But it's not just "West Coast." Six of the Western Conference teams are a mere one time zone over. And this year we don't even get some of the Eastern teams.
Sure, rivalries are the best, but if I'm a season ticketholder (which I have been) I want to see Connor McDavid or Nathan McKinnon once a year. Heck, all the trophy winners last year (Hart, Vezina etc.) were in the West. And there's always going to be two teams in your division you don't want to see more often (because they stink, not because they're good) and you can't even give them away (even for so-called sell-outs).
And if I'm a ticketholder in the west there's a good chance I'm originally from the East or Midwest or Canada and am expecting to see my old team once a year or more. You go to a Kings-Flyers games and it's still a few thousand orange sweaters, though it's not as bad as it was when the Kings stunk.