So...apparently I wasn't the only one who thought the NHL's proposed realignment was stupid. The players union vetoed the new four-conference plan that was supposed to go into effect next season. As a result, Winnipeg will remain in the Southeast Division in 2012-13. This, of course, is temporary. NHL realignment is eventually going to happen in some form, but I don't think I'm the only one who's glad the proposed plan isn't going to happen.
The NHL, of course, is blaming the union, saying things like "a majority of our clubs supported it" (26-4 to be exact, so there were at least four that didn't, and probably more that just agreed "for the good of the league") and that "fans overwhelmingly wanted it" (only the fans that you were willing to listen to). And the quotes from league personnel that they used were from the three teams (Detroit, Dallas, Minnesota) that obviously supported the realignment. What do the owners of the Rangers and Lightning (two of the teams that voted against it) think? My guess is they aren't too upset. (In fact, there are probably a lot of teams in the current Eastern Conference that aren't too upset.)
In their defense, the union's main concerns were valid. They asked for a mock schedule to see what the travel would be like for each team. The NHL didn't give them one. They also weren't happy with the proposed playoff format. The top four per division would advance to the playoffs. So, in two divisions you'd have a 4 out of 7 chance to make the playoffs, while in the two eight-team divisions, your chances would only be 50-50. And, let's use the Patrick "Conference" as an example. Some combination of the Penguins, Flyers, Rangers and Capitals are going to be good every year. What chance would the Islanders and Hurricanes have to EVER make the playoffs?
I'm not saying the NHL's current alignment is perfect. Winnipeg obviously has to be moved out of the Southeast Division. But the changes don't need to be as drastic as the league office seems to think. For starters, they need to stop listening to the Detroit Red Wings' whining. Red Wings, you're stuck in the Western Conference. Deal with it! There are 16 teams in the Eastern time zone, so at least one of them's got to be in the West, and Detroit's further west than everybody else. Besides, you can't move Detroit to the Eastern Conference and have Chicago (the Red Wings' archrival for 85 years) be the only Original Six team in the West. The Red Wings and Blackhawks should remain together. Period.
Besides, the Red Wings don't get screwed by the current alignment anywhere near as much as they think. They've got it better than Dallas. The Stars are stuck in the Pacific Division with the three California teams and Phoenix. That means every division road game they play starts at either 8 or 9 p.m. Central (whereas the Central Division has three teams in the Central time zone, Detroit and Columbus). Minnesota also drew a short straw. The Northwest Division features the Wild (Central time zone), Avalanche (Mountain), and the three in Western Canada.
As I've said all along, the realignment should be modest, keeping the current two-conference, six-division structure. And the team that should move East isn't Detroit (or Columbus). It's Nashville. You know, a team that's actually in the Southeast taking Winnipeg's place in the Southeast Division. The Eastern Conference would look like this:
Atlantic: Devils, Islanders, Rangers, Flyers, Penguins
Northeast: Bruins, Sabres, Canadiens, Senators, Maple Leafs
Southeast: Hurricanes, Panthers, Predators, Lightning, Capitals
I have two proposed alignments for the Western Conference. You've got to keep the four Canadian teams together. You could shift Minnesota to the Central (which they want), but then you wouldn't have that natural Winnipeg-Minnesota rivalry. Dallas would also still be stuck in the Pacific that way. So, the alignment that I favor moves Dallas from the Pacific to the Central and Colorado from the Northwest to the Pacific. Option B only features Minnesota replacing Nashville in the Central. Either way, Winnipeg is placed in the Northwest Division with the other three Canadian teams.
Central: Blackhawks, Blue Jackets, Red Wings, Blues, Stars (or Wild)
Northwest: Flames, Oilers, Canucks, Jets, Wild (or Avalanche)
Pacific: Ducks, Kings, Coyotes, Sharks, Avalanche (or Stars)
Detroit's big gripe is the schedule. Right now, teams play 24 division games (six against each), 40 conference games (four each) and only 18 interconference games. Most of the teams in the West want to have a home-and-home with everybody. There's a way to do that using the current division structure. Here's what I propose:
Division (22 games): 5 against two teams, 6 against the other two
Conference (30 games): 3 against each team
Interconference (30 games): 2 against each team
The playoff structure would remain the same: top eight from each conference, with the three division winners seeded 1-3.
Of course, all this gets blown completely out of the water when Phoenix moves to Quebec. But the NHL can worry about that when the time comes.
Right on!
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