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NHL realignment

waitin425

waitin425

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Jan 10, 2009
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I apologize for the long winded post

I really hope the NHL takes a hard look realignment in the next GM meetings and bargaining with the NHLPA.

This is what I would like to see. I see benefits in this for the fans, as it creates more regional rivalries.

First off, I would start the season with a new starting weekend on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. I am sick of pre-season hockey and there is nothing more I would want to see this weekend, then a Saturday night Habs vs Leafs game at 7 pm and a 10 pm Flames vs Oilers game, a Sunday filled with football and then Monday afternoon NHL action with Habs vs Boston at noon, Leafs vs Sens at 3 and westcoast games staggered in the afternoon before 830 NFL kickoff. Teams are ready to start anyways. We don't need any more pre-season action. Leftover turkey sandwiches and a day of sports is what I'm talking about. The season could still end where it does if we just started a few days earlier.

So on to the Divisions.

This would be the schedule for the Habs and shows their total games vs their Division, their Conference and the opposite conference. Substitute your team as necessary and follow the same format. In order to make the numbers work, teams play inter Division rivals the most, and then get matched up with another division within their conference for the second most games. I would match the Northeast/Metro, Southeast/Capital, Great Lakes/Midwest and Southwest/Northwest. Every team arena is visited by each team. Admittedly I struggled with Detroit moving over to Western Conference and away from Leafs and Habs as I see some rivalry history there, but decided this made the most sense for travel.

Another consideration was obviously travel. Poor NE and Metro teams don't get as many southern trips to the nice weather. But the limited travelling makes the most sense.

Eastern Conference

Northeast Division
Habs
Leafs - 6 games
Sens - 6 games
Bruins - 6 games

Southeast Division
Lightning - 2 games
Panthers - 2 games
Carolina - 2 games
Nashville - 2 games

Capital Division
Philly - 2 games
Pitts - 2 games
Columbus - 2 games
Washington - 2 games

Metro Division
Rangers - 4 games
Isles - 4 games
Jersey - 4 games
Sabres - 4 games

Western Conference

Great Lakes Division
Chicago - 2 games
Detroit - 2 games
Minnesota - 2 games
Winnipeg - 2 games

Midwest Division
St Louis - 2 games
Colorado - 2 games
Arizona/Houston - 2 games
Dallas - 2 games

***Sorry writing is on the wall for Arizona at this point. If they end up in Atlanta, Nashville stays in Midwest Division and Atlanta goes over to Southeast.....I like Detroit being matched up with Chicago for rivalry purpose. They also get Colorado for 4 games****

Southwest Division
San Jose - 2 games
LA - 2 games
Anaheim - 2 games
Vegas - 2 games

Northwest Division
Edmonton - 2 games
Calgary - 2 games
Vancouver - 2 games
Seattle - 2 games


Playoffs

Only 2 teams per division make the playoffs and they are ranked within their conference 1-8 based off points. Tie breakers starts with head to head and in case of further tie, goes to Division total points.

Bottom line for me. 3 games against the Laffs truly sucks this year as a Habs fan. The NHL needs to promote the current rivalries that exist within the sport.

Have at it everyone. Rip it apart.
NHL realignment.png
 
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I've said this many times and people lose their mind every time, but I'd really like to see NHL Europe's top soccer leagues do, and just have every team face each other twice, once at home and once on the road. Switch to the obviously better 3 point games as well, and regular season games will actually feel like they matter, rather than you going "eh, there's another game tonight".

Most importantly it would stop the annoying fights here about teams picking up points against shitty teams because everyone would face the same teams over the, now 62 game regular season. Divisions can be scrapped completely and then just align the conferences in a way that makes the most sense for a 1-8 seed playoff format.
 
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JoVel said:
I've said this many times and people lose their mind every time, but I'd really like to see NHL Europe's top soccer leagues do, and just have every team face each other twice, once at home and once on the road. Switch to the obviously better 3 point games as well, and regular season games will actually feel like they matter, rather than you going "eh, there's another game tonight".

Most importantly it would stop the annoying fights here about teams picking up points against shitty teams because everyone would face the same teams over the, now 62 game regular season. Divisions can be scrapped completely and then just align the conferences in a way that makes the most sense for a 1-8 seed playoff format.
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They're definitely not going to chop off ~10 home game gate revenue opportunities. That is one thing I am certain of.
 
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JoVel said:
I've said this many times and people lose their mind every time, but I'd really like to see NHL Europe's top soccer leagues do, and just have every team face each other twice, once at home and once on the road. Switch to the obviously better 3 point games as well, and regular season games will actually feel like they matter, rather than you going "eh, there's another game tonight".

Most importantly it would stop the annoying fights here about teams picking up points against shitty teams because everyone would face the same teams over the, now 62 game regular season. Divisions can be scrapped completely and then just align the conferences in a way that makes the most sense for a 1-8 seed playoff format.
Click to expand...
That's because we're not in Europe. If we were in Europe and somebody started saying "well, why don't you do it like they do it the American leagues?" I don't think that would have a positive response.

Edit: And as far as the OP goes. Please stop trying to make with the forced rivalries. That's not why I like this sport. I like the competition in pursuit of the Stanley Cup. Rivalries are nice buy product of that. One of many. It's not the main thing. Leave the schedule alone. I don't need to see one team 6 times a year. That took away from my entertainment after a while, when they had it in the past. It didn't enhance it.
 
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Dr Jan Itor said:
They're definitely not going to chop off ~10 home game gate revenue opportunities. That is one thing I am certain of.
Click to expand...
Yeah I know but one can dream.
Howboutthempanthers said:
That's because we're not in Europe. If we were in Europe and somebody started saying "well, why don't you do it like they do it the American leagues?" I don't think that would have a positive response.
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So if there was a North American league that did that and I used that as an example it would've been a more convincing argument? You just latched onto the most irrelevant point of my post and somehow made it into a NA vs Europe debate.
 
Viqsi said:
Detroit will never accept being put back in the West and its time zone shenanigans. They fought hard (as did Columbus) to never have to go through that ever again.
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Admittedly I considered travel, but didn't look at Time zones. That being said, the teams the 3 teams in their division would only be a 1 hour time difference. They would play in the midwest 8 times (+1 for everyone except Colorado).

Everywhere else would only be 1 game....whether it is LA or NY. Would be interesting to breakdown their current travel vs this and see total games outside their timezone vs each plan.
 
JoVel said:
I've said this many times and people lose their mind every time, but I'd really like to see NHL Europe's top soccer leagues do, and just have every team face each other twice, once at home and once on the road. Switch to the obviously better 3 point games as well, and regular season games will actually feel like they matter, rather than you going "eh, there's another game tonight".

Most importantly it would stop the annoying fights here about teams picking up points against shitty teams because everyone would face the same teams over the, now 62 game regular season. Divisions can be scrapped completely and then just align the conferences in a way that makes the most sense for a 1-8 seed playoff format.
Click to expand...

We don’t lose our minds, we just point out that the NHL will not shorten the regular season because of money. Nothing wrong with your suggestion, just don’t see it happening.
 
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I'd love something more like MLB, where the conferences aren't geographically based although the divisions are. Randomly choose 16 teams across the continent for each conference, divide them both into eastern and western divisions, and profit.

Call them the Wales and Campbell conferences, with two divisions of eight teams each.

Off the top of my head:

Wales East - Montreal, Boston, Toronto, Rangers, Carolina, Columbus, Detroit, Washington
Wales West - Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis, Winnipeg, Nashville, Vegas, Calgary, Edmonton
Campbell East - Buffalo, Ottawa, Tampa, Florida, Devils, Islanders, Pittsburgh, Philly
Campbell West - Anaheim, Kings, Vancouver, Sharks, Arizona, Minnesota, Colorado, Seattle
 
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waitin425 said:
I apologize for the long winded post

I really hope the NHL takes a hard look realignment in the next GM meetings and bargaining with the NHLPA.

This is what I would like to see. I see benefits in this for the fans, as it creates more regional rivalries.

First off, I would start the season with a new starting weekend on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. I am sick of pre-season hockey and there is nothing more I would want to see this weekend, then a Saturday night Habs vs Leafs game at 7 pm and a 10 pm Flames vs Oilers game, a Sunday filled with football and then Monday afternoon NHL action with Habs vs Boston at noon, Leafs vs Sens at 3 and westcoast games staggered in the afternoon before 830 NFL kickoff. Teams are ready to start anyways. We don't need any more pre-season action. Leftover turkey sandwiches and a day of sports is what I'm talking about. The season could still end where it does if we just started a few days earlier.

So on to the Divisions.

This would be the schedule for the Habs and shows their total games vs their Division, their Conference and the opposite conference. Substitute your team as necessary and follow the same format. In order to make the numbers work, teams play inter Division rivals the most, and then get matched up with another division within their conference for the second most games. I would match the Northeast/Metro, Southeast/Capital, Great Lakes/Midwest and Southwest/Northwest. Every team arena is visited by each team. Admittedly I struggled with Detroit moving over to Western Conference and away from Leafs and Habs as I see some rivalry history there, but decided this made the most sense for travel.

Another consideration was obviously travel. Poor NE and Metro teams don't get as many southern trips to the nice weather. But the limited travelling makes the most sense.

Eastern Conference

Northeast Division
Habs
Leafs - 6 games
Sens - 6 games
Bruins - 6 games

Southeast Division
Lightning - 2 games
Panthers - 2 games
Carolina - 2 games
Nashville - 2 games

Capital Division
Philly - 2 games
Pitts - 2 games
Columbus - 2 games
Washington - 2 games

Metro Division
Rangers - 4 games
Isles - 4 games
Jersey - 4 games
Sabres - 4 games

Western Conference

Great Lakes Division
Chicago - 2 games
Detroit - 2 games
Minnesota - 2 games
Winnipeg - 2 games

Midwest Division
St Louis - 2 games
Colorado - 2 games
Arizona/Houston - 2 games
Dallas - 2 games

***Sorry writing is on the wall for Arizona at this point. If they end up in Atlanta, Nashville stays in Midwest Division and Atlanta goes over to Southeast.....I like Detroit being matched up with Chicago for rivalry purpose. They also get Colorado for 4 games****

Southwest Division
San Jose - 2 games
LA - 2 games
Anaheim - 2 games
Vegas - 2 games

Northwest Division
Edmonton - 2 games
Calgary - 2 games
Vancouver - 2 games
Seattle - 2 games


Playoffs

Only 2 teams per division make the playoffs and they are ranked within their conference 1-8 based off points. Tie breakers starts with head to head and in case of further tie, goes to Division total points.

Bottom line for me. 3 games against the Laffs truly sucks this year as a Habs fan. The NHL needs to promote the current rivalries that exist within the sport.

Have at it everyone. Rip it apart.
View attachment 749525
Click to expand...

It's fine right now
 
I am not a fan of the need for every team to play in every arena every year. Want to help deal with travel? Eastern teams only play western teams once per year. Buffalo travels to edmonton to play them once this year, next year edmonton travels to Buffalo to play them for the one game. Use those extra games to increase the divisional games. Nobody cares if Ottawa plays San Jose twice in the regular season, but everyone wants to see inter divisional games as much as possible. The NFL does fine not forcing every team to play in every arena every year. This will also help viewers by having less games at awkward times due to the time zones. It will also help rivalries.
 
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I love rivalries. It’s a damn travesty that Toronto and MTL only play 3 times so that each team can get an extra game against Seattle or some such other nonsense. Only 1 game in Montreal, what a joke NHL!
 
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Thank you for removing the terribly fitting Atlantic division... but then create an as unwitting Midwest division with 1 team in the midest
 
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Mattilaus said:
I am not a fan of the need for every team to play in every arena every year. Want to help deal with travel? Eastern teams only play western teams once per year. Buffalo travels to edmonton to play them once this year, next year edmonton travels to Buffalo to play them for the one game. Use those extra games to increase the divisional games. Nobody cares if Ottawa plays San Jose twice in the regular season, but everyone wants to see inter divisional games as much as possible. The NFL does fine not forcing every team to play in every arena every year. This will also help viewers by having less games at awkward times due to the time zones. It will also help rivalries.
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I don't mind this idea. Once per year, rotate home/away each year. Not bad.
 
squashmaple said:
I'd love something more like MLB, where the conferences aren't geographically based although the divisions are. Randomly choose 16 teams across the continent for each conference, divide them both into eastern and western divisions, and profit.

Call them the Wales and Campbell conferences, with two divisions of eight teams each.

Off the top of my head:

Wales East - Montreal, Boston, Toronto, Rangers, Carolina, Columbus, Detroit, Washington
Wales West - Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis, Winnipeg, Nashville, Vegas, Calgary, Edmonton
Campbell East - Buffalo, Ottawa, Tampa, Florida, Devils, Islanders, Pittsburgh, Philly
Campbell West - Anaheim, Kings, Vancouver, Sharks, Arizona, Minnesota, Colorado, Seattle
Click to expand...
Anytime anyone suggests separating the Rangers from the Islanders and the Devils shows that they don't take business into consideration when thinking these through
 
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ClydeLee said:
Thank you for removing the terribly fitting Atlantic division... but then create an as unwitting Midwest division with 1 team in the midest
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Okay....call it Southern Division for all I care. My point was more geographical as oppose to the name. Or Middle America Division.
 
I would keep it mainly as it is, with one major difference: I don't understand the eastern divisions right now. Surely it would make more sense to have these divisions:

"East Central": CAR, TB, FLA, PIT, DET, WSH, PHI, CBJ
"North Eastern": BOS, NJ, TOR, NYR, NYI, BUF, OTT, MTL

EDIT: Why are the Florida teams in the Atlantic anyway? Is it to try and minimise the disparities in travel costs?
 
It’s hard to do 4 team divisions. For instance the Flyers are as much rivals with the Devils and Rangers as they are the Penguins. Philly is much closer to NYC than it is Pittsburgh despite Philly and Pittsburgh being in the same state.

Same with Buffalo and the New York City teams. Buffalo is in New York State. But NYC is closer to Philly, Washington and Boston than it is Buffalo. Buffalo and the Rangers/Islanders/Devils have never really been rivals. They have almost always been in different divisions except for the Covid year.

You also have Chicago and St. Louis in separate divisions which is a no go.

The alignment is currently fine. Honestly they need to just cut down on the number of inter-conference games. Then you can play your division more and the schedule has more games that directly impact the playoff race.
 
The same reason Detroit does not want to go west, Nashville will not want to go east.

Any attempt at realignment needs to start with looking at time zones. All of the teams in the Eastern Conference are in the Eastern Time zone, and none of the teams in the Western Conference are, so the teams in the Eastern Conference is pretty much set. The only way to realign the Eastern Conference (which I actually would like to see) would be more north-south. I.e.:

Northeast
Boston
Montreal
Ottawa
Toronto
Rangers
Isles
Jersey
Buffalo

Southeast:
Phily
Pittsburg
Detriot
Columbus
Washington
Carolina
Tampa
Florida

The Western Conference is slightly more complicated with three time zones, but you have:

Pacific Time (6 teams):
Vancouver
Seattle
San Jose
LA
Anaheim
Vegas

And Central Time: (6 teams):
Chicago
St. Louis
Dallas
Nashville
Winnipeg
Minnesota

Which should not be in the same division. Which leaves the four Mountain Time zone teams in the middle (Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado and Arizona) to divvy up. Keeping the Alberta teams together and existing rivalries, -- there's no reason to change the Western Conference at all.
 
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Roomtemperature said:
Anytime anyone suggests separating the Rangers from the Islanders and the Devils shows that they don't take business into consideration when thinking these through
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I was thinking like with MLB, where teams in close geographical proximity are usualy split between the two leagues. I kept the Rangers specifically with the other Original 6 teams (and notice the sixth one that's in the west is also in the same conference). Notice that every other conceivable rivalry is preserved.
 
Always volunteering Detroit to move. Montreal would make as much sense as Detroit in that Great Lakes division. Montreal might even be as close, if not closer, to a Great Lake, than Winnipeg.

There's no reason the two conferences, should they have to remain East and the whatever is left over conference, aka the "West", even though many of the cities making up the West aren't really considered west, have to be aligned the same way. If the two conferences exist in two different geographic realities, and they do, why does every division in the league have to contain an equal amount of teams?

The East can be their little 4 team compact divisions, including all ETZ teams, while the West, if they want to, can remain at 8 teams. What difference does it make? The playoffs don't crisscross conferences.
 
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