Originally <a href='/showthread.php?p=17395226'>posted</a> on 01/06/2013:
Indeed. The ridiculous number of games is actually counter productive over the long term. The casual fan base is already sick of hockey by the time the playoffs begin. Starting the season in October and the playoffs don't even begin for six months is absurd. That really hurts the sport and that is a shame because hockey is such a great game.