A realignment proposal that could make Rogers happy

[Big Z Man 1990]

Plus while the divisions would be unbalanced to start, there's room to make them balanced again in the future with expansion to 40 teams as follows:

Central: Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee
North: Quebec City
South: Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans
West: Salt Lake City

 

[Bileur]

Count me as another fan of a Canadian team with zero interest in reviving the North division

 

[HuGo Burner Acc]

Different idea, have a tax proportional salary cap. There, now players won't be as hesitant not to run to low tax states

 

[Golden_Jet]

With the last four teams in action being Sun Belt teams, the NHL is facing record low ratings for the last two rounds in both the US and Canada. The NHL needs to do something drastic to prevent such a scenario from happening again.

Fortunately, I've come up with a realignment and associated schedule and playoff format to ensure Canadian teams have a fair shot at the Stanley Cup.

Central:
Chicago
Columbus
Detroit
Minnesota
St. Louis

7 games against each division rival (7*4 = 28), 2 games against everyone else (2*27 = 54)

East:
Boston
Buffalo
New Jersey
NY Islanders
NY Rangers
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Washington

5 games against 6 division rivals and 4 against the remaining division rival (5*6 = 30 + 4 = 34), 2 games against everyone else (2*24 = 48)

North:
Calgary
Edmonton
Montreal
Ottawa
Toronto
Vancouver
Winnipeg

6 games against 2 division rivals and 5 games against 4 division rivals (6*2 = 12, 5*4 = 20, 12+20 = 32), 2 games against everyone else (2*25 = 50)

South:
Carolina
Dallas
Florida
Nashville
Tampa Bay

7 games against each division rival (7*4 = 28), 2 games against everyone else (2*27 = 54)

West:
Anaheim
Arizona
Colorado
Los Angeles
San Jose
Seattle
Vegas

6 games against 2 division rivals and 5 games against 4 division rivals (6*2 = 12, 5*4 = 20, 12+20 = 32), 2 games against everyone else (2*25 = 50)

The playoffs would see the top 4 teams in each division qualify for a Shaugnessy playoff. After the American teams conduct the first two rounds of their playoffs, the playoff winners of the Central, East, South, and West divisions are seeded 1-4 based on regular season record. Once the American semifinals are determined, the North Division begins their playoffs. The winners of the American semifinals and the North Division playoffs meet for the Stanley Cup.

While I understand Canadian fans hated the North Division during COVID, they may have to accept this as the best chance for a Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup.

Since you like having a division with dumb time zone travel, how about a division with

New York I, New York R, Buffalo, Columbus, Detroit, Chicago, Colorado and Seattle.

Then do the east to the west travel for the rest of the teams. Not the best is it?

 

[M88K]

This is bad, for a multitude of reasons, chief among them it's to appease of all things, Rogers. f*** Rogers.
2nd, I get why you want to gift the Canadian teams a trip to the SCF, because if we're being honest none of them have a real shot to get there otherwise, but the PO format is a joke.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

Catastrophe for the NHL: worst TV ratings ever incoming for the conferences finals + cup final

What an awful take. It actually looks like he wants the NHL to be fixed like WWE... just for TV ratings. As a side note... The Super Bowl of club soccer, the UEFA Champions League final, which is a one off game, had fewer viewers in the US than game 3 of the SCF. Yes, I'm fully aware of how...

forums.hfboards.com

The NHL should not be fine with this. They can fix it though. And they should in the way that I am proposing.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

Cup Final ends with least-watched Game 5 in 29 years

The Stanley Cup Final ended with its smallest Game 5 audience in nearly three decades as viewership fell 47 percent from last year.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

I hope this leads the NHL to change things.

 

[HuGo Sham]

yeah good luck removing Boston, Detroit and Buffalo from the leafs, habs -- and sens


f*** rogers

 

[Roomtemperature]

Cup Final ends with least-watched Game 5 in 29 years

The Stanley Cup Final ended with its smallest Game 5 audience in nearly three decades as viewership fell 47 percent from last year.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

I hope this leads the NHL to change things.

The game wasn't close why would I watch it

 

[Lady Stanley]

Different idea, have a tax proportional salary cap. There, now players won't be as hesitant to run to low tax states

It's the obvious thing to do, it wouldn't be 100% but they should have cap relief. At the very least as long as zero tax states exist, they should have to have any state tax counted against their salaries.

 

[Lady Stanley]

Cup Final ends with least-watched Game 5 in 29 years

The Stanley Cup Final ended with its smallest Game 5 audience in nearly three decades as viewership fell 47 percent from last year.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

I hope this leads the NHL to change things.

That's the thing, just do anything, anything at all to spice things up.