poetica Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 Realignment would mean 4 divisions The NHL is proposing a new realignment plan which would feature playoff wild-card spots plus see the league go from six divisions to four. The plan was detailed in an NHL memo sent to all 30 clubs Tuesday, which a team source leaked to ESPN.com. The new plan calls for divisional playoffs, not conference playoffs as the NHL currently has. The division winner with the most regular-season points will play the lowest-seeded wild-card team in the first round, with the other division winner playing the other wild-card team. The plan still needs approval from the NHL Players' Association plus the NHL's Board of Governors. The NHLPA and NHL have been working on these changes for the past three weeks. If approved by all parties, the plan would go into effect for next season. The Eastern Conference would feature the Atlantic and Central divisions while the Western Conference would have the Mid-West and Pacific Divisions. The Pacific Division would feature Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose and Vancouver. The Mid-West: Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis and Winnipeg. The Central: Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Toronto. The Atlantic: Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, N.Y. Islanders, N.Y. Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington. Elliotte Friedman of CBC's Hockey Night In Canada was first to report about these four new groupings over the weekend. The playoff format as detailed in the league memo Tuesday calls for the top three teams in each division to earn postseason berths. The remaining four spots would go to wild cards, the top two records in each conference. That means there's a possibility five teams make it from one division and only three from another. The schedule matrix would see each team play teams in the other conference both home and away. The NHL's 30 owners voted yes to a new realignment plan in December 2011 which was based on a four-conference format but also saw Detroit and Columbus still in the West. The change from the December 2011 configurations sees Detroit and Columbus go East plus Colorado leave the Pacific and join the Mid-West teams. The NHLPA blocked the December 2011 plan, citing travel concerns for its players plus playoff inequity of having the top four teams in each conference make the playoffs under that format, unfair for the two eight-team conferences. The changes proposed by the NHL in this realignment format come as a result of those concerns from the NHLPA, the two sides negotiating for the past three weeks on finding a better solution for realignment. The NHLPA wants to further address it with its players before consenting to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangelos Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 It doesn't work because 2 conferences have less teams than the other 2. It's an unfair advantage since your odds of making it to the playoffs are 4/7 vs 4/8. They should have 3 conferences with 10 teams in each and the top 5 from each conference make the playoffs. The 16th team to make it will be the team with the most points from either conference after those 15 teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalie13 Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 I have a feeling this may be a precursor to a relocation, and I'm not talking about Phoenix. If one team moves from the east to the west, then both sides have 15 teams. With the divisional crossover, there wouldn't be anything for people to call 'unfair' anymore. Hello Seattle Panthers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poetica Posted February 26, 2013 Share Posted February 26, 2013 It doesn't work because 2 conferences have less teams than the other 2. It's an unfair advantage since your odds of making it to the playoffs are 4/7 vs 4/8. They should have 3 conferences with 10 teams in each and the top 5 from each conference make the playoffs. The 16th team to make it will be the team with the most points from either conference after those 15 teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangelos Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 They also have to get rid of the loser point and make it like basketball. That way teams with more wins don't get knocked out of the playoffs by teams with 10 loser points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanNuck Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I imagined the easiest realignment by far would be to simply keep the same divisions, but move teams around: Move the Jets to the Northwest Conference, and then shuffle the Wild to Central. Nashville goes East to the Southeast conference (Nashville certainly is a lot closer to Washington or Raleigh than just about any two Northwest Division teams are two each other). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hudson bay rules Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Last I heard there was discussion regarding a couple of wild card spots to help make up for uneven conferences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sting Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Why is the league worrying about re-alignment when they should be doing something about the product. Referee's, Goalie equipment etc. As someone already said swap Columbus with Winnipeg until expansion and be done with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d.joh91 Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I nearly lost it when I heard the reasoning for the Lightning and Panthers being in the Central Division was because of the fans from OTHER divisional teams living in Florida... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 And it looks like the NHLPA has approved he recently proposed realignment and playoff structure. TSNBobMcKenzie "After discussions with Executive Board, NHLPA has given consent to realignment, to be re-evaluated following 2014-15 season.” - Fehr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Mauviette75 Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 And it looks like the NHLPA has approved he recently proposed realignment and playoff structure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobble Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 Seriously, why all the realignment hoopla now? Just switch Jets with Predators. BAM! Problem solved, at least a bandaid until PHX/QC and expansion are settled. Why all the extra trouble for this coming season, with uneven divisions, wild cards, etc. I for one wish Detroit stayed in the Central. Then you could have an 8 and 7 division in the West and East. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elvis15 Posted March 7, 2013 Share Posted March 7, 2013 well then... not a fan of the lopsided conferences, but i won't knock until i see it for a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blame Obama Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Atlantic Division LOL tough division Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamboni_14 Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I can't wait for this! No longer will I have to deal with the "forced rivalry" of the Wild/Nucks and have an ACTUAL rivalry again with the 'Hawks and Blues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Kneel Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 It doesn't work because 2 conferences have less teams than the other 2. It's an unfair advantage since your odds of making it to the playoffs are 4/7 vs 4/8. They should have 3 conferences with 10 teams in each and the top 5 from each conference make the playoffs. The 16th team to make it will be the team with the most points from either conference after those 15 teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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