NHL Realignment Proposal Needs Work
The proposed four division realignment plan that has 16 teams in the Eastern Conference and 14 teams in the Western Conference leaves a lot to be desired. The plan moves the Detroit Red Wings and the Columbus Blue Jackets into the Eastern Conference and Winnipeg into the Western Conference. The four divisions would breakdown like this:
Eastern Conference
Division 1: Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, Philly, NYR, NYI, Pittsburgh and Washington
Division 2: Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Buffalo, Ottawa, Detroit, Florida and Tampa Bay
Western Conference
Division 3: Chicago, Dallas, Colorado, St.Louis, Minnesota, Nashville and Winnipeg
Division 4: Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose and Vancouver
The East has 16 teams and the West has 14 teams. The top three teams in each division and two wild card teams from the rest of the conference would make the playoffs. This is where the first problem crops up. There is an inequity as 2 wild card teams in the East would come from the 10 remaining teams while in the West 2 wild card teams would come from the 7 remaining teams.
The second problem is that what happens if Phoenix goes belly up? Quebec City or a second team in Toronto could not be added because they would create a bigger imbalance between the two conferences. It would appear that this would mean that Seattle would be the most likely fall back solution if the Coyotes need to head out of the desert.
Can Seattle support an NHL team? Maybe, as its close proximity to Vancouver could result in a similar situation as you have in Buffalo. However, there would be no question about the ability to support a team in Quebec City or a second team in Toronto.
Realignment should be the opportunity to strengthen the league and should result in an even amount of teams in each division. That would mean either adding two teams or contracting two teams. In my opinion, contraction is the answer. My plan would be the following:
* Move Phoenix to Seattle
* Contract the Florida Panthers and the New York Islanders
* Two 14 team Conferences: top 8 teams make the playoffs or 2 seven team divisions within each conference
Eastern Conference
Division 1: Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Detroit and Columbus
Division 2: Philadelphia, NY Rangers, New Jersey, Washington, Carolina, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay
Western Conference
Division 3: Chicago, St.Louis, Minnesota, Dallas, Nashville, Colorado and Winnipeg
Division 4: Anaheim, Los Angeles, Seattle, Vancouver, San Jose, Edmonton and Calgary
Contraction would strengthen teams and makes more sense than adding two teams. Each conference would be balanced. The loss of the Islanders would be a shame based on the team's history but that was almost 40 years ago and the ownership has done nothing to bring this club along. In fact, they have actually damaged the Islander brand. Will contraction happen?? Absolutely not. The owners and the players would never agree to it. But if they did what was right for the NHL that's what needs to happen. What do you think??
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