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What if the NHL were to simply scrap conferences altogether? You simply play in a league with divisions only. Every team plays their divisional opponent six times as they do now. They then play every other team with one home and one away game. For teams that have more than four teams in their division that leaves them with four extra games in which they play two home and two away at their biggest non-division rivalries. Detroit plays Boston three times a year, New York Rangers play Montreal three times a year, etc. Then for the playoffs all teams are re-seeded in a 1 through 16 format based on record. There would be no divisional playoff games, the best 16 teams get in and faceoff against one another.
Division Games (4 Team Divisions): 24 games/12 home, 12 away
Division Games (5 Team Divisions): 30 games/15 home, 15 away
Non-Division Games (4 and 5 teams): 52 games/26 home, 26 away against every team in the league
Non-Division Extra Games (4 Team): 4 games/2 home, two away against biggest rivals
Quote:
Atlantic-
Columbus
NY Rangers
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Central-
Chicago
Detroit
Ottawa
Toronto
Midwest-
Dallas
Minnesota
Nashville
St. Louis
Northeast-
Boston
Buffalo
NY Islanders
Montreal
(Add Quebec if they join)
Northwest-
Calgary
Colorado
Edmonton
Winnipeg
Pacific-
Anaheim
Los Angeles
Phoenix
San Jose
Vancouver
(Add Seattle if they join and move Phoenix)
Southeast-
Carolina
Florida
Pittsburgh
Tampa Bay
Washington
There is an eighty-two game formula that works with this:
Home and away four times (eight games times four opponents for thirty-two intradivision games) inside your division.
Home and away against the other twenty-five teams in the league for a total of fifty non-division games.
It comes up to a nice round 82 game season. The travel is not too bad for anyone, Detroit and Columbus kind of get their wish by playing the majority of their schedule in the eastern time zone, and by playing every team it gives a way to work an easy wildcard race. The penalty of the extra game in the division is balanced out by the added value to season ticket holders of getting to see a far greater variety of opponents otherwise.
Top two teams in each division play each other in the first round of the playoffs, and the two wildcards face each other. After the second round reseed, the new 1-seed faces the winner of the wildcard "division" series. You'd still have an East and West, but strictly in the terms of bracketing.
Conferences only. 2 home and 2 away against your conference (56 games). One home and one away against the other conference (30 more games for 86 total).
1st place in each conference plays a best of 11 for the Stanley Cup.
...Columbus over Pittsburgh in the Atlantic? Really?
...Columbus over the Islanders in the Atlantic? Really?
I'm not a huge fan of the idea, disregarding semantics about team positioning. Honestly I like the idea the NHL is pushing for the most part. I've been wanting a return to the 4 division format ever since I was a kid. Once expansion fixes the team number discrepancy (which this idea doesn't fix...the league needs to be at 28 or 32 for this to be even as well) it'll be fine.
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Last edited by Big McLargehuge: 02-27-2013 at 03:49 AM.
What if the NHL were to simply scrap conferences altogether? You simply play in a league with divisions only. Every team plays their divisional opponent six times as they do now. They then play every other team with one home and one away game. For teams that have more than four teams in their division that leaves them with four extra games in which they play two home and two away at their biggest non-division rivalries. Detroit plays Boston three times a year, New York Rangers play Montreal three times a year, etc. Then for the playoffs all teams are re-seeded in a 1 through 16 format based on record. There would be no divisional playoff games, the best 16 teams get in and faceoff against one another.
Division Games (4 Team Divisions): 24 games/12 home, 12 away
Division Games (5 Team Divisions): 30 games/15 home, 15 away
Non-Division Games (4 and 5 teams): 52 games/26 home, 26 away against every team in the league
Non-Division Extra Games (4 Team): 4 games/2 home, two away against biggest rivals
Thoughts???
Why the f### is Pittsburgh in the SE? You might as well keep them in the Atlantic or put them in the Central or the NE but not the f###ing SE.
I would love it if the playoff format allowed random matchups every year. Like say, Toronto and Montreal are in the semifinal and then they meet again the following year. But this time, it's for the Final.
I would love it if the playoff format allowed random matchups every year. Like say, Toronto and Montreal are in the semifinal and then they meet again the following year. But this time, it's for the Final.
If it were truly random, the odds of two teams meeting in consecutive seasons would be much smaller than 1%.
7 divisions? Yeah, not a fan of this idea, sorry. Anything that breaks up the Rangers and Islanders will just not work and I would likely give up my season tickets.
The fundamental problem with that is you do not have equal groups of teams that belong together.
You have 16-14 in terms of balance amongst the conferences in the current proposal. I don't see my idea as out of balance anymore so than the current realignment proposal.
What if the NHL were to simply scrap conferences altogether? You simply play in a league with divisions only. Every team plays their divisional opponent six times as they do now. They then play every other team with one home and one away game. For teams that have more than four teams in their division that leaves them with four extra games in which they play two home and two away at their biggest non-division rivalries. Detroit plays Boston three times a year, New York Rangers play Montreal three times a year, etc. Then for the playoffs all teams are re-seeded in a 1 through 16 format based on record. There would be no divisional playoff games, the best 16 teams get in and faceoff against one another.
Division Games (4 Team Divisions): 24 games/12 home, 12 away
Division Games (5 Team Divisions): 30 games/15 home, 15 away
Non-Division Games (4 and 5 teams): 52 games/26 home, 26 away against every team in the league
Non-Division Extra Games (4 Team): 4 games/2 home, two away against biggest rivals
Thoughts???
Smartest idea i have heard so far. Please fax this to the NHL.
Smartest idea i have heard so far. Please fax this to the NHL.
We used to have this just over 30 years ago. I love it cause from any year to year two teams can make the finals. Doesnt have to be an east vs west thing.
The western teams would love it because they are used to it, the Eastern teams would cry bloody murder that they too have to travel the same as the west.
