Brilliant! Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangecrush8 Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 I feel bad for Islanders and Hurricanes fans, 4 of the top 5 teams in the East are in one division. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffB Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Meanwhile... I could not be any happier that Minnesota and Dallas have escaped the "horizontal" divisions which had them grouped with no teams in their own time zone. It's awesome for the Wild to be not only back with St. Louis, Chicago and Detroit, but the additions of Winnipeg and Dallas are also going to be good rivals. I am honestly surprised that Nashville did not end up in a "southeast" division with Carolina, Florida and Tampa (along with Pittsburgh, Washington and Philadelphia) to give the west a 7 and 8 team division and the east a balanced 7 and 8 team divisions. It's great that Boston, Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto remain grouped together, but I would have put them in with Buffalo, the Rangers, Islanders and Devils. The other east division would have been Florida, Tampa, Nashville, Carolina, Philly, Washington and Pittsburgh. Keeping Philadelphia in with the New York area makes sense and speaks to the power that Ed Snyder wields in league matters, doesn't it? I also applaud the decision to keep Chicago and Detroit together. Bettman should be hailed for pulling that off. He's earned my respect for getting the 4 division plan passed regardless of who went where. The nice thing about 4 divisions is the larger groups let him accommodate more teams needs. The main improvement comes from the "vertical" conferences in the west, pairing Vancouver with all of California as an example. They've also got some flexibility if/when Phoenix moves. For example, if they go to Seattle, nothing changes. Kansas City? Put them in the central and move Nashville in with either Carolina or Florida. Quebec? Simply pair them with Montreal, as either east division of 7 teams has room for one more, shrinking the west down to 7 and balancing the West/East pair of groups at 15 each. Nice. Other than Florida being paired with Toronto, etc. (which is Snyder's doing) Bettman scored a hat trick on this one. Bring on the (Chuck) Norris Division! Speaking of names, I'd go with either West, Central, East and Atlantic or go back to the founders names. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangecrush8 Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Coming from a Flyers fan... They just ruined the Flyers/Bruins rivalry. I would argue that because of the outcomes in the playoffs the last couple years that the Flyers/Bruins rivalry is bigger than Flyers/Penguins. Now the Flyers play the Coyotes or the Ducks the same number of times a year that they play the Bruins? Who thought that was a good idea? Now that you are guaranteed to play each team outside the division twice a year, this limits the intensity you can gain to strictly the teams within the division. From a Flyers POV, the Bruins, Canadiens, Sabres, and even the Leafs rivalries will never be the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sluggermatt15 Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Coming from a Flyers fan... They just ruined the Flyers/Bruins rivalry. I would argue that because of the outcomes in the playoffs the last couple years that the Flyers/Bruins rivalry is bigger than Flyers/Penguins. Now the Flyers play the Coyotes or the Ducks the same number of times a year that they play the Bruins? Who thought that was a good idea? Now that you are guaranteed to play each team outside the division twice a year, this limits the intensity you can gain to strictly the teams within the division. From a Flyers POV, the Bruins, Canadiens, Sabres, and even the Leafs rivalries will never be the same Good point. I think the NHL wanted to revamp the Flyers/Capitals rivalry by placing them in the same division. Caps have owned the Flyers recently, and Philly vs. Ovechkin is a match up the league knows will draw fans and high tv ratings. Flyers still have Penguins, Rangers, and Devils in their division, along with the Isles. Flyers/Islanders may become bigger when Isles start becoming more competitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsl135 Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Coming from a Flyers fan... They just ruined the Flyers/Bruins rivalry. I would argue that because of the outcomes in the playoffs the last couple years that the Flyers/Bruins rivalry is bigger than Flyers/Penguins. Now the Flyers play the Coyotes or the Ducks the same number of times a year that they play the Bruins? Who thought that was a good idea? Now that you are guaranteed to play each team outside the division twice a year, this limits the intensity you can gain to strictly the teams within the division. From a Flyers POV, the Bruins, Canadiens, Sabres, and even the Leafs rivalries will never be the same Agreed. This is one of the problems the realignment causes. The rivalry with Boston has been getting awesome again. So much fun... now out the window. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete379 Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 I'm gonna miss the 1 vs 8 conference playoffs. Nothing like an 8 seed upsetting the 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffB Posted December 8, 2011 Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 Coming from a Flyers fan... They just ruined the Flyers/Bruins rivalry. I would argue that because of the outcomes in the playoffs the last couple years that the Flyers/Bruins rivalry is bigger than Flyers/Penguins. I feel like the entire situation in the northeast was compromised in order to keep the Flyers in the same conference with the Rangers. You can't have everything and I'm sure Ed Snyder got much of what he wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sluggermatt15 Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 Agreed. This is one of the problems the realignment causes. The rivalry with Boston has been getting awesome again. So much fun... now out the window. Eh I say enjoy it this season! There's always the possibility of them meeting in the playoffs this year too.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DropkickMurphy8 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 Just heard on the Ranger game that the NHLPA did NOT approve realignment. Edit: CONFIRMED: http://www.hockeyfights.com/news/168629 - Am I the only one who thinks that, after this, we're headed for another lockout? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guam64 Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 Latest proposal: 2 8-team conferences in the east, 2 7-team conferences in the west. East Conference 1 (Patrick): Carolina Columbus New Jersey Islanders Rangers Philadelphia Penisfaces Ice Wizards Conference 2 (Adams): Boston Buffalo Detroit Florida Montreal Ottawa Tampa Bay Toronto Conference 3 (Norris): Chicago Colorado Dallas Minnesota Nashville St. Louis Winnipeg Conference 4 (Smythe): Anaheim Calgary Edmonton Los Angeles Quebec San Jose Vancouver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYIJM29 Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 At least the Isles won't be the worst team in the division (sorry Blue Jacket fans) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akteon Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 I love it. Columbus in the same division as the Rangers is a dream come true for me. I'll get to see the Rangers player more than once every other year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Red Wings Posted February 24, 2013 Report Share Posted February 24, 2013 Wish they would swap Detroit and Columbus, but it's better than the current alignment by a ton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhg39 Posted February 27, 2013 Report Share Posted February 27, 2013 I still do not see the need for this. Just swap Winnipeg and Columbus for $&@) sake! It is blatently unfair to have 16 teams in one conference and 14 in the other. Also how do you put 2 Florida teams in a division with Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa....? MLB finally realized this after 15 years and rectified it; so the NHL, in their infinite wisdom are going to switch to a setup that another sport just moved away from in the spirit of fairness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Red Wings Posted March 1, 2013 Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 It's plenty fair. The Eastern teams get the cake travel schedule and the Western teams get a slightly easier chance of making the playoffs in return. Everybody wins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akteon Posted March 1, 2013 Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 Also how do you put 2 Florida teams in a division with Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa....? How else can the Panthers get a sellout if not for the snowbird Canadians paying to see their "local" teams in the sunshine state? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sluggermatt15 Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 Keep Detroit in the West so their rivalry with the Blackhawks does NOT die... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsl135 Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 It's plenty fair. The Eastern teams get the cake travel schedule and the Western teams get a slightly easier chance of making the playoffs in return. Everybody wins. Sure, that's fair... but not fair enough to even out for the harder playoff picture. I understand your point, but you're essentially saying that 8/14 = 8/16 (w/ easier travel). It's just not equal, and it makes no sense. No division should have a mathematically easier chance to make the playoffs than any other team. That's "fair." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guam64 Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 It's never going to be "fair" when there are 16 teams in the Eastern Time Zone. Beats the hell out of giving a crap 3 seed home ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Red Wings Posted March 5, 2013 Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 Sure, that's fair... but not fair enough to even out for the harder playoff picture. I understand your point, but you're essentially saying that 8/14 = 8/16 (w/ easier travel). It's just not equal, and it makes no sense. No division should have a mathematically easier chance to make the playoffs than any other team. That's "fair." But we shouldn't be comparing 8/14 to 8/16...we should be comparing 8/14 to 8/15, which is what it would be if we balanced the conferences. We're essentially talking about a 4% difference in playoff chances. You know to fix this? A play-in game in the Eastern Conference between the two teams to decide the last playoff spot. Then you have 9/16 (56% chance) EC teams in the "playoffs" versus 8/14 WC teams (57% chance). If the conferences are even, then who decides who has to stay in the West? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sluggermatt15 Posted March 22, 2013 Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 But we shouldn't be comparing 8/14 to 8/16...we should be comparing 8/14 to 8/15, which is what it would be if we balanced the conferences. We're essentially talking about a 4% difference in playoff chances. You know to fix this? A play-in game in the Eastern Conference between the two teams to decide the last playoff spot. Then you have 9/16 (56% chance) EC teams in the "playoffs" versus 8/14 WC teams (57% chance). If the conferences are even, then who decides who has to stay in the West? Detroit and Columbus are headed to the Eastern Conference. Now no need to worry about time zone travel. I am glad the Wings and Blue Jackets are coming over to the East. Pittsburgh and Detroit have waged some pretty exciting games in recent years and I look forward to playing them more often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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