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Bold moves just don't seem to fit the NHL.

The league's Board of Governors on Thursday ratified a new schedule that is better than the old one, but not near as good as it could be.

Eighteen games against the other conference? It's nice.

It's reminiscent of when the league cracked down on the size of goalie pads; it wasn't enough.

It's an improvement over the current 10. It's workable. It's a compromise.

And it stinks.

The league needed to go with 30 games against the other conference, home and road against each team once each to ensure that every fan can see every player in the NHL at least once a year. It just makes sense.

There are tons of fans in Dallas begging the league to bring their favorite teams to Dallas. Sure, it's great to see Sidney Crosby, but even more important, they say, it's great to see Boston and Montreal and Toronto. This isn't about just bringing the East's young superstars to the West; it's about bringing the traditional powers and spreading the NHL trademark.

Dallas isn't alone in its demographic. How many transplants are there in Phoenix or Denver or Nashville or Los Angeles? Likewise, how many folks from Chicago or Detroit now reside in Florida or the Carolinas or Georgia?

It only makes sense to spread the word of the NHL to everyone.

When the Stars were in New York last week for the first time in three seasons, Marty Turco, Ralph Strangis and Daryl Reaugh all did interviews on XM Radio. That probably wouldn't happen if the Stars didn't visit Madison Square Garden.

Wayne Gretzky will coach against Sidney Crosby on Monday. How neat is that for Penguins fans? The Red Wings will play at Montreal on Tuesday. That's a must see. The Flyers will invade Colorado on Friday. That's heaven for fans.

On the flip side, the three teams from Eastern Canada don't play the three teams from Western Canada this season. Huh?

That's one reason the league expanded the interconference schedule for next season. That's one reason they added three "wild card" games against the other conference. But it only solves part of the problem.

What would be so tough about 30 games against the other conference, as the NBA does?

When new NHL Players Association leader Paul Kelly suggested expanding the season to 84 games from 82, commissioner Gary Bettman said that change could lead to a schedule that had "one division out of conference that you play at home, one division that you play on the road and the third division you play home and away, and then you rotate them."

Arrrrgggh.

Just go to 30 games. It's not that difficult.

Be bold for once.

The NHL and the NBA have identical alignments of 30 teams – 15 each in Western and Eastern Conferences, each sub-divided into three divisions of five teams each. The NBA schedule allows fans to see every team in the league. The NHL's doesn't and still won't after a change for 2008-09 that will decrease the number of division games and increase the number of interconference games:

32 vs. four division teams: play all four at home, four on road

40 vs. 10 other conference teams: play all two at home, two on road

10 vs. 15 teams in other conference: play five one at home, five one on road, skip other five

24 vs. four division teams: play all three at home, three on road

40 vs. 10 other conference teams: play all two at home, two on road

18 vs. 15 teams in other conference: play all at least one home or road, three of them one each home and road

16 vs. four division teams: play all two at home, two on road

36 vs. 10 other conference teams: play all one or two at home, one or two on road

30 vs. 15 teams in other conference: play all one at home, one on road