Originally Posted by eva unit zero
Scrap it all.
Make five six-team conferences.
Pacific:
Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver
Central:
Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Phoenix, St. Louis, Winnipeg
Northeast:
Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto
Atlantic:
Buffalo, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittburgh
Southeast
Carolina, Columbus, Florida, Nashville, Tampa Bay, Washington
Either run the season with 4xdivision+2xnon-division (78 games), or 6xdivision+2xnon-division (88 games). Increase roster maximum to 26 for the latter option.
Playoffs are seeded 1-16, with division winners receiving an automatic top-8 seed (but not guaranteed top 5). This allows for any potential series matchups to occur in any round, rather than the current situation which will never allow a Toronto/Montreal or Boston/Montreal finals, or any such rivalry series between close regional teams. Imagine the insanity in the Big Apple and the media if it were a New York (R) vs. New York (I) finals?
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