Purpose of pre-season NHL games?

[GoodShave]

Hey everyone,

I was just curious since the NHL pre-season games are happening right now, what it the purpose of these games?

Is this just an opportunity to let the newly signed players show what they can do so the coaches can figure out their 3rd and 4th lines/backup players (and decide who will go to the farm teams/be called up from the farm teams for now)?

Thanks!

 

[DrewMc]

That’s mostly it. You’ll see a lot of new/young players on the ice in these games. And many of them you may never see again, or only rarely. Some get sent back to the minors, etc. I think it is a chance to test out players and lines in a “real” game situation.

 

[GoodShave]

Looks like the later pre-season games have some of the new guys play with the first and second line players to see how they might work together. I guess it becomes a warm up for the regular players before the regular season starts.

 

[brucered]

Same as any other sports preseason or the first 80 games of MLB.

Take a look at some new players/coaches a chance to play with lineup chemistry, give rookies a chance to get over NHL jitters....make money for the arenas.

 

[FarmerTan]

Same as the first 80 games of MLB.

This!

It's hard for me to believe that I used to love watching this sport, no matter how well my Deetroit Tigers were doing.

 

[GoodShave]

Same as any other sports preseason or the first 80 games of MLB.

Take a look at some new players/coaches a chance to play with lineup chemistry, give rookies a chance to get over NHL jitters....make money for the arenas.

Thanks for letting me know that other sports do the same thing!

 

[Owen Bawn]

It's a chance for the owners to sell more tix as well as more hotdogs and flat beer.

 

[Owen Bawn]

To my mind the entire NHL "regular" season is an exhibition slate of 82 or 86 or 92 or however many games they play. They play all those games and at the end of it they eliminate one team and then they begin 241 best-of-seven playoff series which results in the eventual Stanley Cup champion.

I'd like to see a team lose every regular season game in an OT shootout. That would give them a record of 0-0-0-82. With those 82 points they sneak into the last playoff spot and then they run the table, winning the Cup.

Good hockey talk.