My 32 Team NHL

[Bixby Snyder]

My NHL has fewer than 32 teams so the casual fan can more easily keep track of the players:

Wales Conference
Adams Division
Montreal Canadiens
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Ottawa Senators
Hamilton Tigers
Hartford Whalers

Patrick Division
New York Rangers
Pittsburgh Penguins
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
Philadelphia Flyers
Hartford Whalers
Columbus Blue Jackets

Campbell Conference
Norris Division
Detroit Red Wings
Chicago Blackhawks
St. Louis Blues
Toronto Maple Leafs
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild

Smythe Division
Vancouver Canucks
Los Angeles Kings
Edmonton Oilers
Calgary Flames
Colorado Avalanche
Winnipeg Jets

Hartford has 2 teams named Whalers? And I thought it was ridiculous for the CFL to have 2 teams called Roughriders, but that was 2 different cities.

 

[Killer]

32 teams
2 conferences
4 divisions

West

Smythe Division
Anaheim
Calgary
Edmonton
Los Angeles
Phoenix
San Jose
Seattle (expansion)
Vancouver

Norris Division
Chicago
Colorado
Columbus
Dallas
Detroit
Kansas City (expansion)
Minnesota
St. Louis

Adams Division
Boston
Buffalo
Hamilton (ex-Nashville)
Montreal
NY Islanders
NY Rangers
Ottawa
Toronto

Patrick Division
Atlanta
Carolina
Florida
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Tampa Bay
Washington

 

[mr. Blase]

Hartford has 2 teams named Whalers? And I thought it was ridiculous for the CFL to have 2 teams called Roughriders, but that was 2 different cities.

Hartford could support 3, even 4 teams

 

[Transported Upstater]

so that is what an off-topic, asnine and complete waste of a post looks like. Thank you for clarification.

The topic is about a 32-team NHL.

If you have an agenda about contraction, take it elsewhere.

 

[tony d]

My 32 team NHL would have 2 conferences and 8 4 team divisions, the conferences would still be west and east but the divisions would be named after hockey legends as they where prior to 1993-1994:

Eastern Conference

Gordie Howe Division

Boston
Montreal
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh

Adams Division

Buffalo
New Jersey
N.Y. Islanders
N.Y. Rangers

Marcel Dionne Division

Carolina
Florida
Tampa Bay
Washington

James Patrick Division

Detroit
Hamilton (Ex Nashville)
Ottawa
Toronto

Western Conference

Conn Smythe Division

Atlanta
Chicago
Columbus
St.Louis

James Norris Division

Colorado
Dallas
Kansas City (Expansion)
Minnesota

King Clancy Division

Calgary
Edmonton
Las Vegas/Portland/Seattle (Expansion)
Vancouver

Bobby Orr Division

Anaheim
Los Angeles
Phoenix
San Jose

 

[Devs]

I don't like how you split up some of those teams. Also, now that the Nashville to Hamilton deal is dead, Hamilton will no longer occupy a spot in the East. This is what I have in mind: 4 divisions of 8, 1v4, 2v3 divisional playoffs. Here are my divisions:

Patrick
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Columbus
Washington
Carolina
Atlanta
Tampa
Florida

Adams
Montreal
Boston
Ottawa
Toronto
Buffalo
Rangers
Islanders
Devils

Norris
Dallas
Houston
Kansas City
St. Louis
Detroit
Minnesota
Chicago
Nashville

Smythe
Los Angeles
Anaheim
San Jose
Phoenix
Vancouver
Edmonton
Calgary
Colorado

I dislike the split of teams in the East, and I want to bring Detroit into the East, but that would require either moving Atlanta to the West or moving an Eastern team, and I don't feel like offending anyone right now. Thoughts?

 

[billcanuck]

I love the idea of NHL 1 and NHL 2 and had a similar idea myself. I think it solves a lot of problems. The great thing about division football/soccer is that it rewards success - teams don't want to be regulated. Most years the most exciting races are at the bottom of the league, not the top. If you introduced a strict cap then that would help with the problem of bloated super-teams like they have in Europe.

The first year, you'd take the top twenty teams from previous season to make NHL 1; and add ten expansion franchise to NHL 2. Then have 2, 3 or 4 up and down.

I'd also reduce the schedule and introduce a league cup - like the FA Cup - which is a challenge cup between all the teams (maybe include the AHL) with opponents chosen by lottery. The league cup would run through the year and add an extra element of excitement to games.

Ah, you can dream, right?

 

[Believe in Blue]

32 teams, 4 divisions in each conference like the NFL, 82 game season.

Western Conference:

San Jose
Los Angeles
Anaheim
Phoenix

Edmonton
Calgary
Vancouver
WINNIPEG (Expansion)

Dallas
Colorado
St. Louis
KANSAS CITY (Expansion)

Minnesota
Detroit
Chicago
Columbus

Eastern Conference:

Montreal
Ottawa
Toronto
HAMILTON (Relocation from Nashville)

Buffalo
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Washington

Boston
NY Rangers
NY Islanders
New Jersey

Carolina
Atlanta
Tampa Bay
Florida

6 games against each team within the division (18 games), 4 games against other teams in the conference (48 games), 1 interconference game alternating location each season (1 games). Grand total of 82 games.

8 teams per conference make the playoffs and 4 division winners get home ice in the 1st round.

Comments...?

I like it, Divisions look great. All the teams a relitavely close together and the expansion of 2 teams in Canada and KC getting a team would make it work

 

[Lionheart]

My personal model

I might be one of the only people who keep Nashville, but i'm gonna piss off another fanbase greatly in doing so. (Note to fans of this missing team: It's actually nothing against your team at all, as I am a fan of several of your players. This model is actually more based on travel and evening out the West than anything. If you want to make your own models and kick Ottawa to the curb, by all means do so). I will not identify this team outright, but let you figure it out yourselves...

Note: This model would begin in '09 to allow Seattle to build an arena that would be ready as soon as possible.

Ottawa
Toronto
Montreal
Buffalo

Boston
NY Rangers
NY Islanders
New Jersey

Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Columbus
Washington

Tampa Bay
Atlanta
Florida
Nashville

Vancouver
Calgary
Edmonton
Seattle (ex. '09)

Colorado
Dallas
St. Louis
Oklahoma (moved)

Detroit
Chicago
Winnipeg (ex. '09)
Minnesota

Phoenix
Los Angeles
San Jose
Anaheim

6 division games/opponent, 4 games/conference team, 1 game/other conference team = 82. Season starts last Saturday in September and ends first Thursday in April, thus hopefully nearly eliminating "June Hockey"

Playoffs: Only top 6 teams/conference (including each of the division leaders) 'clinch' berths, but seeds 7/10 play each other on the Saturday following the final day (7 vs. 10, 8 vs. 9, stats don't count towards regular season) in order to qualify. The brackets are then set up by record as per usual. No more points for OT/SO losses. I know people will hate this idea, but it could be good for potential Cinderella stories.

Why Oklahoma, you ask? Rabid (most times) support of minor hockey teams, and many columnists have called it the next big market in the US. (No links handy, but have definitely read it.) Seattle adds a presence in the PNW. I was actually going to choose Milwaukee/Wisconsin over Winnipeg, but wasn't quite sure as to how well the Admirals had done there going back to the IHL days.