First to the cons, there are way too many teams. We saw during the 4 Nations what hockey looks like when every team is stacked top to bottom. And it was exhilarating. So yes expansion has been a huge dilution of talent.

Also it is true that most players are scrubs and only a couple of guys have elite impact on the game. Furthermore no one is gripped by the rivalry between say, Columbus and Seattle. It's tough when the Panthers and Lightning are in the Final whereas if somehow a team like Toronto made it the majority of hockey fans would be losing their minds.

But I will say there's some upside. For one, more teams just means more hockey. There's more inventory and you can really nerd out if you want to. It's kind of a fun way to pass the time once football is over and you don't have to look at niggers like the NBA.

Also the regular season has always been boring hence the term second season, however with the number of teams going up it's made the wild card race more exciting than it's ever been. I am pretty sure once they bring back Phoenix and Atlanta in the next few years they're going to expand to 10 or 12 teams per conference which will make the playoff chase suck again but right now it's fun to watch 6 teams claw over each other for the last two spots.

I also think the system is really balanced right now where there's a huge benefit to tanking, drafting, and developing, but no GMs have any patience. There's always a deal on hand to exchange picks and prospects for win now players and it's very juicy when teams get to the championship window just how savagely they give up prospects to win this year, but then you have teams like Colorado and Edmonton who both sucked forever but came away with two top 15 players each. So it's like a game of chicken to where the teams that really commit to a rebuild can go to the bottom and eventually come out with talent but no one ever wants to do this lol.

Anyway OP should pick a team and watch every game, your home team you should always learn every player down to the clowns on the 4th line. That way you can definitely see how a team is organized. Teams have very distinct characteristics and there's such a personal relationship with the fans. It's too much to follow the entire league but knowing at least one team and maybe some division rivals really well is rewarding.

Of course playoffs are next level because everyone is trying to kill each other and no one gives a fuck if they get hurt or hurt others and by the last game of the year everyone is dealing with a gruesome injury.

I really think this is the best this version of the NHL has been in a long time even if it's diluted there are still so many great players and probably more talent than there's ever been in total even if it's not as concentrated. Salaries keep going up which attracts more players. It's a fun era.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5699836&forum_id=2Elisa#48782813)

after a certain age, i just can't watch sports. i feel retarded doing it.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5699836&forum_id=2Elisa#48782832)