218 replies to this topic

[thefiestygoat]

No more chance of a devs rags, flyers, pens, caps conference finals. There just wasn't a need to change the system. Screw Winnipeg. Hockey is growing at a great rate now. Why risk screwing around with things

Winnipeg was just one part of this. A lot of teams out West have been asking for changes for a while now and this is the first opportunity the league had to accommodate as many teams as possible. 26 teams voted in favor of this so I think this shows that it was something that had to be done. Plus this allows the league for an easy relocation of Phoenix if need be.

[Jas0nMacIsaac]

I love it...you get the rivalries back. Too many games throughout the season go through the motions. You start having a few similar playoff series after time hate will reemerge.

[BlueSkirt]

could actually see gretzky, howe, orr and clarke or bossy for more current names.

could also go west, central, east and metropolitan (or atlantic)

ha ha, well they certainly wont use the words north/south with the FLA teams being geographically above the NY teams
so Atlantic may be a good bet
How about Leaders & Legends...oh that is already taken LOL

[thefiestygoat]

I love it...you get the rivalries back. Too many games throughout the season go through the motions. You start having a few similar playoff series after time hate will reemerge.

This is a major reason I love the changes. I'm also glad that the Devils conference has all of their Atlantic Division rivals plus the old Patrick Division rivalry with Washington. Also the Devils and Hurricanes have been going at it on/off for a while now. This should make for some real interesting hockey in the future.

[Devils Pride 26]

It certainly looks tougher. Think of the Pens and Caps as mainstays to make the playoffs, Philly with pretty good odds. Man, its going to be a fight every game.

[MadDog2020]

could actually see gretzky, howe, orr and clarke or bossy for more current names.

could also go west, central, east and metropolitan (or atlantic)

Naming the divisions after legendary players is also a good, original idea. What was great about the old conference and division names from back in the day was how original they were in comparison to other sports.Whatever they decide, I hope the NHL does something original, that honors the history of the game in some way.

[MadDog2020]

It certainly looks tougher. Think of the Pens and Caps as mainstays to make the playoffs, Philly with pretty good odds. Man, its going to be a fight every game.

Damn straight. You thought Ranger and Flyer games were intense before? Get ready folks. It's about to get raised a level or 11.

[BlueSkirt]

I think they conference names will be Eastern, Atlantic (ours), Central, and Western

Evidently the playoff structure is not yet settled:

NHL general managers will determine the playoff structure after round two in the proposed realignment.

The concept of re-seeding is a strong contender, however the league wants the general managers' input before implementing.

Also

In the seven-team Conferences, teams would play six times -- three home, three away
. In the eight-team Conferences, a bit more manoeuvering would be required.

so for us, 6 games each times 6 confernce opponents = 36 games
The other 46 games come from a home & home with the other 23 teams
thats the 82 game season

Edited by BlueSkirt, 05 December 2011 - 10:53 PM.

[SMantzas]

yeah I dont like the teams we have in it. I love the rivalries, but not our odds to make it to the playoffs

[devlman]

Winnipeg was just one part of this. A lot of teams out West have been asking for changes for a while now and this is the first opportunity the league had to accommodate as many teams as possible. 26 teams voted in favor of this so I think this shows that it was something that had to be done. Plus this allows the league for an easy relocation of Phoenix if need be.

Ok. Tell me how this is fair to Tampa. And don't say attendance from visiting fans, because they don't need attendance help, and aside from Montreal no other team in that conf will bring a substantial amount of fans down there.

[Prucenterrules]

While trying to find a positive out of this situation, the Devils tend to play their best when they play the top teams. By playing in what can be argued the best "conference" now in the NHL, the Devils will not have an opportunity to take a night off because they will know that there is so much pressure on them because the other teams in our division will be racking up large amounts of points.

[Z-Man]

This does bring back the old feeling of pre-conference based playoffs. The Patrick Division semifinals and finals were always great, you had to beat two rivals to get to the Conference Championship. The current conference setup of first & second round series (where we played against teams like Carolina, Ottawa, etc.) never had the feel or excitement of a divisional playoff. How often did two divisional rivals play in the ECF or WCF, anyway? We have guaranteed matchups every playoffs now.

They do have to keep the East/West "final four" though. Don't like the idea of matchups like Pittsburgh/San Jose and Philly/Detroit in the semis. The East/West still has a great feel in the finals.

Overall I'm not too upset with the changes. Of course, I'd love to hear what Florida and Tampa fans have to say...

[thefiestygoat]

Ok. Tell me how this is fair to Tampa. And don't say attendance from visiting fans, because they don't need attendance help, and aside from Montreal no other team in that conf will bring a substantial amount of fans down there.

You could argue that this is not ideal for either Florida team, I can't deny that. I think the fact of it is that teams like Detroit, Columbus, Minnesota, and Dallas have been asking for years to be realigned for geographical purposes for travel and television reasons. Its impossible to please everyone but I think this helps the majority of teams. I won't be shocked if it comes out that 3 of the 4 teams that voted against it were the 2 Florida teams and Devils.

[95Crash]

Damn, we are gonna be in one kick-ass conference.

[devlman]

I hope the more frequent match ups we see dont get stale and boring either

[devlman]

You could argue that this is not ideal for either Florida team, I can't deny that. I think the fact of it is that teams like Detroit, Columbus, Minnesota, and Dallas have been asking for years to be realigned for geographical purposes for travel and television reasons. Its impossible to please everyone but I think this helps the majority of teams. I won't be shocked if it comes out that 3 of the 4 teams that voted against it were the 2 Florida teams and Devils.

I'm surprised the NHL didn't stick us in the northwest just cuz they like fkn with us so much...

[Colin226]

it's going to be consistently hard to make the playoffs in our new division.. ugh

You were competing with those teams anyway

I'm surprised the NHL didn't stick us in the northwest just cuz they like fkn with us so much...

They would have if it was possible to video review something like this

Edited by Colin226, 05 December 2011 - 11:11 PM.

[Colin226]

Ok. Tell me how this is fair to Tampa. And don't say attendance from visiting fans, because they don't need attendance help, and aside from Montreal no other team in that conf will bring a substantial amount of fans down there.

They still had to fly to every game anyway under the old format so it doesn't rude flights, just the flying time and they still had to fly up north 2 times per team in the old format.. what's 1 more flight up to Canada?

Edited by Colin226, 05 December 2011 - 11:13 PM.

[devlman]

You could argue that this is not ideal for either Florida team, I can't deny that. I think the fact of it is that teams like Detroit, Columbus, Minnesota, and Dallas have been asking for years to be realigned for geographical purposes for travel and television reasons. Its impossible to please everyone but I think this helps the majority of teams. I won't be shocked if it comes out that 3 of the 4 teams that voted against it were the 2 Florida teams and Devils.

I see what you're trying to say but how does detroit, Columbus, minnesota benefit from being in a Division with dallas? Is detroit better off today? Did they get their wish? If the NHL made these changes to help geographically and with tv markets then I'd understand but it seems they just messed around to fit Winnipeg.

Edited by devlman, 05 December 2011 - 11:15 PM.

[devlman]

They still had to fly to every game anyway under the old format so it doesn't rude flights, just the flying time and they still had to fly up north 2 times per team in the old format.. what's 1 more flight up to Canada?

I believe there would be more than one flight more up to canada. And the extra flight distances add up to alot of dough

They would have if it was possible to video review something like this

Exactly lol

Edited by devlman, 05 December 2011 - 11:18 PM.