution to rekindling the rivalries -- must be discussed.
In Vancouver, Canucks GM Brian Burke couldn't help but agree. "We played Calgary on Oct. 16th and don't see them again for a month. These games should be death matches but they're not. The intensity just isn't there when we don't see them for a protracted time."
Old grudges fade away. Lingering wounds, given enough time, heal.
"The schedule-maker has probably the toughest job in hockey right now, outside of the officials," said Coates. "Given the availability of buildings -- some, like the new Staples Center in L.A., are home to three pro teams -- it's a nightmare trying to get it together. And, of course, in the end no one is happy.
"But what happens is that in order to facilitate eastern teams coming out west, us and Edmonton and Vancouver have to block a number of games in a short period of time at home, says six in 11 or 12 days, so the eastern teams can make a swing. That puts a real financial burden on our fans."
Basically, this is a fan issue as much as a league issue. And perhaps the paying public should be asked for an opinion the subject.
What remains inarguable is that NHL hockey needs an injection of emotion. Rivalries promote that, in spades.
Familiarity, after all, breeds contempt.
And it's difficult to drum up a good deal of animosity for someone you couldn't pick out of a police lineup because three stat holidays have passed since you filed charges.
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