2013 Proposed Realignment

[IniNew 53]

New proposed realignment.

I for one completely support it--getting Detroit and Dallas away from playing games that start 2, 3 hours later than every other game. There is also rumors floating around that the playoffs would feature a wild-card style format that the MLB has moved to. Also allows for expansion in the West of 2 teams.

[ibeck 38]

I think it will get turned down again by the nhlpa because 2 teams play in a smaller division and have an "easier" time at making the playoffs. At the end of the day 30 isnt divisable by 4 so maybe the nhlpa would just have accept this. I just really hope the league doesnt further dilute itself by growing to 32 teams just to have equal divisions. (At least not yet anyway)

Im all for detroit, dallas and cbj switching for time zone/travel/fans purposes.

[IniNew 53]

I think it will get turned down again by the nhlpa because 2 teams play in a smaller division and have an "easier" time at making the playoffs.

This is why there is a proposed change to the playoffs including a wild card matchup.

[ibeck 38]

I guess we'll wait and see but still how can you have a wildcard format when there are and odd number of teams? Just my 2 cents

[Chadd 916]

Smells like the same turd that was rejected last time. Having Florida and Tampa in the same division as the Canadian teams, with an 8 team division between them, makes no sense at all. I understand the desire to move Detroit to the East is at the heart of every realignment proposal, but I think it's wrong to start with that premise. I'll suggest the same things I did last time:

Easy solution:

Nashville to the southeast, Winnipeg to the central. Still a number of less than ideal situations, but the fewest number of moving parts.

Medium solution:

Nashville to the southeast, Minnesota to the central, Winnipeg to the Northwest

More involved:

Nashville to the southeast, Dallas to the central, Colorado to the Pacific and Winnipeg to the northwest.

I think any of them are justifiable, keep movement to a logical minimum, don't require major changes to the playoff structure and maintain or restore traditional rivalries.

[Apes44 7]

looks like Tampa Bay/Fla would be getting the shaft as they would be going far north east a lot! I know you want to keep the rivalries , but maybe switch them with either the Rangers,Devils or Isles to make travel a little easier since that seems to be a major concern.

Also would depend on who plays who and how many times. I think each team should have a home-home series with every other team. If you are trying to grow the game as well, you need you're stars (not saying who because it doesnt matter) to be seen in every city. It was like when Jordan came to town, it didnt matter how the how team was people went!

[camhockey16 5]

Would you still end up with a situation where florida gets the #3 seed in the east with 94 points even though they technically have less points than the #6 team which was new jersey with 102 points? Thats the thing that always bugged me..

[Chadd 916]

Would you still end up with a situation where florida gets the #3 seed in the east with 94 points even though they technically have less points than the #6 team which was new jersey with 102 points? Thats the thing that always bugged me..

No, but you could still have one of the division winners having fewer points than two or three teams from the other division. The easy way around it is to give them the automatic playoff berth and then seeding by points. Chances are, they are still going to be in the top 8.

[psh 25]

Smells like the same turd that was rejected last time. Having Florida and Tampa in the same division as the Canadian teams, with an 8 team division between them, makes no sense at all. I understand the desire to move Detroit to the East is at the heart of every realignment proposal, but I think it's wrong to start with that premise. I'll suggest the same things I did last time:

Easy solution:

Nashville to the southeast, Winnipeg to the central. Still a number of less than ideal situations, but the fewest number of moving parts.

Medium solution:

Nashville to the southeast, Minnesota to the central, Winnipeg to the Northwest

More involved:

Nashville to the southeast, Dallas to the central, Colorado to the Pacific and Winnipeg to the northwest.

I think any of them are justifiable, keep movement to a logical minimum, don't require major changes to the playoff structure and maintain or restore traditional rivalries.

I haven't followed this too closely, but from what I've read, the Florida/Canada combination is actually being considered a sop to Tampa and Florida. The idea is that it would bring increased attendance to the games in Florida and increase revenues for those teams. Maybe the owners think the travel would be worth the potential bump in attendance and viewership.

Regarding the plan being floated, in general, I do like the idea of aligning teams with time zones in mind. I suspect that having teams play in their home time zones more frequently will have some beneficial impact on television viewership.

[pizzakid13 5]

dont like it at all.

[SydNap 25]

Det. to the Eastern conference. I don't see a good playoff fix unless the NHL decides to move the number of teams to something divisable by four...28 or 32. We all know they won't axe two teams, so are there two western cities that could support teams? Portland? SLC? Houston?

[IniNew 53]

Seattle is the only one I see mentioned much. I don't imagine they'd put one in Houston with the AHL thriving there. Unless the NHL straight doesn't care about that league.

[Chadd 916]

I haven't followed this too closely, but from what I've read, the Florida/Canada combination is actually being considered a sop to Tampa and Florida. The idea is that it would bring increased attendance to the games in Florida and increase revenues for those teams. Maybe the owners think the travel would be worth the potential bump in attendance and viewership.

Regarding the plan being floated, in general, I do like the idea of aligning teams with time zones in mind. I suspect that having teams play in their home time zones more frequently will have some beneficial impact on television viewership.

I looked at past attendance numbers, factored in say of the week and it doesn't really seem to support that argument.

I think my third suggestion helps resolve most of those issues. People are also much more likely to watch an 8PM start than a 6PM start for their team. Having every team play a home and home with every other team in the league and taking those games out of the non-divisional conference games would cut down on some of the travel for a team like Detroit, but would make it worse for a team like Edmonton that usually already has the worst travel schedule of any team in the league.

Seattle is the only one I see mentioned much. I don't imagine they'd put one in Houston with the AHL thriving there. Unless the NHL straight doesn't care about that league.

The NHL cares about being in markets that support and grow the game, the AHL can find another market where they can get by.

[wrangler 157]

The NHL cares about being in markets that support and grow the game, the AHL can find another market where they can get by.

You can understand why I got a laugh out of that.

[JR Boucicaut 3797]

Toronto and Montreal typically play TBL/FLA in December/January/February due to the snowbird factor. They do draw well those nights.

[RadioGaGa 162]

A buddy of mine was in Florida and got Tampa/Montreal tickets ($40 to sit 10 rows up in the cortner, btw). He said half the place was cheering for the Habs.

[Chadd 916]

Toronto and Montreal typically play TBL/FLA in December/January/February due to the snowbird factor. They do draw well those nights.

The two games around x-mas in Florida were over 100%, the games in late February and March were a few thousand people lower. The Habs game also fell on a Sunday afternoon. I don't think you can count on that many traveling fans to fill 25 home games a year.

all numbers are obviously from last season

On Valentines day this year, the Habs game was 88% capacity. On the 18th, the Toronto game was at 89%. The average for this season is 86.6%

[IniNew 53]

Some more information concerning the playoff picture with this set up.

Under the previous proposal the first two rounds of the playoffs would have taken place entirely within the "conferences" (divisions). The revised proposal is that the top three teams in each division will qualify, with the remaining two "wild card" spots coming from teams with the best records/tie-breakers, regardless of division.

[joshy207 15]

So what happens when Quebec and Markham get teams?

[Jason Harris 31]

I know it's just a name, but I read yesterday that the proposed name of the division with the B's would be 'Central,' which is funny that the eastern most team in the league would play in the Central.

I don't really like the two Florida teams in that conference, but the theory about appealing to snowbirds makes sense.

[goblue9280 33]

Seattle is the only one I see mentioned much. I don't imagine they'd put one in Houston with the AHL thriving there. Unless the NHL straight doesn't care about that league.

FYI, there have been rumors all year about the Aeros moving away from Houston. The lease they have with the Toyota Center (which is an awesome venue) expires this year, and they haven't been able to come to terms. They also can't find another suitable venue in the area. I'm a bit biased, but Houston sure would look good in Conference 3, with Seattle in Conference 4.

As a Red Wings fan, I love this realignment. Fixes the travel issues the Wings face. Losing Chicago sucks, but adding rivalries with 3 original six teams: Leafs, Canadians and Bruins.

[wrangler 157]

As a Blackhawks fan, I hate to see our last Original Six division opponent go. It means more to me than to a lot of folks, since I've been a fan since the days there were only six teams.

[Stewie 721]

The appeal of this plan to the Florida teams is very good I think. You get to take struggling attendance and add games against Detroit, Boston, Montreal and Toronto. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. As for the plan, as a wings fan of course I love it, but what happens when they add Toronto #2 to the league?

[Chadd 916]

what happens when they add Toronto #2 to the league?

With QC and Markham pushing for NHL teams, putting Detroit and Columbus in the east will make it very hard for them to get expansion franchises. An Islander relocation would be possible to those markets, but Phoenix moving east would be problematic.

[Apes44 7]

With QC and Markham pushing for NHL teams, putting Detroit and Columbus in the east will make it very hard for them to get expansion franchises. An Islander relocation would be possible to those markets, but Phoenix moving east would be problematic.

With the islanders signing that deal with the Barclays center, I dont see how you could relocate them at that point. they got "their" new arena...