Realignment is HERE (BOG APPROVED, Post #87)
 

We've been hearing rumblings for over a year now and after the NHLPA rejected the NHL's proposal last year it seems as if they're about to reach an agreement on realigning the league into four separate conferences:

The top four from each conference would make the playoffs and play against each other.. The conference champions would then play in some sort of final four from there.

Interesting thing here is it leaves room for a couple relocation and expansion moves like Phoenix moving to Seattle and expansion into Quebec City and Toronto area.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/i...ment-is-coming

Excellent news. Always loved a divisional playoff format

That isn't necessarily the alignment. The part you quoted was just ESPN rehashing what the BOG proposed over a year ago.

Since I already assumed that we would continue to be in a conference with our current division teams, I got hopeful for a second when I saw we were in a 7 team conference rather than an 8 until I saw that this was the 2011 proposal. Hopefully it stays the same.

7 teams is very good news. I like that we add 2 crap teams, instead of adding a team like Boston.

Rangers Pitt Devils are playoff teams every year for the foreseeable future. That leaves us Carolina, Flyers, and Washington. I get that our division now is ridiculously tough but the future looks pretty tough with that division too.

That old proposal really does make sense. It was speculated that the reason the NHLPA rejected the proposal last season was for a bargaining chip going into the new CBA. With that setup, it sets up for expansion to 32 teams in the league. If you believe what they say about Detroit being promised to be put in the east, I wouldn't be surprised to see them end up in our conference.
With something looking like this after expansion.
Conference A
Anaheim
Calgary
Colorado
Edmonton
Los Angeles
Phoenix(Seattle?)
San Jose
Vancouver

Conference B
Chicago
Columbus
Dallas
Minnesota
Nashville
St. Louis
Winnipeg
Expansion team

Conference C
Boston
Buffalo
Florida
Montreal
Ottawa
Quebec?
Tampa Bay
Toronto

Conference D
Carolina
Detroit
New Jersey
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Washington

I like the way it is now too. I really hope this isn't the realignment because we won't touch playoffs IMO.

Flyers are a better team than us now.


Washington is better than us now too.


Carolina is also better. Now in the Brooklyn years its still tough to make it. Why do they want to change it anyway? Traveling?

Well basically, they have to accommodate Winnipeg playing in the Southeast division. I always thought it was simple enough to move Nashville to the Southeast, Minnesota to the Central, and then place Winnipeg in the Northwest.

I am not a fan of this. 2 main reasons:

1. If they make it so the top 4 in the conference make the playoffs, they need to add wild cards. Make it top 3 in each conference and then 4 wild cards or something. It is unfair to teams in a strong division. Every single year teams with better point totals are going to be left out of the playoffs compared to playoff teams in another conference. I know this exists with the two conferences already, but why maximize that? This is the reason why the other 2 sports that award playoffs based on division winners (MLB, NFL) have wild cards. They even added a wild card in the MLB because teams like the Blue Jays hardly stand a chance. They can win 90 games and come in 4th in the division and never sniff the playoffs. The idea is to balance.

2. I don't like playing out of your division in the playoffs to start. I get it, there will be playoff rivalries every year. But it prevents the possibility of these happening in the late rounds. So Devils/Rags in ECF last year never happens again? Not a fan.

Conference C
Boston
Buffalo
Florida
Montreal
Ottawa
Tampa Bay
Toronto

Conference D
Carolina
New Jersey
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Washington


That C Conference makes absolutely no sense. Why does Carolina go in Conference D? Wouldn't they still be suited to be in the same conference as Tampa and Florida?

I think the whole Detroit to the eastern conference thing was based off of the two conference system. They're in the eastern time zone so their away games were always having really late start times, I think with the proposed/suggested lineup they wouldn't complain.. Moving them into this conference you suggest would be a pain travel wise for them so I really don't see that happening at all.

Where does Hartford fit in when the NHL returns to Connecticut?......I can still dream , can't I?

This whole thing is ridiculous. The fix is VERY easy to do:

-Move Winnipeg to the Central
-Move Nashville to the Southeast.


Was that really so complicated?

In order to win the Stanley Cup you need to beat everybody anyway.. For that reason I don't really care about what division we're in, or whose in it with us..

Detroit took a bullet for the NHL in re-alignment in the past, and it was promised to them that they'd be taken care of down the road..

Not to mention Nashville doesn't want to be in a conference with no other teams in the Central Time Zone.

Although I don't think Detroit will be moving either. They're not going to take them away from Chicago and St. Louis. If anything they'd move other ETZ teams like Toronto or Pittsburgh into a Central Division to ease the Wings travel some.

If we kept the current divisions, Winnipeg would prefer to move to the Northwest where they have natural rivals in Minnesota and the other 3 Western Canadian clubs. But for that to happen you'd likely have to move Vancouver to the Pacific by moving Dallas out to the Central and then by default almost, put Columbus in the Southeast.

I truly see your point about Carolina but who else fits in our division? Montreal/Boston/Toronto/Buffalo are big rivalries and i don't see them coming to the D division. Ottawa being a Canadian team has to stay and breaking up 1 of the Florida teams won't work, Carolina is the only option i see. Also remember rivalries do play a huge roll in terms of realignment just look at the NFL east. Dallas is in a division with the Giants,Redskins, and Eagles and considering there are so many teams closer in the NFC to those 3 (even Carolina in football) the travelling was not obviously a factor.

Call me nuts but watching the Islanders since the late 80's i really miss the Caps in our division..The Easter epic and the Dale Hunter incident are some of my most memorable memories lol

But then again, a kid following Detroit can watch the games. In full. Try being a kid idolizing the DRW and having a huge chunk of games starting at 10PM EST.

It sucks.

I'd love to have DRW in the east. Toronto totally screwed those fans.....but then again, they had the Avs rivalry all those years.

can we trade WSH for the CBJ??

Completely 100% agree.. My point wasnt pertaining to the situation we are in now (2 conferences) I was talking about the proposed conference alignment of:

Chicago
Columbus
Dallas
Detroit
Minnesota
Nashville
St. Louis
Winnipeg

Where all of the teams excepts Detroit and Columbus are in the central time zone the latest most of your games will start is an hour later.. I just don't see a spot for Detroit in the eastern two conferences that makes sense time zone and travel wise if this is the relaignment proposal they're definitely set on.

While I am a huge fan of bringing back the division format, you can pretty much kiss the playoffs goodbye for a long ass time.

Couldn't agree more. This team is already dead in the Atlantic now. With that proposal the Isles will be lucky to get out of the basement. All those teams are light years ahead of this trainwreck, Brookyln or no Brooklyn. I wouldn't be suprised if the playoff drought lasts 10+ years extending the first round win drought to 25+... Pathetic!!!:shakehead

You're right in that there really is little or no other way. I can't imagine the Florida teams will like the extended travel up north to play divisional games. I'm also a little selfish in that I want to see the Isles and Lightning as much as possible.

I wonder what Garth and Wang think about this realignment.

For geographic & travel reasons, they should swap the Islanders and Rangers with Tampa Bay and Florida.

Conference C
Boston
Buffalo
New York Islanders
Montreal
Ottawa
Quebec?
New York Rangers
Toronto

Conference D
Carolina
Detroit
New Jersey
Florida
Tampa Bay
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Washington

While I would much rather see this, it has ZERO chance of happening. No way the Devils-Rags, Rags-Philly get split up. Would love to see it but it will never happen.