The Pointless Realignment Outpost

[NEW.ERA]

Looks like the NHL is going in a totally different direction with realignment next season. Link.

- Four divisions: Pacific, Midwest, East, South

- It's believe either Detroit and Columbus would move to the Eastern Conference.

- Teams would play a balanced 82-game schedule with home-and-home against teams outside their division.

- The top four teams in each division would make the playoffs. The first round would be divisonal play, the teams would then re-seed for conference play. Bettman’s idea would not affect a East-West Stanley Cup final matchup.

- With 30 teams, one division in each conference will have eight squads while the other will have seven. Under the current format — two conferences and six divisions — division winners and the top five teams make the playoffs.

Let us speculate!

Pacific - Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix (8)

Midwest - Winnipeg, Minnesota, Chicago, St Louis, Dallas, Nashville, Columbus (7)

East - Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Detroit, Buffalo, NY Islanders, NY Rangers (8) All the original six teams except Chicago.

South - Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Washington, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida (7)

Just based on placement on a map and I know the NHL wants Pittsburgh and Washington together.

[loogodude90]

Looks like the NHL is going in a totally different direction with realignment next season. Link.

- Four divisions: Pacific, Midwest, East, South

- It's believe either Detroit and Columbus would move to the Eastern Conference.

- Teams would play a balanced 82-game schedule with home-and-home against teams outside their division.

- The top four teams in each division would make the playoffs. The first round would be divisonal play, the teams would then re-seed for conference play. Bettman?s idea would not affect a East-West Stanley Cup final matchup.

- With 30 teams, one division in each conference will have eight squads while the other will have seven. Under the current format ? two conferences and six divisions ? division winners and the top five teams make the playoffs.

Let us speculate!

Pacific - Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix (8)

Midwest - Winnipeg, Minnesota, Chicago, St Louis, Dallas, Nashville, Columbus (7)

East - Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Detroit, Buffalo, NY Islanders, NY Rangers (8) All the original six teams except Chicago.

South - Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Washington, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida (7)

Just based on placement on a map and I know the NHL wants Pittsburgh and Washington together.

Personally, I hope they put CLB in the East, for logic's sake.

Having PIT and WSH in the same division is a pretty good idea from a rivalry standpoint, but I don't think it makes sense geographically.

Personally (tweaking your suggestion) I would move DET to the Midwest, CLB to the South, and PIT to the East. But I favor geography over other criteria, so that might be why we would set things up differently.

Overall though, I'm more in favor of the current 5-team division system. First of all, if hurts less when your team finishes last in a 5-team division. Second of all, I feel that with smaller divisions, the inter-division rivalries become more "personal."

[crashcarson15]

Looks like the NHL is going in a totally different direction with realignment next season. Link.

- Four divisions: Pacific, Midwest, East, South

- It's believe either Detroit and Columbus would move to the Eastern Conference.

- Teams would play a balanced 82-game schedule with home-and-home against teams outside their division.

- The top four teams in each division would make the playoffs. The first round would be divisonal play, the teams would then re-seed for conference play. Bettman?s idea would not affect a East-West Stanley Cup final matchup.

- With 30 teams, one division in each conference will have eight squads while the other will have seven. Under the current format ? two conferences and six divisions ? division winners and the top five teams make the playoffs.

Let us speculate!

Pacific - Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix (8)

Midwest - Winnipeg, Minnesota, Chicago, St Louis, Dallas, Nashville, Columbus (7)

East - Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Detroit, Buffalo, NY Islanders, NY Rangers (8) All the original six teams except Chicago.

South - Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Washington, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida (7)

Just based on placement on a map and I know the NHL wants Pittsburgh and Washington together.

Personally, I hope they put CLB in the East, for logic's sake.

Having PIT and WSH in the same division is a pretty good idea from a rivalry standpoint, but I don't think it makes sense geographically.

Personally (tweaking your suggestion) I would move DET to the Midwest, CLB to the South, and PIT to the East. But I favor geography over other criteria, so that might be why we would set things up differently.

Overall though, I'm more in favor of the current 5-team division system. First of all, if hurts less when your team finishes last in a 5-team division. Second of all, I feel that with smaller divisions, the inter-division rivalries become more "personal."

As far as "geography" goes, why would you separate the Jackets and Pittsburgh? Just put 'em both in the South and you've still got 7 and 8 in the east.

[Magnus]

So that would have to format out like this, methinks:

8-team divisions

22 opponents*2=44

Division: (3*6)+(4*5)=38

(82)

7-team divisions

23 opponents*2=46

Division: 6*6=36

(82)

[DarkJourney]

But what happens if Phoenix relocates after the 2011-2012 season. Does Bettman want this team to flounder in Arizona forever? He has to put his ego aside for once. Also you could have problems with Florida or Columbus in the very near future.

I still like my plan if the Phoenix Coyotes relocate to Houston after 2011-2012. But that's still a big if.

16 teams in the East. 14 teams in the West. Yeah it's unbalanced.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic - Carolina, Florida, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Washington

Northeast - Boston, Buffalo, Columbus, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Toronto

Western Conference

Central - Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, Winnipeg

Pacific - Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver

or for :censored:s and giggles you can look way ahead and say after Phoenix moves to Houston, Florida moves to Kansas City and then Columbus moves to Quebec City.

So then you go to 15 in the East and 15 in the West:

Eastern Conference

Atlantic - Boston, Carolina, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Washington

Northeast - Buffalo, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Quebec, Toronto

Western Conference

Central - Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, Winnipeg

Pacific - Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver

[NEW.ERA]

Looks like the NHL is going in a totally different direction with realignment next season. Link.

- Four divisions: Pacific, Midwest, East, South

- It's believe either Detroit and Columbus would move to the Eastern Conference.

- Teams would play a balanced 82-game schedule with home-and-home against teams outside their division.

- The top four teams in each division would make the playoffs. The first round would be divisonal play, the teams would then re-seed for conference play. Bettman’s idea would not affect a East-West Stanley Cup final matchup.

- With 30 teams, one division in each conference will have eight squads while the other will have seven. Under the current format — two conferences and six divisions — division winners and the top five teams make the playoffs.

Let us speculate!

Pacific - Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix (8)

Midwest - Winnipeg, Minnesota, Chicago, St Louis, Dallas, Nashville, Columbus (7)

East - Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Detroit, Buffalo, NY Islanders, NY Rangers (8) All the original six teams except Chicago.

South - Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Washington, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida (7)

Just based on placement on a map and I know the NHL wants Pittsburgh and Washington together.

Personally, I hope they put CLB in the East, for logic's sake.

Having PIT and WSH in the same division is a pretty good idea from a rivalry standpoint, but I don't think it makes sense geographically.

Personally (tweaking your suggestion) I would move DET to the Midwest, CLB to the South, and PIT to the East. But I favor geography over other criteria, so that might be why we would set things up differently.

Overall though, I'm more in favor of the current 5-team division system. First of all, if hurts less when your team finishes last in a 5-team division. Second of all, I feel that with smaller divisions, the inter-division rivalries become more "personal."

As far as "geography" goes, why would you separate the Jackets and Pittsburgh? Just put 'em both in the South and you've still got 7 and 8 in the east.

Then who replaces Columbus in the midwest? Detroit would be logical, but I think they'll move them out East.

The names Pacific/Midwest/East/South are probably just placeholders because a lot of them don't make sense, it was like Carolina and Atlanta in the old NFC West. Personally I hope they go with named divisions and everyone forgets about Geography.

[BrySmalls]

NHL 2012-13

East:

1. Boston Bruins
   
2. Buffalo Sabres
   
3. Montreal Canadiens
   
4. New Jersey Devils
   
5. New York Islanders
   
6. New York Rangers
   
7. Ottawa Senators
   
8. Toronto Maple Leafs
   

South:

1. Carolina Hurricanes
   
2. Columbus Blue Jackets
   
3. Florida Panthers
   
4. Philadelphia Flyers
   
5. Pittsburgh Penguins
   
6. Tampa Bay Lightning
   
7. Washington Capitals
   

Midwest:

1. Chicago Blackhawks
   
2. Dallas Stars
   
3. Detroit Red Wings
   
4. Minnesota Wild
   
5. Nashville Predators
   
6. St. Louis Blues
   
7. Winnipeg Jets
   

Pacific:

1. Anaheim Ducks
   
2. Calgary Flames
   
3. Colorado Avalanche
   
4. Edmonton Oilers
   
5. Los Angeles Kings
   
6. Phoenix Coyotes
   
7. San Jose Sharks
   
8. Vancouver Canucks
   

[Mac the Knife]

Why go from six divisions of five to four divisions, some of seven, some of eight teams, when you could go to five divisions of six?

Atlantic:

Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers.

Eastern:

Columbus, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Washington.

Southern:

Carolina, Dallas, Florida, Nashville, St. Louis, Tampa.

Central:

Chicago, Colorado, Detroit, Minnesota, Phoenix, Winnipeg.

Pacific:

Anaheim, Calgary, Edmongton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver.

Each team plays the five opponents in its division 6 times, for 30 games. They then play home-and-home with the other 25 teams in the league, for 50 games. The last two games would be against non-divisional opponents, one at home, one on the road, with the opposition chosen at random, based on past rivalries, etc.

[loogodude90]

I still don't get why any of these suggestions are better than 6 divisions of 5. With 6 divisions of 5, you get the same number of teams in each division AND both conferences. It's really the only arrangement that satisfies both of those requirements.

If you are for doing away with divisions altogether, then that's another thing. But I've yet to see a benefit of changing the league into 4 or 5 bigger divisions.

Also, ever notice how the MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL all split into 4 or 5 team (well, 6 for the NL Central, but we all know why that was done) divisions once the team counts became 30+? That's because no one wants to see a division with 7 or 8 teams anymore if it can be avoided. It reduced the amount of inter-division rivalry in the divisions when they became that big.

[McCall]

Well according to espn, the NHL is planning on realigning according to time zones after this next season. If they mean splitting the conferences that way, all it would do would guarantee Nashville in the Western Conference, but either Detroit or Columbus into the East. Doesn't solve much, unless they plan to go 14-16, which would allow the west to have 2 divisions of 7 and the east 2 divisions of 8. Don't know if that's what they have in mind. It got me thinking, what if you took the 3 likely possible candidates for relocation, Phoenix, Columbus and Florida (I'm assuming Nashville has leveled off and is currently pretty safe), and contracted 2 of them while relocating the third to Quebec (don't know or care which team would be relocated and which 2 contracted, but for the purpose of this realignment, it doesn't really matter). That would give each conference 14 teams, which would require 2 divisions of 7, probably more appropriate than to mimic the AL and go 5-5-4. So here's how I see it going then:

Western Conference

Pacific/West: Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver

Central: St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Nashville, Winnipeg

Eastern Conference

North: Buffalo, Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Quebec, Toronto

Atlantic/East: Carolina, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Washington

As far as scheduling, the best I could come up with is 4 games against each conference team and 2 against each team in the other conference. Simple, but would only total 80 games. Kind of hard to figure out where to put those 2 games in unless they just add a game to 2 teams in the opposing conference. That would just be odd. So I don't know how others would feel about an 80 game season. I'm not a big NHL fan, so I really have no insight as to what most would want. But this is just something I came up with. Enjoy. Or don't.

[DarkJourney]

Well according to espn, the NHL is planning on realigning according to time zones after this next season. If they mean splitting the conferences that way, all it would do would guarantee Nashville in the Western Conference, but either Detroit or Columbus into the East. Doesn't solve much, unless they plan to go 14-16, which would allow the west to have 2 divisions of 7 and the east 2 divisions of 8. Don't know if that's what they have in mind. It got me thinking, what if you took the 3 likely possible candidates for relocation, Phoenix, Columbus and Florida (I'm assuming Nashville has leveled off and is currently pretty safe), and contracted 2 of them while relocating the third to Quebec (don't know or care which team would be relocated and which 2 contracted, but for the purpose of this realignment, it doesn't really matter). That would give each conference 14 teams, which would require 2 divisions of 7, probably more appropriate than to mimic the AL and go 5-5-4. So here's how I see it going then:

Western Conference

Pacific/West: Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver

Central: St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Nashville, Winnipeg

Eastern Conference

North: Buffalo, Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Quebec, Toronto

Atlantic/East: Carolina, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Washington

As far as scheduling, the best I could come up with is 4 games against each conference team and 2 against each team in the other conference. Simple, but would only total 80 games. Kind of hard to figure out where to put those 2 games in unless they just add a game to 2 teams in the opposing conference. That would just be odd. So I don't know how others would feel about an 80 game season. I'm not a big NHL fan, so I really have no insight as to what most would want. But this is just something I came up with. Enjoy. Or don't.

I see you like my realignment idea

I wouldn't be surprised to see the league just drop conferences all together and just be one league with 4 divisions.

[McCall]

Well according to espn, the NHL is planning on realigning according to time zones after this next season. If they mean splitting the conferences that way, all it would do would guarantee Nashville in the Western Conference, but either Detroit or Columbus into the East. Doesn't solve much, unless they plan to go 14-16, which would allow the west to have 2 divisions of 7 and the east 2 divisions of 8. Don't know if that's what they have in mind. It got me thinking, what if you took the 3 likely possible candidates for relocation, Phoenix, Columbus and Florida (I'm assuming Nashville has leveled off and is currently pretty safe), and contracted 2 of them while relocating the third to Quebec (don't know or care which team would be relocated and which 2 contracted, but for the purpose of this realignment, it doesn't really matter). That would give each conference 14 teams, which would require 2 divisions of 7, probably more appropriate than to mimic the AL and go 5-5-4. So here's how I see it going then:

Western Conference

Pacific/West: Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver

Central: St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Nashville, Winnipeg

Eastern Conference

North: Buffalo, Boston, Montreal, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Quebec, Toronto

Atlantic/East: Carolina, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Washington

As far as scheduling, the best I could come up with is 4 games against each conference team and 2 against each team in the other conference. Simple, but would only total 80 games. Kind of hard to figure out where to put those 2 games in unless they just add a game to 2 teams in the opposing conference. That would just be odd. So I don't know how others would feel about an 80 game season. I'm not a big NHL fan, so I really have no insight as to what most would want. But this is just something I came up with. Enjoy. Or don't.

I see you like my realignment idea

I wouldn't be surprised to see the league just drop conferences all together and just be one league with 4 divisions.

Hadn't even seen yours. But my is a little different in some areas due to the contracting of 2 teams. I think the 2 divisions per conference scenario really only works with 28 teams. I don't see them going unbalanced with 2 of 7 and 2 of 8. If they're at 30 teams, they'll at least do 6 divisions of 5.

[TheFloridianLogoMan]

I personally think they would be crazy to take Detroit out of the Western Conference, where Chicago will most likely still be.....that rivalry is just too steeped in tradition to separate....but that's just me.

[McCall]

This is a new NHL realignment relative to what they're talking about, according to time zones. Except this one has Phoenix, Columbus and Florida replaced with Houston, Kansas City and Quebec, three locations that many around here seem to mention as possible locations to get a team. With this set-up, the time zone thing actually works out even better. The article on espn.com just said four divisions, two of 7 teams, and two of 8. Not sure if the intention was to keep conferences or just go four divisions, which I think could work for the NHL. I put what the conferences would be, but named them as if they were just divisions:

(Western Conference)

WEST/Pacific (7): Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver (All 4 Pacific TZ teams and all 3 Mtn TZ teams)

CENTRAL (8): St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Minnesota, Nashville, Winnipeg (All 8 Ctrl TZ teams)

(Eastern Conference)

NORTH (7): Boston/Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec, Toronto

EAST/Atlantic (8): Carolina, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh/Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington

In this scenario, only the "West" division would involve multiple time zones, the two most western. Every team in the central time zone fits into the central division. And every eastern time zone team would fit into the Eastern Conference (if there is one), so this actually is a pretty well layed out alignment by time zones. Also, Pittsburgh and Boston are pretty interchangeable. Boston is on the Atlantic which would work in the "East" division in which all the teams are basically on the coast, and Pittsburgh works with relativity to Buffalo, Toronto and even Detroit. But if you look at a map (which I do when planning these and I would advise anyone to look at one to see the geographic structure of a realignment plan), Pittsburgh aross to NYC makes a pretty good seperation line between the Atlantic teams and the northeast teams, so with that I'd probably go Pittsburgh in the East(Atlantic) and Boston in the North.

[DarkJourney]

This is a new NHL realignment relative to what they're talking about, according to time zones. Except this one has Phoenix, Columbus and Florida replaced with Houston, Kansas City and Quebec, three locations that many around here seem to mention as possible locations to get a team. With this set-up, the time zone thing actually works out even better. The article on espn.com just said four divisions, two of 7 teams, and two of 8. Not sure if the intention was to keep conferences or just go four divisions, which I think could work for the NHL. I put what the conferences would be, but named them as if they were just divisions:

(Western Conference)

WEST/Pacific (7): Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Vancouver (All 4 Pacific TZ teams and all 3 Mtn TZ teams)

CENTRAL (8): St. Louis, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Minnesota, Nashville, Winnipeg (All 8 Ctrl TZ teams)

(Eastern Conference)

NORTH (7): Boston/Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec, Toronto

EAST/Atlantic (8): Carolina, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh/Boston, Tampa Bay, Washington

In this scenario, only the "West" division would involve multiple time zones, the two most western. Every team in the central time zone fits into the central division. And every eastern time zone team would fit into the Eastern Conference (if there is one), so this actually is a pretty well layed out alignment by time zones. Also, Pittsburgh and Boston are pretty interchangeable. Boston is on the Atlantic which would work in the "East" division in which all the teams are basically on the coast, and Pittsburgh works with relativity to Buffalo, Toronto and even Detroit. But if you look at a map (which I do when planning these and I would advise anyone to look at one to see the geographic structure of a realignment plan), Pittsburgh aross to NYC makes a pretty good seperation line between the Atlantic teams and the northeast teams, so with that I'd probably go Pittsburgh in the East(Atlantic) and Boston in the North.

My plan is pretty much identical to yours with Phoenix to Houston, Florida to Kansas City and Columbus to Quebec. I would have Boston in the Atlantic and Pittsburgh in the Northeast. I'm still not sure if Kansas City will end up with a team (to be honest I don't think they ever will).

[fishheatcats]

The best solution IMO, if they really want to shake things up, is to do away with division all together. Play two conferences of 15, East/West. 4 games vs. every other team in conference(2 home/2 away) for 56 games. 2 games vs. the other conference(1 home/1 away) for a grand total of 86 games. Only four more games on the schedule and you get a more balanced regular season, and therefore a more accurate seeding.

EAST: Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Boston, Montréal, Toronto, Ottawa, Columbus, Buffalo

WEST: Dallas, St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, San Jose, Los Angeles, Colorado, Phoenix, Anaheim, Nashville

As far as rivalries go, 4 games a year(not counting playoffs) is plenty. Most soccer leagues around the world play perfectly balanced schedules with only 2 games a year vs. every other team, and those rivalries seem to do just fine(and they don't have playoffs).

[McCall]

The best solution IMO, if they really want to shake things up, is to do away with division all together. Play two conferences of 15, East/West. 4 games vs. every other team in conference(2 home/2 away) for 56 games. 2 games vs. the other conference(1 home/1 away) for a grand total of 86 games. Only four more games on the schedule and you get a more balanced regular season, and therefore a more accurate seeding.

EAST: Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Boston, Montréal, Toronto, Ottawa, Columbus, Buffalo

WEST: Dallas, St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, San Jose, Los Angeles, Colorado, Phoenix, Anaheim, Nashville

As far as rivalries go, 4 games a year(not counting playoffs) is plenty. Most soccer leagues around the world play perfectly balanced schedules with only 2 games a year vs. every other team, and those rivalries seem to do just fine(and they don't have playoffs).

Same reason this wouldn't work in baseball; who's gonna want to go watch a 15th place team? A number of teams would be out of contention a lot earlier in the season. Divisions allow teams to be competitive, or at least feel like they have a shot, deeper into the season. 7 or 8 team divisions are still kind if high numbered, especially for a 30 team league, but they're still much better than a single 15 team conference/division.

[fishheatcats]

The best solution IMO, if they really want to shake things up, is to do away with division all together. Play two conferences of 15, East/West. 4 games vs. every other team in conference(2 home/2 away) for 56 games. 2 games vs. the other conference(1 home/1 away) for a grand total of 86 games. Only four more games on the schedule and you get a more balanced regular season, and therefore a more accurate seeding.

EAST: Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Washington, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Boston, Montréal, Toronto, Ottawa, Columbus, Buffalo

WEST: Dallas, St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago, Minnesota, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, San Jose, Los Angeles, Colorado, Phoenix, Anaheim, Nashville

As far as rivalries go, 4 games a year(not counting playoffs) is plenty. Most soccer leagues around the world play perfectly balanced schedules with only 2 games a year vs. every other team, and those rivalries seem to do just fine(and they don't have playoffs).

Same reason this wouldn't work in baseball; who's gonna want to go watch a 15th place team? A number of teams would be out of contention a lot earlier in the season. Divisions allow teams to be competitive, or at least feel like they have a shot, deeper into the season. 7 or 8 team divisions are still kind if high numbered, especially for a 30 team league, but they're still much better than a single 15 team conference/division.

I dunno, to me, if you suck you suck. Is there that much difference between being 15th place in a conference or 6th in a division? You're still in the cellar, and everyone knows where they stand in the conference playoff positioning anyway(what really matters). In baseball it's different since only 4 teams get into the playoffs, but in hockey you really have to be a bad team to miss the playoffs(like my Panthers), so the divisions really do accomplish nothing except try to manufacture rivalries(like in the Southeast).

As a fan I'd rather see a fair draw in the playoffs than one or two teams getting better seeds because they won a weak division. I'd also like to see more teams more often in town as opposed to the same clubs over and over again.

[Top Shelf]

IMO, this would be the ideal alignment if the league goes to four divisuons:

If Detroit Moves to the East

Prince of Wales Conference

Jack Adams Division

Boston

Buffalo

Detroit

Montreal

Ottawa

Pittsburgh

Toronto

Lester Patrick Division

Carolina

Florida

New Jersey

NY Islanders

NY Rangers

Philadelphia

Tampa Bay

Washington

Clarence S. Campbell Conference

James Norris Division

Chicago

Columbus

Dallas

Minnesota

Nashville

St. Louis

Winnipeg

Conn Smythe Division

Anaheim

Calgary

Colorado

Edmonton

Los Angeles

Phoenix

San Jose

Vancouver

If Columbus Moves to the East

Prince of Wales Conference

Jack Adams Division

Boston

Buffalo

Montreal

New Jersey

NY Islanders

NY Rangers

Ottawa

Toronto

Lester Patrick Division

Carolina

Columbus

Florida

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

Tampa Bay

Washington

Clarence S. Campbell Conference

James Norris Division

Chicago

Dallas

Detroit

Minnesota

Nashville

St. Louis

Winnipeg

Conn Smythe Division

Anaheim

Calgary

Colorado

Edmonton

Los Angeles

Phoenix

San Jose

Vancouver

[McCall]

IMO, this would be the ideal alignment if the league goes to four divisuons:

If Detroit Moves to the East

Prince of Wales Conference

Jack Adams Division

Boston

Buffalo

Detroit

Montreal

Ottawa

Pittsburgh

Toronto

Lester Patrick Division

Carolina

Florida

New Jersey

NY Islanders

NY Rangers

Philadelphia

Tampa Bay

Washington

Clarence S. Campbell Conference

James Norris Division

Chicago

Columbus

Dallas

Minnesota

Nashville

St. Louis

Winnipeg

Conn Smythe Division

Anaheim

Calgary

Colorado

Edmonton

Los Angeles

Phoenix

San Jose

Vancouver

If Columbus Moves to the East

Prince of Wales Conference

Jack Adams Division

Boston

Buffalo

Montreal

New Jersey

NY Islanders

NY Rangers

Ottawa

Toronto

Lester Patrick Division

Carolina

Columbus

Florida

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

Tampa Bay

Washington

Clarence S. Campbell Conference

James Norris Division

Chicago

Dallas

Detroit

Minnesota

Nashville

St. Louis

Winnipeg

Conn Smythe Division

Anaheim

Calgary

Colorado

Edmonton

Los Angeles

Phoenix

San Jose

Vancouver

Thanks for putting my plan into illustration.

No but seriously, I think that multiple people have come up with this idea shows that this is a very obvious no brainer plan... Which means they'll screw it somehow.