218 replies to this topic

[Z-Man]

http://www.usatoday....ment/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....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, 04 December 2011 - 02:08 PM.

[DevsMan84]

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

Overall though not a bad start.

[Devilsfan118]

Seeing more of Carolina...yay...

[Marshall]

Four teams from each Conference would make the playoffs.

AND they would duke it out in their conference before moving on, like in the old division playoff days.

[devlman]

Thanks for screwing everything up trying to fit your small village market within the league, Winnipeg. If you wanted the Atlanta thrashers so badly then keep their division.

Edited by devlman, 04 December 2011 - 03:11 PM.

[NewarkDevil5]

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

[DevilNurn]

Yeah although they might get the votes this really screws over Florida and Tampa. Surely there's a better way to split up the East if this happens.

[Devils Dose]

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.

[adam85491]

This sucks.

[mikeford]

Tremendously terrible idea.

[jkrdevil]

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.

[Triumph]

I like it. I like divisional playoffs. Home and home with every team I'm not crazy about, but the conference matchups just aren't that important in this format.

Oh, I'm not crazy about reseeding after the 2nd round.

Edited by Triumph, 04 December 2011 - 05:38 PM.

[mrthemike]

I'm sorry, but I love this for us. This will be huge for our rivalries.

[Bibby89]

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

[Devils Dose]

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.

[thelastonealive]

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.

[Triumph]

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.

[thelastonealive]

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, 04 December 2011 - 09:25 PM.

[Lateralous]

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.

[adam85491]

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.