New York Rangers: Seasonal Affective Disorder

Thursday marks the 25th anniversary of the New York Rangers last Stanley Cup Championship. In 1994, the Cup was presented for only the third time in the month of June. Now it has become an annual tradition to see the Stanley Cup Finals conclude on the cusp of the summer solstice. It’s time for that to change so hockey fans need not suffer from S.A.D.

We officially know the 2019 Stanley Cup Champions will be crowned on Wednesday night. That’s Wednesday night, June 13th, 2019. While as already pointed out it is not the latest date that the Stanley Cup Playoffs have come to a close, it certainly ranks up there.

The latest date for the presentation of Lord Stanley’s Cup? That honor belongs to the Chicago Blackhawks, when they disposed of the Boston Bruins in Game 7 on June 24th, 2013. June 24th is also the date the 1995 Cup was awarded, but that was due to the lockout.

To find a Stanley Cup final series that ended before the start of the sixth month one must look all the way back to 1991, when the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Minnesota North Stars four games to two. That series ended on May 25th, the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend. It’s been a June conclusion ever since.

The point of all this chronology is that June hockey makes no sense, and it’s time for the NHL to make some changes.

Living in the northeast, spring is the most welcome season, with longer days that must be enjoyed to their fullest. When your team is in the midst of a heated playoff battle, it can sometimes be tough to drag yourself away from the warmth of the late day sun, or pass on a twilight round of golf so you can park it in front of the large screen in your man cave.

In these parts the unofficial start of summer is Memorial Day weekend, because summers just need to be longer. There is an incredible amount of value placed on the beautiful days and as those days get longer and warmer, the choice between enjoying the fruits of the season or a glorious playoff game is unfair to NHL fans in this part of the world. I’m sure many Canadians feel the same way.

Yes, with the ubiquitous DVR you can certainly record the game and start it at your convenience, but with social media and the never-ending text messages from friends and fellow fans, you are not going to get the same experience as watching live.

One real bonus of the DVR is you can fast forward past all the commercials and between period nonsense to catch up to live action quickly. This of course can’t make the NHL happy.

Helpful Tip: When choosing the DVR method of game watching, alert all game day text groups    and ask to the removed from the conversation until you catch up and are live.

There are several other reasons why the NHL season should wrap up by Memorial Day.

Reason 1: Why in the world does the NHL want it’s best players playing on less than ideal ice?

Every year during the later playoff rounds we start to hear about the condition of the ice surface. Sunday night in St. Louis was no exception. Pierre and Eddie made reference to the warm day in St. Louis, how it certainly is having an effect on the ice, and that the teams should adjust
their play due to the less than ideal surface they were skating on.

Why, as hockey fans, do we want to see a different, sloppier version of the game when it matters most?

Reason 2: Apparently there is another league that is playing their finals at the same time.

I know nothing about the NBA. The last NBA game I ever even partially watched featured a guy named Michael Jordan. The only reason I even know the teams that are playing in this year’s NBA Finals is because I follow a whole bunch of Canadian sports writers on Twitter. Have to say
I absolutely love the WE THE NORTH thing. But why does the NHL want to compete against another league’s finals?

At no other time of the year are there two major sporting events competing for sports fans attention in this manner. For numerous reasons the NHL would be so much better off if the Stanley Cup Finals were held the second half on the month of May. The focus on the NHL would be so much greater.

Reason 3: It’s a WINTER sport.

Just stop playing the most important games of your entire season in summer.

Yes adjustments would have to be made, but they are minor. Instead of having a preseason games in September, just get the season going. Allow teams to carry 26 players on their NHL rosters until Columbus Day, after that teams must cut down to the usual 23. Preseason games are painful to watch and early season games are played at preseason like pace anyway, just get on with it.

No way the NHL would ever consider shortening the season from 82 games to say 75, but it makes sense to do so. That’s just one less game against each division rival during the season.

Eliminate the All-Star break. The game has long since lost its appeal, major stars of the game are backing out and taking a one game suspension. Enough said.

Turn the Christmas break into a five-day break, and eliminate all the so-called “Bye Weeks”. Please see any number of Phil Mushnick articles in the NY Post on the proper use of the term “Bye”.

With those simple changes the playoffs could very easily be over by Memorial Day.

So NHL, how about it? Give us hockey fans in the northern regions a chance to enjoy the game we love without the guilt of tuning in to the biggest games while the warm sunshine beckons and taunts.

We need our playoff hockey, but dear God do we also need a little sunshine in our lives.