Last summer, after Atlanta moved to Winnipeg, the National Hockey League’s decision to make dramatic change, rather than opt for a simpler solution became regular canon fodder for the sports world. On December 5, 2011, the radical change which had been speculated would finally come to fruition as NHL officials would approve a dramatic realignment plan, giving the league four conferences and guarantee home-and-home series for every team.
Gary Bettman, who was authorized in full by the NHL Board of Governors, implemented the proposal, which could be in place by the start of next season. The new plan attempted to address all of the popular concerns, including rivalry preservation and the goal of marquee matchups in every city, every season.
Instead of the possibility of swapping a single team to another conference, the decision was made to scrap the current division formula and to create four entirely new divisions. Of the four, two conferences will have seven teams and the other two will contain eight apiece.
The new format allows for easier travel schedules for the majority of the franchises. The playoff format will consist of the top four teams in each conference, with the first round being devoted to intraconference matchups.
The conferences would be divided into four, based on time zones. Conference No. 1 would include New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers, the New York Islanders, Washington and Carolina. Conference 2 would contain Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Florida and Tampa Bay.
Conferences 3 and 4 would consist of Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota, Dallas and Winnipeg in one, and Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Colorado in the other.
Opponents of the realignment plan say that it allows more playoff room for the smaller markets, which will water down the competition level. Those for the changes disagree, citing the opportunity for all teams to have more equal footing.
The NHL Players’ Association and the Eastern Conference still have concerns over the proposal and can stymie its inception. However, it is expected to be accepted once final questions are cleared up and the process could be expedited for the 2012 season.
The author, D. Benjamin Satkowiak, is a successful entrepreneur and published, freelance author, who has tailored works on various sports, health and fitness topics. He currently serves as a Yahoo! Contributor Network “Featured Contributor” and writes on the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Detroit Red Wings, Great Lakes Loons and Notre Dame football.