My take on NHL realignment

[Jaybird]

I did some checking on the time zones of the NHL teams. 16 of the 30 teams are in the Eastern Time Zone, 6 in the Central, 4 in the Mountain, and 4 in the Pacific. I agree to some extent on re-aligning the divisions, with maybe the league expanding to either 32 or 36 teams. However, I would do the Divisions this way (although I still think that, for the time being, keeping the 6 division, 5 teams per division format would be best, just have Nashville and Winnipeg switch divisions):

Eastern Conference (or Prince of Wales Conference)

Atlantic Division (or Lester Patrick Division): Carolina, Florida, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Washington

Northeast Division (or Charles Francis Adams Division): Boston, Buffalo, Columbus, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Toronto

Western Conference (or Clarence Campbell Conference)

Central Division (or James E. Norris Division): Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, Saint Louis, Winnipeg

Pacific Division (or Conn Smythe Division): Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver

Expansion city candidates (unless they get an existing franchise):

Seattle (new arena in plans)

Kansas City (have the Sprint Center)

Houston (have Toyota Center, successful Aeros teams in WHA, IHL, and AHL)

Quebec City (new arena in plans)

Toronto (possible second team, suburb of Markham wants to build new arena)

Oklahoma City (longshot,hotbed for hockey and it is working for the NBA's Thunder)

Hartford (longshot, new arena needed, halfway between Boston and New York, but fans loved the Whalers)

Atlanta (longshot, 2-time loser, Flames moved to Calgary [due to financial troubles] and Thrashers moved to Winnipeg [seemed to jump the shark from Day 1 when Ted Turner said the name would be Thrashers-end of discussion-, plus poor ownership post-Turner, the way Philips Arena was built {club seats and suites on one side-seemed to have the haves/have nots situation}, the area where the arena was, and the demographic], however, with the right ownership, the third time could be the charm for the NHL)

Hamilton (wants new arena and has mentioned for a NHL team)

Las Vegas (mentioned)

Cleveland (had the Barons, which merged with the North Stars, who moved to Dallas in 1993-Gund Brothers, who had Cleveland franchise, sold their part so they could get a franchise which turned out to be the Sharks-nice modern arena)

New Orleans (could work for Hockey, Hornets/Pelicans owner Tom Benson may let hockey team in New Orleans Arena, previous Hornets management kicked ECHL's New Orleans Brass out)

Portland (has two arenas-Rose Garden and Memorial Coliseum, plus would add a team in the Pacific Northwest, WHL's Winter Hawks are a box office smash)

Milwaukee (longshot, NBA's Bucks want new arena, BMO Harris-Bradley Center could work as a venue until new one is built)

As always, all comments are welcome.

[BigMac12]

There's a thread just for realignment right on top.

[LMU]

I have to.

[KCScout76]

I would like to see the NHL add two teams. Two of your Canadian Cities are good choices, Hamilton would be a nice fit for the NHL. Houston is the best choice for the US. I agree also with Las Vegas or Seattle would work. Kansas City has a nice arena but can't support a larger team. The minor league teams like the KC Blades and now we have the Missouri Mavericks are just about right. In time KC may be ready but not anytime soon.

[AlexWilson]

I would like to see the NHL add two teams. Two of your Canadian Cities are good choices, Hamilton would be a nice fit for the NHL. Houston is the best choice for the US. I agree also with Las Vegas or Seattle would work. Kansas City has a nice arena but can't support a larger team. The minor league teams like the KC Blades and now we have the Missouri Mavericks are just about right. In time KC may be ready but not anytime soon.

Houston? How about Seattle? The chance of a team there is really good.

[Sodboy13]

Eh, mine's better.

(Mmmmm, that's good blog-whorin'!)