After The Trade: Edmonton And Los Angeles, And What They've Done From Then Till Now

Okay, it's been 25 years since Gretzky went from Edmonton to Los Angeles, and this stat loving blogger decided to look at exactly how both teams have fared from the season following (1988/89) to the last season (2012/13).

I realize also, I should perhaps have waited one more season for this, due to the nature of the comparison. For 25 seasons is more relevant than 25 years (See how much that strike of 2004/05 hurts the Simple Season Count. Now I always have to subtract one season off when I cover anything from before 2004/05 till after)

A little guide:

SC = Stanley Cup (Won the Stanley Cup)

F = Stanley Cup Finals (Reached that stage and lost)

CF = Stanley Cup Conference Finals (Reached that stage and lost)

CSF = Stanley Cup Conference Semi-Finals (Reached that stage and lost)

CQF = Stanley Cup Conference Quarter-Finals ("Reached" that stage and lost. Doesn't sound so bad does it, but if you must, say, "First Round!")

P W = Playoffs Wins (The total playoff games won that year by that team)

P L = Playoff Losses (The total playoff games lost that year by that team)

MP = Missed Playoffs (Pretty self-explanatory, yes?)

Italics indicate which team has the greater total of that particular category. If there are no italics on either team it means they are tied.




References


Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 06 Aug. 2013.

Now That Hockey Is Back

...and me being Canadian born an raised, I guess things are back to normal for now. NHL season, I welcome! I touched on this before. But that was before hockey came back. There was a real question of if!

Plus I've had some time to think about what I miss in hockey and what bothers me in hockey.

So, I felt like it was time to ask you, with hockey back now, officially, what you would like to see this season?

But for now, here's what I'm really looking for:

1) I hope we don't have another strike for the rest of my life. Honestly, I've been through four. Four, and no more please.

2) Less injuries. I guess I should have just said concussions.

3) Less fighting. Look, if needs be, fine, go ahead and fight. But these staged fights (outlawed, btw, in the WHL) have got to go. I mean, it just slows the pace down.

4) Longer suspensions for head shots. I guess we can see #2 up there. But really, if we came down harder on these elbows and cross-checks, and even shoulders, to the head, we would see less concussions and head injuries in general. And I don't care if the guy comes back the next day and scores 5 goals, or gets a shutout. You hit to the head, you're gone for at least 10 games!

5) More offence. Ah, being a child of the 80s and loving those 8-7 shootouts were so much fun.

6) More East VS West. So were not getting an All Star game, right? Wow, even baseball has inter league play. Hockey doesn't for this year. Yeah, I know, this will just be a dream for this season, perhaps I should skip it altogether!

7) At the end of the season, a team in Quebec. I think that's the third time I've mentioned it. Hey, I watch classic hockey games, you know. And I can tell you, there was magic in the building (Montreal or Quebec) in the battle of Quebec.

8) Less homerism by commentators. Jack Edwards, please go away!

9) More respect. You know, we'd have less of #2, #3, and no reason to worry about #4 so much.

10) Leafs in the playoffs. About time, don't you say? Actually, I'd like to see all Canadian teams in the playoffs. We'd get one step closer to #7 if it happened.

References

Official Site of the National Hockey League | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 18 Jan. 2013. <https://www.nhl.com>.

Sports Reference LLC.  Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.