Report: NHL eyes divisional, playoff overhaul

[Viper]

If Pittsburgh moves to Kansas City, they'd be in the new Central while Detroit would join the new Northeast with the current members of the Northeast plus..............?????

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

I wish we could get Minnesota, Detroit, Chicago, Toronto, and St. Louis together to recapture the black-and-blue Norris Division.

I'm with you there. I always thought it was daft for the NHL (and for that matter the NBA) to put Minnesota's team in a division with teams out west, instead of Minnesota's traditional geographical rivals in other sports. Reuniting the Wild with the Blues, Hawks and Wings is the one thing I like about the proposed four-division realignment.

Personally I'd like the NHL to go with an NFL-style realignment. Instead of Eastern and Western Conferences, have a National and American conference. (They can be named something different, like Campbell and Wales, but here I'll call them National and American.) They would be roughly analogous to the NFC and AFC in the NFL. The National Conference would consist mainly of traditional hockey markets (at a minimum the Original Six teams, the other Canadian teams and Minnesota), plus some western teams to give it some geographical balance. The American Conference would consist mainly of newer clubs, such as most of the Sun Belt teams.

Also I wouldn't mind seeing the divisions de-emphasized, if not eliminated altogether. Since conference placement is what really matters for getting into the playoffs, all the divisions really do is ensure that at least one team from each geographical region of the continent gets in. But with eight playoff teams per conference, that's pretty much bound to happen anyway.

Edited to add: I also find it interesting that they're considering a realignment scheme with unbalanced divisions (two divisions with eight teams each, and two with seven). Does this mean they have an eye toward another round of expansion in the near future (which would re-balance the divisions) - or even contraction? Maybe the Pens won't go anywhere, but just disappear along with some other team. (The Panthers may be a good candidate.) That way there's a chance Sid Crosby could end up with a larger-market team, so I wouldn't put it past the NHL to go that route.

[Viper]

Here's another proposal I saw on Espn. com that included the Pens staying in Pittsburgh and putting Atlanta in the Western Conference:

Eastern Conference

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

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

Western Conference

Central - Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis

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

Atlanta in the West!? WTF?

[CMUBrent]

If the Pens do move to Kansas City the line-up could look like this:

Eastern Conference

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

Northeast - Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Washington

Western Conference

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

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

I like your version of the new Northeast. Maybe it's the traditionalist in me, but I would rather see the Wings play Toronto, Montreal and Boston instead of Columbus, St. Louis and Nashville over and over and over again.

Yeah, the Wings would probably only play Colorado 1-2 times a year, but IMO that rivalry has been dead since Patrick Roy retired. It just isn't the same anymore.

[HedleyLamarr]

Here's another proposal I saw on Espn. com that included the Pens staying in Pittsburgh and putting Atlanta in the Western Conference:

Eastern Conference

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

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

Western Conference

Central - Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis

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

Atlanta in the West!? WTF?

Wouldn't be the first time....the Braves and Falcons also played in the West. Oddly enough, other Western teams in sports history included the Carolina Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Tampa Bay Bucs. These teams headed east to play teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago Cubs.

[WJMorris3]

Here's another proposal I saw on Espn. com that included the Pens staying in Pittsburgh and putting Atlanta in the Western Conference:

Eastern Conference

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

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

Western Conference

Central - Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis

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

Atlanta in the West!? WTF?

Wouldn't be the first time....the Braves and Falcons also played in the West. Oddly enough, other Western teams in sports history included the Carolina Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Tampa Bay Bucs. These teams headed east to play teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago Cubs.

Nevermind the fact that Tampa Bay and Jacksonville were supposedly in the center of the country.

[amfleisch]

this was on yahoo.......

NHL contemplating idea of cutting divisions from six to four

PIERRE LEBRUN

December 22, 2006

(CP) - Right now it's only a concept and may not even make it to a vote next month at the NHL's board of governors, but the league is floating the idea of cutting its divisions down from six to four, sources confirmed to The Canadian Press on Friday.

The massive overhaul, which features the Atlanta Thrashers and Columbus Blue Jackets switching conferences, was discussed Wednesday in New York when governors representing all six divisions met with commissioner Gary Bettman to try and find a solution to the ongoing schedule conflict.

Over the next few weeks, governors and GMs will be asked to look it over and decide whether it's worth a vote. Public reaction, especially in the media, will also factor in to whether it makes it to a vote at the board of governors meeting in Dallas next month.

The concept goes as follows:

-Four divisions instead of six. The Eastern and Western Conferences would each have eight-and seven-team divisions;

-Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose, Colorado and Phoenix would make up the eight-team division in the Western Conference. The seven-team division would feature Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, Dallas, Minnesota and Eastern Conference newcomer Atlanta;

-The new divisions in the East: one would feature Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Buffalo, Boston, Pittsburgh and Western Conference alumni Columbus. The other division would include the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington, Tampa Bay, Florida and Carolina. The Caps rejoining their old Patrick Division rivals was a popular sentiment at Wednesday's meeting;

-The divisions would be more sensitive to time zones with a huge consideration to TV start times. More games in the same time zone means less games at odd start times for viewers. This would also cut down on travel;

-The top four playoff seeds would come from the top two teams in each division. Four wild-card playoff berths would then be battled among the teams with the next highest point totals. So it would remain eight playoff teams in each conference.

A source stressed Friday that the idea still needs to marinade among team executives over the next few weeks. One GM contacted Friday by CP didn't even know about it yet.

What remains to be seen is how the Thrashers and Jackets will feel about switching conferences. For Columbus, it appears to make sense to be in the same division as Ohio-based Pittsburgh - although who knows where the Penguins end up next season.

Thrashers general manager Don Waddell said the proposal was news to him.

"We have not yet been approached by anyone associated with the league regarding switching divisions and conferences," Waddell said in a statement. "Therefore, we'll defer to the league and will not comment until the appropriate time.

"I will say that our organization is pleased with the current situation and our alignment in the Eastern Conference."

okay, last time i looked on a map, pittsburgh was in penn. and not in OHIO....wtf????

[Guest]

The Midwest goes crazy for the Atlanta Thrashers!

Say, that Hawks-Leafs game tonight was really something. This was the first time the Leafs were in town since February 2003. Doesn't that seem wrong given the Original Six and former Norris rivalry? Sounded like a big crowd, though. Toronto should be back in the West with Chicago and Detroit, but they probably don't care for the western road trips. Oh well. To hell with geography; it just makes more NHL sense to have a Wings/Hawks/Leafs division again. Keep the established teams together and lump the filler teams like Columbus, Nashville, and Atlanta together and let them develop rivalries over who the best undesired expansion team REALLY is, or something. More Original Six games = more ticket sales.

[Cyclopsis Joe]

Here's another proposal I saw on Espn. com that included the Pens staying in Pittsburgh and putting Atlanta in the Western Conference:

Eastern Conference

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

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

Western Conference

Central - Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis

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

Atlanta in the West!? WTF?

Wouldn't be the first time....the Braves and Falcons also played in the West. Oddly enough, other Western teams in sports history included the Carolina Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Tampa Bay Bucs. These teams headed east to play teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago Cubs.

The NFC west when I was a kid: San Francisco, New Orleans, Atlanta, Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams.

The NFL never did make a whole lot of sense to me.

[IceCap]

The Midwest goes crazy for the Atlanta Thrashers!

Say, that Hawks-Leafs game tonight was really something. This was the first time the Leafs were in town since February 2003. Doesn't that seem wrong given the Original Six and former Norris rivalry? Sounded like a big crowd, though. Toronto should be back in the West with Chicago and Detroit, but they probably don't care for the western road trips. Oh well. To hell with geography; it just makes more NHL sense to have a Wings/Hawks/Leafs division again. Keep the established teams together and lump the filler teams like Columbus, Nashville, and Atlanta together and let them develop rivalries over who the best undesired expansion team REALLY is, or something. More Original Six games = more ticket sales.

I'm in favor of both Chicago and Detroit heading over to the East. Either that, or adopt a NFL/MLB style alignment so you can have all the Original 6 teams in one conference.

[youcan'tseeme]

what about a 4 confrence no Division Allignment?

Northern Confrence

Toronto Maple Leafs

Detroit Red Wings

Chicago Blackhawks

Minneasota Wild

Columbus Blue Jackets

Buffalo Sabres

Montreal Canadiens

Ottawa Senators

Eastern Confrence

Boston Bruins

New York Rangers

New York Islanders

New Jersey Devils

Washington Capitals

Carolina Hurricanes

Philadelphia Flyers

Southern Confrence

Tampa Bay Lightning

Florida Panthers

Atlanta Thrashers

St.Louis Blues

Nashville Predators

Dallas Stars

Phoeniz Coyotes

Western Confrence

Vancouver Canucks

Calgary Flames

Edmonton Oilers

Colarado Avalanche

Anaheim Ducks

Los Angeles Kings

San Jose Sharks

The top 4 from each confrence would make the playoffs, and play 1 vs. 4 , 2 vs. 3. The winners of each confrence would then be ordered 1 through 4 based on their winning percentages. and plays the series 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3 with thw winners from each playing for the Cup.

What do you guys think, the NHl could expand later or contract to make all the confrence equal at either 7 or 8 teams.

[CC97]

Here's another proposal I saw on Espn. com that included the Pens staying in Pittsburgh and putting Atlanta in the Western Conference:

Eastern Conference

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

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

Western Conference

Central - Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis

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

Atlanta in the West!? WTF?

Wouldn't be the first time....the Braves and Falcons also played in the West. Oddly enough, other Western teams in sports history included the Carolina Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Tampa Bay Bucs. These teams headed east to play teams such as the Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago Cubs.

The most bizarre placement I ever saw had the St. John's Maple Leafs in the AHL's Western Conference (who played in North America's Eastern most city, in fact they are located so east that their clocks are 90 minutes AHEAD of New York's)

[youcan'tseeme]

The most bizarre placement I ever saw had the St. John's Maple Leafs in the AHL's Western Conference (who played in North America's Eastern most city, in fact they are located so east that their clocks are 90 minutes AHEAD of New York's)

how long did that last for? I never even knew that! it's actually hilarious!

[spyboy1]

I'm all for this idea for many, many reasons.

First, the league now is set up with some really unfortunate situations. Primary example is the Minnesota Wild in a division with Vancouver, two full time zones to the west. It would make much more sense to divide the country more vertically for divisions along time zones. This would put Vancouver in with the California teams as well as Phoenix and finally allow Minnesota to play against teams with much better geographic and historical rivalries such as old foes Chicago, St. Louis and Detroit, as well as former North Stars team in Dallas. This would also mean far less games on TV that start later, like we have now with Colorado, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver - NONE of whom are even in our time zone! Our travel, as well as Vancouver's would certainly be less.

The next benefit would be they could now adopt my preferred schedule for the regular season. With four divisions of 7 and 8 teams, you could now play each team home and away every year. That's 29x2=58 games. Then play the other 6 teams in your new, larger division four more times each, 2 at home and 2 on the road. There's your 82 games. Simple. (In the 8 team division, you'd play 5 teams the same four more times and the other 2 only two more times, home and away, on a rotating annual basis.) This way you'd play 6 different teams 6 times each, not just 4 teams a redundant 8 times each, PLUS every team would come to town once a year. That would be heaven.

Then, adopt the AHL playoff format.

The first two rounds of the playoffs are in your division. 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3. The two winners advance to give you a "division champion". This would ensure that year after year, you'd have playoff series against your closest rivals and, no matter what the NHL thinks, rivalries are made in the playoffs when you can end someone's season, not from meeting again and again and again in the regular season.

After that, you can either stick with the old East/West deal and have the division champs meet for the conference champion as they do now, or get really radical and reseed the remaining four teams by points. This would prevent two 85 point Western Conference Cinderella teams from meeting to go to the finals while two 100+ point Eastern teams are forced to meet in the semi-finals. The other added benefit of this plan is the potential for some finals matchups like two Eastern teams such as the Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers that are not possible now with one team having to come from the West. Think how much the TV networks would love having that come true!

Ahh, if I ruled the world, things would be different. I'd get to see Marin Brodeur and Mats Sundin every year and I wouldn't have to wait unitl 2008 to see Sydney Crosby for the first time.

"Am I crazy, or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?!" - Kramer

[youcan'tseeme]

I'm all for this idea for many, many reasons.

First, the league now is set up with some really unfortunate situations. Primary example is the Minnesota Wild in a division with Vancouver, two full time zones to the west. It would make much more sense to divide the country more vertically for divisions along time zones. This would put Vancouver in with the California teams as well as Phoenix and finally allow Minnesota to play against teams with much better geographic and historical rivalries such as old foes Chicago, St. Louis and Detroit, as well as former North Stars team in Dallas. This would also mean far less games on TV that start later, like we have now with Colorado, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver - NONE of whom are even in our time zone! Our travel, as well as Vancouver's would certainly be less.

The next benefit would be they could now adopt my preferred schedule for the regular season. With four divisions of 7 and 8 teams, you could now play each team home and away every year. That's 29x2=58 games. Then play the other 6 teams in your new, larger division four more times each, 2 at home and 2 on the road. There's your 82 games. Simple. (In the 8 team division, you'd play 5 teams the same four more times and the other 2 only two more times, home and away, on a rotating annual basis.) This way you'd play 6 different teams 6 times each, not just 4 teams a redundant 8 times each, PLUS every team would come to town once a year. That would be heaven.

Then, adopt the AHL playoff format.

The first two rounds of the playoffs are in your division. 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3. The two winners advance to give you a "division champion". This would ensure that year after year, you'd have playoff series against your closest rivals and, no matter what the NHL thinks, rivalries are made in the playoffs when you can end someone's season, not from meeting again and again and again in the regular season.

After that, you can either stick with the old East/West deal and have the division champs meet for the conference champion as they do now, or get really radical and reseed the remaining four teams by points. This would prevent two 85 point Western Conference Cinderella teams from meeting to go to the finals while two 100+ point Eastern teams are forced to meet in the semi-finals. The other added benefit of this plan is the potential for some finals matchups like two Eastern teams such as the Boston Bruins vs. New York Rangers that are not possible now with one team having to come from the West. Think how much the TV networks would love having that come true!

Ahh, if I ruled the world, things would be different. I'd get to see Marin Brodeur and Mats Sundin every year and I wouldn't have to wait unitl 2008 to see Sydney Crosby for the first time.

"Am I crazy, or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?!" - Kramer

yah, it does sound good!

[Bronxmet]

If I had things my way,this is how the NHL would look from here on in.

THE "NEW" OL'-SKOOL NAT'L HOCKEY LEAGUE ALIGNMENT

EASTERN/WALES Conference

ATLANTIC/PATRICK

1).New Jersey

2).New York(Long Island)

3).New York(Manhattan)

4).Philadelphia

5).Carolina

6).Atlanta

7).Tampa Bay

8).Florida

What are ya gonna do?not much else I had to do.

NORTHEAST/ADAMS

1).Boston

2).Buffalo

3).Montreal

4).Ottawa

5).Pittsburgh-NHL won't let them go trust me.

6).Toronto

7).Washington,DC-I know they belong in the Atl.,but I had no choice.

I have strong feelings about this division-pretty sweet though.

WESTERN/CAMPBELL Conference

CENTRAL/NORRIS

1).Chicago

2).Columbus

3).Dallas/Ft.Worth

4).Detroit

5).Minnesota

6).Nashville

7).St.Louis

FYI,this is gonna be may fav. division if things work out as they planned.

PACIFIC/SMYTHE

1).Anaheim

2).Calgary

3).Colorado

4).Edmonton

5).Los Angeles

6).Phoenix

7).San Jose

8).Vancouver

see...the ATLANTIC-this division is 1/2 way decent as well.

FYI-in a perfect world,if the NHL expands again,they should give towns like Hartford,Winnipeg

Quebec City another "shot",but it's not nor it will ever be.TPTB(The Powers That Be)are going

to give Kansas City,Houston,Portland or even Salt Lake a glance over the 3 previous towns

that had teams before.That's all for today.THE END.

How bout doin it NFL Style by having dallas in the east with Washington and bring back the Black-And-Blue Norris Division

Also, three Original Six teams will be in one division (Rangers, Boston, Habs in Adams, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago in Norris)

Patrick-Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay, Washington

Adams-Philly, Pittsburgh, Rangers, Isles, Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, New Jersey

Norris-Ottawa, Toronto, Detroit, Columbus, Chicago, Minnesota, St. Louis

Smythe-Vancouver, LA, San Jose, Phoenix, Colorado, Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton

[IceCap]

What about this?

Campbell Conference

Norris Division

Chicago Blackhawks

Detroit Red Wings

Minnesota Wild

St. Louis Blues

Toronto Maple Leafs

Adams Division

Boston Bruins

Buffalo Sabres

Columbus Blue Jackets

Montréal Canadiens

Ottawa Senators

Patrick Division

New Jersey Devils

New York Islanders

New York Rangers

Philadelphia Flyers

Washington Capitals

Wales Conference

Smythe Division

Dallas Stars

Houston Orbit (Relocated Anaheim Ducks)

Los Angeles Kings

Phoenix Coyotes

San Jose Sharks

Calder Division

Atlanta Thrashers

Carolina Hurricanes

Florida Panthers

Nashville Predators

Tampa Bay Lightning

Kennedy Division

Calgary Flames

Colorado Avalanche

Edmonton Oilers

Kansas City Penguins

Vancouver Canucks

[Bronxmet]

If I had things my way,this is how the NHL would look from here on in.

THE "NEW" OL'-SKOOL NAT'L HOCKEY LEAGUE ALIGNMENT

EASTERN/WALES Conference

ATLANTIC/PATRICK

1).New Jersey

2).New York(Long Island)

3).New York(Manhattan)

4).Philadelphia

5).Carolina

6).Atlanta

7).Tampa Bay

8).Florida

What are ya gonna do?not much else I had to do.

NORTHEAST/ADAMS

1).Boston

2).Buffalo

3).Montreal

4).Ottawa

5).Pittsburgh-NHL won't let them go trust me.

6).Toronto

7).Washington,DC-I know they belong in the Atl.,but I had no choice.

I have strong feelings about this division-pretty sweet though.

WESTERN/CAMPBELL Conference

CENTRAL/NORRIS

1).Chicago

2).Columbus

3).Dallas/Ft.Worth

4).Detroit

5).Minnesota

6).Nashville

7).St.Louis

FYI,this is gonna be may fav. division if things work out as they planned.

PACIFIC/SMYTHE

1).Anaheim

2).Calgary

3).Colorado

4).Edmonton

5).Los Angeles

6).Phoenix

7).San Jose

8).Vancouver

see...the ATLANTIC-this division is 1/2 way decent as well.

FYI-in a perfect world,if the NHL expands again,they should give towns like Hartford,Winnipeg

Quebec City another "shot",but it's not nor it will ever be.TPTB(The Powers That Be)are going

to give Kansas City,Houston,Portland or even Salt Lake a glance over the 3 previous towns

that had teams before.That's all for today.THE END.

How bout doin it NFL Style by having dallas in the east with Washington and bring back the Black-And-Blue Norris Division

Also, three Original Six teams will be in one division (Rangers, Boston, Habs in Adams, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago in Norris)

Patrick-Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay, Washington

Adams-Philly, Pittsburgh, Rangers, Isles, Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, New Jersey

Norris-Ottawa, Toronto, Detroit, Columbus, Chicago, Minnesota, St. Louis

Smythe-Vancouver, LA, San Jose, Phoenix, Colorado, Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton

[HedleyLamarr]

The NFC west when I was a kid: San Francisco, New Orleans, Atlanta, Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams.

The NFL never did make a whole lot of sense to me.

Yep, but the NFL can get away with shoddy geography, because they only play one game a week.

[Bronxmet]

If I had things my way,this is how the NHL would look from here on in.

THE "NEW" OL'-SKOOL NAT'L HOCKEY LEAGUE ALIGNMENT

EASTERN/WALES Conference

ATLANTIC/PATRICK

1).New Jersey

2).New York(Long Island)

3).New York(Manhattan)

4).Philadelphia

5).Carolina

6).Atlanta

7).Tampa Bay

8).Florida

What are ya gonna do?not much else I had to do.

NORTHEAST/ADAMS

1).Boston

2).Buffalo

3).Montreal

4).Ottawa

5).Pittsburgh-NHL won't let them go trust me.

6).Toronto

7).Washington,DC-I know they belong in the Atl.,but I had no choice.

I have strong feelings about this division-pretty sweet though.

WESTERN/CAMPBELL Conference

CENTRAL/NORRIS

1).Chicago

2).Columbus

3).Dallas/Ft.Worth

4).Detroit

5).Minnesota

6).Nashville

7).St.Louis

FYI,this is gonna be may fav. division if things work out as they planned.

PACIFIC/SMYTHE

1).Anaheim

2).Calgary

3).Colorado

4).Edmonton

5).Los Angeles

6).Phoenix

7).San Jose

8).Vancouver

see...the ATLANTIC-this division is 1/2 way decent as well.

FYI-in a perfect world,if the NHL expands again,they should give towns like Hartford,Winnipeg

Quebec City another "shot",but it's not nor it will ever be.TPTB(The Powers That Be)are going

to give Kansas City,Houston,Portland or even Salt Lake a glance over the 3 previous towns

that had teams before.That's all for today.THE END.

How bout doin it NFL Style by having dallas in the east with Washington and bring back the Black-And-Blue Norris Division

Also, three Original Six teams will be in one division (Rangers, Boston, Habs in Adams, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago in Norris)

Patrick-Atlanta, Dallas, Nashville, Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay, Washington

Adams-Philly, Pittsburgh, Rangers, Isles, Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, New Jersey

Norris-Ottawa, Toronto, Detroit, Columbus, Chicago, Minnesota, St. Louis

Smythe-Vancouver, LA, San Jose, Phoenix, Colorado, Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton

If the Pens move to KC or Hamilton, they switch places with Ottawa

If they move to Houston, they just move to the Patrick thanks to the hatred of Dallas vs. Washington

If they go to Oregon, they go to Smythe, Ottawa goes to Adams, Colorado goes to Norris

[-Helix-]

If the NFL's overtime format was changed to teams alternating field goal or hail mary attempts, fans would burn down the league offices. And regarding overtime losses, I'm keeping my hard line stance: if you lose a game under any circumstances, you shouldn't get a single point.

Really? Cause everyone I know would like to see the NFL's overtime changed to something more similar to the NCAA with alternating chances at fieldgoals/touchdowns. (Kinda like a shootout, huh?)

And if the game is even after regulation, why shouldn't both teams get rewarded? So a team that loses in the dying seconds of overtime is no better than a team that got blown out 9-0? Makes no sense to me. If extra time is needed to settle a game, then both teams are worthy of points in my opinion.