I think the ongoing season once again shows it - the EU is just a much harder division to play in than the NA.

[jRuutu 2,464]

Seven out of ten players with the most shots play in the NA division. Eight out of ten players with the most shots blocked play in the EU division. Based on these two facts we see that players in NA feast on inferior opponents, they get chance after chance. Meanwhile, players in the EU get far fewer chances and on top of that, the defenders and players are more willing to block the shots. You could claim that a player like Godlander would have 60 goals if he played in a NA team.

 

I think there is a cultural explanation behind it all. Players and teams in NA are notorious for being "Hollywood", the teams are built to entertain the sponsors. Playing tight defense or backchecking is received with boos in NA. A nice shot or attempt to deke gets a standing ovation from the NA crowds. Historically, if you enjoy watching real hockey and you want to see players and teams care about the game of hockey more than about selling air time for Budweiser and McDonalds, you follow the EU division more closely. I think the ongoing season once again shows it - the EU is just a much harder division to play in than the NA.

[Gustav 6,406]

This is interesting because I remember 15-ish seasons ago I was playing for Malmo and my friends on Seattle were making fun of our team/suggesting that our success wasn't as valid. But I also remember times in between where the EU was nuts--just a few seasons ago Helsinki missed the playoffs with 90 points and Chicago made it on a fairly depleted roster.

 

On the flip side of the EU being harder to find wins in, I think it's going to be interesting to see who's going to make the playoffs this season in the EU--and how that compares to the teams that missed in NA.

[JCarson 723]

If you look at the goals against for goalies in the league, 6 of the 8 worst offenders are in the NA division.  Allowing talented goal scores in the NA Division an easier time in getting points.

 

[Gustav 6,406]

2 hours ago, JCarson said:

If you look at the goals against for goalies in the league, 6 of the 8 worst offenders are in the NA division.  Allowing talented goal scores in the NA Division an easier time in getting points.

 

You could look at it like this, but you could also look at it like...are more goals being scored on NA goalies because NA teams are better? There are still plenty of good goalies in the EU, but I'd definitely say NA rosters as a whole look stronger.

 

For the record, I don't have the answer to this and we'd need a pretty deep analysis to figure out what the actual reason is. But that's how I'd explain it at least.

[Frank 5,208]

NA is stronger AINEC.