A Slanted Realignment

Photo Courtesy of
Associated Press (AP)

Ever since the Atlanta Thrashers have relocated in 2011 to Winnipeg, Manitoba, becoming the new and improved Winnipeg Jets, realignment has been a hot topic among NHL fans. Fans are very quick to point out how Nashville, the city that is home to the Predators, would be the easiest team to switch over and play in the eastern conference. Since the former Atlanta Thrashers played in the south eastern division, anyone looking at a map would suggest that yes, that move would make sense. Maps however, only show you locations. This is why it is not as easy as some fans may think it is.

The NHL has 30 teams. 15 of these teams play in the western conference, while the other 15 play in the eastern conference. Each conference has 3 divisions, consisting of 5 teams. The Western conference has the North West division, Pacific Division, and the Central division. The Eastern conference has the North Eastern division, Atlantic division, and the South Eastern division. The top teams in all six divisions clinch a playoff spot. They place in the first, second, and third seed in the Western or Eastern conference. The rest of the teams battle it out all year, hoping to place in the 4th-8th seed in their conference. This is when the playoffs start, and also the start of winning Lord Stanley. Something that is every NHL teams ultimate goal.

One team that will really struggle achieving that goal this year is the Winnipeg Jets. It’s not because of the team, or because of the management. The problem they face is a grueling schedule, which requires traveling a ridiculous amount of miles because they are “technically” still playing in the South Eastern Division. This problem should have been solved but due to the 2012/2013 lockout it was not. Winnipeg will definitely be a part of the Western Conference, that’s a fact. The thing nobody knows though is which team will move to the east? There would have to be the same amount of teams playing in the west as there are in the east. As stated earlier, Nashville looks the most ideal if you are just looking at a map. Columbus does too. Both of these teams are in the Central Division along with Detroit, St. Louis and Chicago. There is a huge problem though with the thought of Columbus or Nashville switching conferences and divisions. That problem is the Detroit Red Wings.

The Detroit Red Wings along with the Chicago Blackhawks are both original six teams. When the NHL decided to expand, they went through a few different divisions along the years. Now, the Detroit Red Wings play in the western conference and have done so for many, many years. Detroit has an Eastern Time zone however, and with the exception of Columbus, not one other team has the same time zone. When the Red Wings play out west, against California Hockey teams like the LA Kings, San Jose Sharks or Anaheim Ducks, the 3 hour time difference frustrates the fans of Detroit. Staying up till 1am is something dedicated fans will do, but get very tired of. The team also suffers, as they could suffer from jet leg, and bouncing back and forth between two different time zones has got to affect a player trying to play their best. Because of this, years ago The Detroit Red Wings owner and management had asked the NHL’s Commissioner Gary Bettman if there was ever to be a team relocating that they would be the first team to switch to the east. Unfortunately, Gary Bettman has not given any indication of this happening now that relocation has taken place. Most likely, it will not happen. So what would be the perfect solution?

The easiest way to satisfy everybody, fans and all 30 NHL teams could possibly be to keep the West and Eastern conference set up, but it would be slightly different. Picture a horizontal line drawn right through Canada and the US. The line starts to the right of Edmonton, and ends at the right of both Florida teams. The north eastern division and Atlantic division would remain the same. The Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres would play in the NE division, and the NJ Devils, NY Rangers, NY Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins would still all play in the ATL division. The last division on the right (or eastern side) of the “line” would be different, but it could work. It would consist of the Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks. Are there other cities more East than Columbus, Detroit, and Chicago? Of course, but If the NHL did go with this plan, travel would at least be fairer.

The left side of the “line” (or the western side), would have more changes. The first group, known as the NW division, would have the same 4 teams playing in it that they do now. The Edmonton Oilers, the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild would now be joined with the Winnipeg Jets. Currently, Vancouver has a tough traveling schedule as well, considering they are very far out West and not one NHL team is right next to them. This however, would again be considered an even and fair way since other teams will have to also now travel farther than they have had too. The new pacific division would remain the same except for one team. It would still have the San Jose Sharks, LA Kings, Anaheim Ducks, and the Phoenix Coyotes. The only difference for this division would be the fifth team would be the Colorado Avalanche instead of the Dallas Stars. The last division on the left side of this Imaginary line would be the biggest change. It would consist of the Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, and the two Florida based NHL teams, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. Remember, this “imaginary line” is horizontal, so Florida and Tampa would be on the left side of it. The traveling would be a little tougher, but it would not be nearly as bad as the way travel is for teams like Detroit and Vancouver now. At least the Stars, Panthers and Lightning are all southern based teams. If the NHL was to realign their conferences and divisions this way at least it would be consistent and fair to almost all NHL teams.

The two main problems with this realignment are problems that the fans might have, and the business side of the NHL would have as well. The first being all Original Six teams would be in the East. The thing that doesn’t make sense though is right now Chicago and Detroit remain in the west as it is. Their games against each other are fun and entertaining. Yet this “Bloodbath, Hatred Rivalry” the Media shows on TV, using footage of games played between the two in the 60’s through the 90’s just is not there anymore. In other sports, the rivalry between Chicago and Detroit still exists. In Hockey, it just kind of died out since both teams became power houses and therefore created new rivalries with other NHL teams. They created “Post Season Rivalries” with teams like Vancouver and San Jose. These Rivalries would be in jeopardy with this realignment idea, and nobody wants a rivalry to be destroyed.

The Other problem with this new realignment proposal is the fact that one division on the west would have four Canadian NHL teams and only one American based team. Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg all together with Minnesota being the only team located in the United States. Why would this be a problem? The business side of the NHL most likely thinks this division would not get as much attention from the US since only one US team plays in it. Nobody would tune in to watch games for this division. Sometimes though, the business side of the NHL overlooks how faithful hockey and NHL fans can be and have always been. In this new realignment idea there would be 3 divisions that do not include any Canadian teams, yet people and fans alike would still tune in and watch just as they do now. The NHL overlooks how strong the hockey fan base is. Some fans may have a problem with it, but this could actually create a passionate, heated, but hopefully a Nation friendly rivalry. Minnesota is the number one hockey state; Whereas Canada is the number one hockey country. Just a guess, but games between two large hockey loving areas would be very exciting and something fans would enjoy watching.

Is this realignment going to happen? Probably not, but it looks like it’s one of the easiest ways to please everybody. Some rivalries may be broken. But teams like Vancouver and Chicago, and Detroit and San Jose would still meet. Maybe not as much as they usually do, but as of right now they only meet a few times a year due to their different divisions. Some rivalries would stay intact, like the great rivalry between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. Also the great rivalry between Toronto and Montreal would not change. The idea of this realignment is to create new and fresh rivalries, and also make it an even playing field when it comes to traveling. The teams located in the West will always have it worse than the teams in the East. Unless more teams relocate, or another expansion happens, there is no easy solution for those teams. This realignment proposal however would at least make traveling easier on the teams that suffer now. A new realignment will happen no matter what. So if the NHL wants to keep the same kind of set up as they have now this would be a fair, easy, and creative way of doing so. They would still have 15 teams on one side, 15 teams on the other. There would still be 3 divisions in each conference, and playoffs would have the same format as well. The only difference would be looking at a map, and drawing that horizontal line right across Canada and the United States.