voyageur
Hockey fanatic
- Jul 10, 2011
- 10,432
- 9,770
Why?There's no way the league doesn't go to 36 then. Staying at 34 doesn't make any logistical sense.
Let's say the NHL wanted Atlanta to form a South division and break up the divisions like the NFL to focus on rivalries. They could do that, keeping Washington out of the South in a division with Philly and Pitt. I'm sure Montreal/Toronto/Detroit/Buffalo/Ottawa would be happier to not have Florida teams in their divsion, which are geographical outliers. Put Boston with 3 N.Y teams that's a real metropolitan division, that would have a rivlary that New York/Carolina just doesn't have, or generate on TV.
In the West there is no real rivalry between Edmonton or Calgary/San Jose/Anaheim, you could easily split the division up into NW and Pac, and have more rivalries that way. Maybe you end up with AZ and Dal, in a division with Colorado/Utah. Geographically sensible. Keep 3 Norris teams together in the other.
TV networks would probably like that more than having a lot of nothing games, that are supposed to be rivalries in big, expansive divisions on their dockets. And TV still is king in the fight to be a relevant pro sport.
I don't think 36 is some magic number, because you get into 3 divsions of 6, and the lines get harder to draw around who belongs where, taking into account that there is two different countries and broadcasters who have some say.