Jump to content

Latest on realignment


Z-Man

Recommended Posts

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/columnist/allen/story/2011-12-04/nhl-realignment/51640448/1

The 4 Conference proposal needs 20 of 30 votes to pass, and all West teams are expected to approve it. They would need 5 of the 15 teams currently in the East to approve. Winnipeg and Philly are expected to approve, which means only 3 more votes in the East are needed. Four teams from each Conference would make the playoffs.

Florida

Tampa

Montreal

Toronto

Buffalo

Ottawa

Boston

Carolina

Washington

Isles

Rangers

New Jersey

Pittsburgh

Philly

Detroit

Chicago

St. Louis

Nashville

Columbus

Winnipeg

Dallas

Minnesota

Los Angeles

Anaheim

San Jose

Phoenix

Vancouver

Calgary

Edmonton

Colorado

Other nuggets:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/More-pros-than-cons-to-be-found-in-latest-NHL-re?urn=nhl-wp18968

• Home and homes. Every team would play a home and home series

• Rivalries remain

• Divisional playoffs

• Geographical improvement

I would think Detroit and/or Columbus would still want to move East, and with the unbalanced number of teams (14 East, 16 West), the NHL would consider that. Otherwise, I don't mind the proposal.

Edited by Z-Man
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Um, if they're wanting to do this geographically and make travel easier why on earth are they putting Florida teams with the Northeast Conference? Doesn't that seem a little strange? As much as I would hate to see it happen because we've got quite the historical rivalry with the Flyers I think this spread would make more sense from those 14 teams:

Montreal

Toronto

Ottawa

Boston

Isles

Rangers

New Jersey

Buffalo

Pittsburgh

Philly

Carolina

Washington

Florida

Tampa

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Basically this would suck for the devils as now Washington would be in an already tough dividing with us.

Getting into one of those 7 team divisions would be very beneficial though. So it's kind of a push. Placed with three teams that have been very tough for most of the last 4 or 5 years, but only having to compete with 3 others for the last spot, and not even if one of those titans falls off/has a bad season.

Um, if they're wanting to do this geographically and make travel easier why on earth are they putting Florida teams with the Northeast Conference? Doesn't that seem a little strange?

Whoever's idea this was, they clearly were clearly favoring preserving rivalries. I'm guessing those rivalries would be intensified by the playoff system.

What would the schedule look like? I'm thinking you play every out of division team twice and the remainder in.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would think Detroit and/or Columbus would still want to move East, and with the unbalanced number of teams (14 East, 16 West), the NHL would consider that. Otherwise, I don't mind the proposal.

From what they said on CBC there would be no more East/West. First two rounds in your division/conference (depending on what they call them, they would be the same thing) and then reseed league wide for the 3rd round.

Getting into one of those 7 team divisions would be very beneficial though. So it's kind of a push. Placed with three teams that have been very tough for most of the last 4 or 5 years, but only having to compete with 3 others for the last spot, and not even if one of those titans falls off/has a bad season.

Whoever's idea this was, they clearly were clearly favoring preserving rivalries. I'm guessing those rivalries would be intensified by the playoff system.

What would the schedule look like? I'm thinking you play every out of division team twice and the remainder in.

Yes. So for the Devils they would play every team in the division/conference 6 times. The other teams twice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd actually like to see this tried out. also i heard them say that the imbalance of teams (16 "west" vs 14 "east") is temporary, for the reasoning that if phoenix moves to say quebec, they would be placed in one of the "eastern conferences" evening out 15 each

It doesn't sound to me like there are any meaningful conferences left under this plan. Teams play all out-of-division opponents equally (twice), then determine a division champ in the playoffs, then the semifinals get seeded in some fashion, not the central winner vs the pacific winner by default. So if that's the case, "eastern" or "western" divisions are just an illusion. The geography only matters for game starting times and travel. What really matters is whether your team's division has 7 or 8 teams.

On the subject of seeding the semifinals, how do you guys think they should do it? Straight record I do not like; too much of the schedule is in-division. Maybe it could be by record in the games that the 4 teams played amongst each other in the regular season. Maybe out-of-division record, though I'm not crazy about that one either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel for Florida and Tampa in this setup. Not only will their travel be way out of whack, but they're arenas will be invaded even moreso by snowbird fans from the north every time they host the Canadian teams. Kind of kills home ice advantage for them. I imagine they're two definite "no" votes from the East.

And knowing our organization's reluctance to embrace change since the mid-90s (except, of course, when it comes to head coaches), I think it's fair to say the Devils are a close to lock for a "no" vote.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel for Florida and Tampa in this setup. Not only will their travel be way out of whack, but they're arenas will be invaded even moreso by snowbird fans from the north every time they host the Canadian teams. Kind of kills home ice advantage for them. I imagine they're two definite "no" votes from the East.

Florida has such trouble drawing that they openly advertise to fans of other teams. I am pretty sure that on this logic, they would be a "yes" vote.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Florida has such trouble drawing that they openly advertise to fans of other teams. I am pretty sure that on this logic, they would be a "yes" vote.

True. Though I would think the highly increased travel would win out over anything else, no? Strictly from a bottom-line standpoint?

Edited by thelastonealive
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Florida has such trouble drawing that they openly advertise to fans of other teams. I am pretty sure that on this logic, they would be a "yes" vote.

Careful, despite not making the playoffs since forever they still have a higher average attendance than we do this year according to ESPN's stats. That being said, I do think both Tampa and Florida are yes votes for the exact reason that they can draw a significant amount of away fans in the proposed alignment. It's the same reason the Panthers play the Canadians every year during the Holidays since they know their fans will travel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Careful, despite not making the playoffs since forever they still have a higher average attendance than we do this year according to ESPN's stats. That being said, I do think both Tampa and Florida are yes votes for the exact reason that they can draw a significant amount of away fans in the proposed alignment. It's the same reason the Panthers play the Canadians every year during the Holidays since they know their fans will travel.

Are we going to have this debate again? Florida basically gives tickets away and offers promotions to fans of other teams. Their revenue generated from ticket sales can't be anywhere near what NJ gets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Travel costs a lot of money. I think it outweighs any possible ticket sales which are not a sure thing...unlike travel costs which are guaranteed.

I don't think the real problem for the Panthers is being with those northern teams. They already lost Atlanta, that was the only trip besides Tampa that would have been nice and cheap for them. Sure, going to Ottawa is much rougher than Raleigh, but it still beats Winnipeg. It's also not that big of a change, since they already visit all of those places twice a year anyway. The real travel pinch under this proposed set-up is playing in every arena every year. That means two or three big road trips to knock off all of those western teams.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think the real problem for the Panthers is being with those northern teams. They already lost Atlanta, that was the only trip besides Tampa that would have been nice and cheap for them. Sure, going to Ottawa is much rougher than Raleigh, but it still beats Winnipeg. It's also not that big of a change, since they already visit all of those places twice a year anyway. The real travel pinch under this proposed set-up is playing in every arena every year. That means two or three big road trips to knock off all of those western teams.

True but players are always saying that road trips build team chemistry and I remember hearing that one time the Penguins flew back to Pittsburgh and spent the net in a hotel because they had a 4 win road trip just to preserve the same atmosphere and routines

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.