Even some of the players in the NHL are saying it is the 82-game exhibition season. That can’t go on for long before the season really becomes a bore and the games mean nothing. Log onto the internet and take a look at the hockey sites. There are columns upon columns that speak to the boring games in what is still a young season that shouldn’t be boring yet, if ever.

It is not an NHL problem, it is a problem for all pro sports. The seasons are too long, the playoffs too deep into other sports’ seasons, relegating the regular season to a lot of meaningless games that players sometimes float through.

Yet, the ticket prices are the same and the folks who spend their hard-earned dollars to see a game or two a year have the right to expect the players to be performing at their peak.

However, the players know that the gold lies at the end of the road and that means the playoffs.

Call this heresy, but if you owned the Mighty Ducks, in the deep recesses of your ownership mind, would you really be bothered if a salary dispute went through the first half of the season and your star player got back just in time for the playoff run and ignited your team when you needed it most on the ice and at the ticket window?

This is based on knowing that 16 teams would make the playoffs and most of the home games had been sold out before the start the season. Add in the fact you know the Ducks are good enough to make the playoffs without their best player getting banged up for the first half of the season and the fact he is going to the Olympics.

Former University of Maine star Paul Kariya sits and waits for a contract from the Mighty Ducks. There is no evidence the above scenario is in fact going on, just funny how the human mind works.

What is going on everyday in every major sport are star players going down with injuries and taking a few extra days to get back. Unless a team is struggling to make the playoffs in whatever sport, there is no rush to get the game’s best back on the ice. Instead, players get a few extra days off, a little more recovery time, and are fresher for the games that matter more.

Such accusations will be vehemently denied by owners and a little less by the players, because the players know who signs the checks and no owner wants to admit “X” number of games in the course of a season really to admit “X” number of games in the course of a season really don’t mean squat. However, that is no longer secret. Even fans who can’t wait to make the owners and players richer by buying and watching more of everything related to the sports aren’t fooling themselves about a lot of who-cares games.

There are some ways to deal with this. ESPN-TV, which carrie There are some ways to deal with this. ESPN-TV, which carries a lot of NHL games, is worried about the regular season and a growing lack of interest that doesn’t help TV ratings. ESPN, owned by Disney, is talking about what a divided season might do for the NHL.

Minor leagues have for some time divided seasons and had the winners of the two halves meet in the postseason. The NHL season could be divided into halves or thirds or anything else that might give meaning to the regular season games.

Such a schedule would set up natural seedings for the postseason. There is much to be considered in such a proposal and it is not full proof in guaranteeing quality and meaningful regular season games. Yet, it is an idea worthy of consideration by not only the NHL, but baseball and basketball.

The NFL has far less of a problem because of the limited number of games in the season. Might this be one of the reasons the NFL has such a hold on the U.S. sports market? Fans know most of the NFL games matter. The players know it, and it shows up on the field.

This divided season discussion in in the initial stages. There is nothing formal going on, but the concept is worthy of study to see just how such a schedule might work and what impact it might have on both the regular season and the playoffs. The more meaningful the games, the better the quality of play and the greater the interest of the fans. That would seem to be in everyone’s best interest.