If only you had stayed on that Finance track and added a Law degree :) You would make a very good commissioner - logical, fact-based, not reactionary and good at long-term, trusting relationship building.
It seems like the main problem is there are just too many teams clustered up there in the North East. I think the NHL probably just needs to move the Canadiens, Senators, and Maple Leafs to Atlanta, San Diego and Portland. That would fix it. :)
I don't get all of the complaining, and some of the odd realignment suggestions in these replies. Obviously, you have to keep the five teams along the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Division. Vegas is farther west than Phoenix is, and there's no way the Edmonton-Calgary rivalry should be split up. That makes eight teams, and leaves us as the odd man out. None of us like it, but it's just luck of the draw.
I actually love this idea, having a southwest division creating that natural rivalry between AZ and Vegas makes sense. The primary reason I think the NHL would never consider this is probably "tradition" because that seems to be about half of how every decision is made.
Since they announced AZ to the Central, it never made sense to me that they didn’t try to keep AZ and Vegas together. I’d even settle for a AZ/LA/ANA/LV division. Each division opponent would be within an hour by plane.
The whole idea of having Vancouver and Seattle in the same division is to have a natural rival in close proximity and the same would hold true for AZ and VGK.
8 - four team divisions makes the most sense. I imagine MLB will do the same when they expand to 32 in the next five years (to help recoup COVID losses).
I get the Vancouver-Seattle thing from a proximity standpoint, but who are the other two teams? If it's Edmonton & Calgary (with AZ/LA/ANA/LV in the Pacific) what do you do with San Jose? There's not a perfect solution.
I think it is worth exploring some more. Some glaring challenges I see is having Boston playing in a division with 3 Canadian teams and then Buffalo and Toronto being in different divisions. Generally 4 team division just feels too small but willing to explore it a bit more.
I thought about Buffalo & Toronto in the same division, but I wasn't convinced of the importance of it especially when they would still play each other four times per year.
Boston is still a short hop from those three cities. I really wanted to keep them with the Canadiens. It's one of the few traditional rivalries that still exists. Too bad Hartford is gone.
I like the analogy to the NFL, which I think has the best league organization and *had* the best playoff format prior to getting greedy and adding another set of teams. I’d take it a step further and standardize the division names to a simple N-S-E-W.
You could definitely do that. The division names were mere suggestions. I am not wed to those at all. I do think the NFL organizes its teams better than other leagues.
This is sensible. Logical. Well reasoned.
In other words... never gonna happen.
Probably.
1.
Vancouver
Seattle
Edmonton
Calgary
2.
LA
Anaheim
San Jose
Las Vegas
3.
Colorado
Dallas
St. Louis
Arizona
4.
Winnipeg
Minnesota
Chicago
Detroit
5.
Buffalo
Toronto
Ottawa
Montreal
6.
Boston
New Jersey
New York
New York Isles
7.
Washington
Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
Carolina
8.
Tampa
Florida
Nashville
Columbus
Columbus to #7 and Carolina to #8
I love those Divisions so much better. Division 4 OMG
I think it's great plan. You'd make a fantastic commissioner. Bettman IS close to retirement?
I don't have the qualifications.
If only you had stayed on that Finance track and added a Law degree :) You would make a very good commissioner - logical, fact-based, not reactionary and good at long-term, trusting relationship building.
Neither does he....
It seems like the main problem is there are just too many teams clustered up there in the North East. I think the NHL probably just needs to move the Canadiens, Senators, and Maple Leafs to Atlanta, San Diego and Portland. That would fix it. :)
lol. I'm all in on multiple San Diego trips.
I don't get all of the complaining, and some of the odd realignment suggestions in these replies. Obviously, you have to keep the five teams along the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Division. Vegas is farther west than Phoenix is, and there's no way the Edmonton-Calgary rivalry should be split up. That makes eight teams, and leaves us as the odd man out. None of us like it, but it's just luck of the draw.
With the revenue issues caused by Covid, & realignment being associated with travel savings, the idea gets revisited?
Didn't sound that way when I spoke to Bill Daly. I hope so.
That's what I was thinking.....
I actually love this idea, having a southwest division creating that natural rivalry between AZ and Vegas makes sense. The primary reason I think the NHL would never consider this is probably "tradition" because that seems to be about half of how every decision is made.
Thanks. Any plan will have flaws, but it was fun to rethink things. I agree that the NHL often seems unwilling to do so.
SCIENCE!
Since they announced AZ to the Central, it never made sense to me that they didn’t try to keep AZ and Vegas together. I’d even settle for a AZ/LA/ANA/LV division. Each division opponent would be within an hour by plane.
The whole idea of having Vancouver and Seattle in the same division is to have a natural rival in close proximity and the same would hold true for AZ and VGK.
8 - four team divisions makes the most sense. I imagine MLB will do the same when they expand to 32 in the next five years (to help recoup COVID losses).
I get the Vancouver-Seattle thing from a proximity standpoint, but who are the other two teams? If it's Edmonton & Calgary (with AZ/LA/ANA/LV in the Pacific) what do you do with San Jose? There's not a perfect solution.
I hate the realignment, the last Edmonton game had huge energy. Now we only get to see the best player in the league twice every other year??
Haha! Sorry, man.
Nah Austin will be here before you know it. ;-)
Excellent analysis..thanks.
Thank you.
I think it is worth exploring some more. Some glaring challenges I see is having Boston playing in a division with 3 Canadian teams and then Buffalo and Toronto being in different divisions. Generally 4 team division just feels too small but willing to explore it a bit more.
I thought about Buffalo & Toronto in the same division, but I wasn't convinced of the importance of it especially when they would still play each other four times per year.
Boston is still a short hop from those three cities. I really wanted to keep them with the Canadiens. It's one of the few traditional rivalries that still exists. Too bad Hartford is gone.
I like the analogy to the NFL, which I think has the best league organization and *had* the best playoff format prior to getting greedy and adding another set of teams. I’d take it a step further and standardize the division names to a simple N-S-E-W.
You could definitely do that. The division names were mere suggestions. I am not wed to those at all. I do think the NFL organizes its teams better than other leagues.
Well, we were looking for things to upset Toronto a couple of threads ago. I think this would do it.
lol
You know why they don't want to, because that big of a change would really upset all Canadians.
True, but then they would apologize for being upset and roll with it. 😁
I'm sure some would be fine with it but the ones on Twitter, they love dumping on the Coyotes.
I would've left the Coyotes in the Pacific; moved Colorado to the Pacific and Calgary & Edmonton to the Central.