The NHL is just days away from getting underway. Lightning fans everywhere wait with anticipation and high expectations for the year ahead. If those fans are looking at the schedule to decide which games to attend, they may be a bit disappointed. The Bolts have six games at home in October and will log many air miles in the first month of the new season.
By rough estimation the Lightning will travel approximately 5,687 miles this month alone. The Bolts’ cross-continent trip to Vancouver on the 18th leads to a quick tour of the western provinces with stops in Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg. A face off with the Wild will cap off the trip before the boys travel home.
In comparison the Rangers will only travel approximately 2,443 miles in October and could take the train to some of their away games. The Toronto Maples Leafs will travel approximately 2,011 miles and their longest trip is a three game stretch versus the Red Wings, Islanders and Senators.
On the other side of North America, the Vancouver Canucks travel approximately 5,182 miles in the month as they see the Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues and the Colorado Avalanche on a random mixed up tour of the United States
The only team that has a busier travel month than the Lightning are the San Jose Sharks who will fly over 8,000 miles in the first month of the season. Trips to New York and Minnesota are paired with travel to face off against their cross state rivals. People tend to forget the pure size of the State of California and that trip alone is over 300 miles. There does not seem to be a reason for the Sharks horrible October. Disney on Ice is at the SAP Center in San Jose for a five day run, but other than that there are no major events happening.
The job of creating the NHL schedule is a daunting task. Between building demands, TV broadcasting rights and making sure every team faces each other at least once, it must be a logistical nightmare. Teams that are in the heart of the Northeast have the benefit of having rivals within an hour flight time in all directions. When the NHL recently realigned their divisions it was done in the name of making more geographic sense and even out the miles teams compile. It’s hard not to feel like the Florida teams got the short end of the stick there.
The private planes that the teams charter are several steps above commercial travel. That said…being on a plane is, well… being on a plane. The time changes, the elevation and just the hours take their toll on any individual, even a million dollar athlete.
So Lightning fans, come fly the friendly skies and let’s support our boys as they start the year racking up their frequent flyer points!
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