Confirmed with Link: "Tentative" Realignment Standings

[Svenner]

So according to TSN and other sports channels, the NHL has created a layout for the new standings that can be in effect by next season (if approved by all parties).

The Divisions are as follows:

Pacific Division:

• Anaheim Ducks
• Calgary Flames
• Edmonton Oilers
• Los Angeles Kings
• Phoenix Coyotes
• San Jose Sharks
• Vancouver Canucks

Mid-West Division:

• Chicago Blackhawks
• Colorado Avalanche
• Dallas Stars
• Minnesota Wild
• Nashville Predators
• St. Louis Blues
• Winnipeg Jets

Central Division:

• Boston Bruins
• Buffalo Sabres
• Detroit Red Wings
• Florida Panthers
• Montreal Canadiens
• Ottawa Senators
• Tampa Bay Lightning
• Toronto Maple Leafs

Atlantic Division:

• Carolina Hurricanes
• Columbus Blue Jackets
• New Jersey Devils
• NY Islanders
• NY Rangers
• Philadelphia Flyers
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• Washington Capitals

Its pretty odd that we have two divisions with 8 teams and 2 division with 7 teams but they are looking to expand to 32 teams so we could see some changes. These standings have not been confirmed yet but there's a good chance they will stay like this. Playoffs will have something along the lines of the 3 top teams of each division are guaranteed a playoff spot and the remaining spots will go to the teams with the most points from any division.. Its a little confusing but we should hear more on exactly how it will work. There will still be 16 teams in the playoffs.

Heres more on the playoffs from TSN: ( http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=416887 )

It would be divisional playoffs, not conference playoffs, so 1 vs. 4, 2 vs 3 in the first round. The two fourth seeds would be made up of the wild-card teams. The top division winner based on regular-season points in the standings would face off against the lower-ranked wild-card team. The other division winner would play the higher-ranked wild-card.

First-round winners then meet in second round in the division championship; Third round sees Pacific winner vs. Mid-West winner in Western Conference finals; Central winner versus Atlantic winner in Eastern Conference finals; Eastern and Western Conference champions meet in Stanley Cup finals.

The regular season schedule would see teams play every team in the other conference home and away.

My question is how do you think the Flames will do under this new layout? I'm personally a little worried since there are some pretty tough teams in our division and we could end up at the bottom of the pack (assuming Anaheim doesn't lose Perry or Getzlaf or both and the Oilers stop losing regardless of how many 1st overall picks they get). What do you guys think? Is this beneficial to the Flames or worse?

Heres another link: http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8...s-playoff-wild-cards-drops-league-4-divisions

Click to read more...

 

[Ace Rimmer]

No real surprises here. Appears to be more of a split of time zones than anything else.

I do prefer four divisions instead of six.

The southeastern teams (Carolina, Florida & Tampa) should be in the same division IMO.

 

[FLAMES666]

Colorado no longer in our division = ROR trade.....

 

[Ace Rimmer]

This system will also bring back the significant divisional rivalries of the 80's - you will always play someone in your division in the playoffs.

 

[SmellOfVictory]

I like that group. I'd rather have dropped Phoenix than Colorado, but aside from that it's a good combination.

 

[Svenner]

Unless we get 2 extra teams I find it odd.. The Western Divisions have a better chance at making the playoffs then the east. Works out for the Flames though so I won't complain.

 

[Hand of Gaudreau]

Playoffs:
Pacific:
Anaheim
Vancouver
LA

SJ - 19
Pho - 19
Edm - 18
Cgy - 17

Mid-West:
Chicago
Nashville
St.Louis

Dal - 20
Min - 18
Wpg - 17
Col - 16

Central:
Montreal
Ottawa
Boston

Tor - 24
Det - 21
TB - 19
Flo - 14
Buf -13

Atlantic:
Pittsburgh
New Jersey
Carolina

Phi - 19
NYR - 18
NYI - 17
Was - 13
CBJ - 12

Wild Cards:
Toronto
Detroit
San Jose
Dallas

 

[Svenner]

This system will also bring back the significant divisional rivalries of the 80's - you will always play someone in your division in the playoffs.

I definitely like the idea of divisional playoffs.. the 2nd and 3rd seed are guaranteed being division rivals.

 

[Hand of Gaudreau]

Our Div is friggin tough...

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Standings in the "Pacific Division" as of today:

Anaheim Ducks - 27 points, 17 GP
Vancouver Canucks - 24 points, 18 GP
Los Angeles Kings - 20 points, 17 GP
Phoenix Coyotes - 19 points, 18 GP
San Jose Sharks - 19 points, 17 GP
Edmonton Oilers - 18 points, 18 GP
Calgary Flames - 17 points, 17 GP

So, it doesn't really affect the current playoff picture too much.

How will the schedule work - does a team play more inter-division, fewer inter-conference, and home/home against the other conference?

 

[Svenner]

Standings in the "Pacific Division" as of today:

Anaheim Ducks - 27 points, 17 GP
Vancouver Canucks - 24 points, 18 GP
Los Angeles Kings - 20 points, 17 GP
Phoenix Coyotes - 19 points, 18 GP
San Jose Sharks - 19 points, 17 GP
Edmonton Oilers - 18 points, 18 GP
Calgary Flames - 17 points, 17 GP

So, it doesn't really affect the current playoff picture too much.

How will the schedule work - does a team play more inter-division, fewer inter-conference, and home/home against the other conference?

They mentioned that they will play each team out of the conference atleast 2 times, both home and away.. But they probably end up playing the other Western division more then that so I would guess maybe 6 games each? (inter-division)

 

[Zoombie]

I like it.... and with the wildcard the conferences with fewer teams won't have an easier chance of making it. (More or less true depending on scheduling, but could create cool storylines too like an Eastern team sneaking into the West Conf. playoffs etc).

 

[Anglesmith]

I think uneven conferences are not worth pursuing. I think that it was a huge mistake on the league's part to propose that sort of huge paradigm shift last year. They should have done a minor swap of teams (say Winnipeg for Nashville or something like that), and then they wouldn't be so desperate to do something drastic. If Winnipeg weren't in the Southeast, maybe it would be more realistic to simply wait until expansion.

I find it ironic that the league is planning changes before expansion actually happens, given they spend so much time telling cities not to make any decisions based on potential future expansion or relocation of NHL franchises.

 

[Ace Rimmer]

I think uneven conferences are not worth pursuing. I think that it was a huge mistake on the league's part to propose that sort of huge paradigm shift last year. They should have done a minor swap of teams (say Winnipeg for Nashville or something like that), and then they wouldn't be so desperate to do something drastic. If Winnipeg weren't in the Southeast, maybe it would be more realistic to simply wait until expansion.

I find it ironic that the league is planning changes before expansion actually happens, given they spend so much time telling cities not to make any decisions based on potential future expansion or relocation of NHL franchises.

If anything, this realignment doesn't consider potential expansion teams in Quebec City or Markham.

And to make things more equitable, the wild card teams should be able to cross-over between west/eastern conferences.

 

[InfinityIggy]

I like the teams in each division, but I hate the uneven teams in each, even though we get the advantage this time.

 

[Nordberg]

For now this would actually make the competition slightly more fair in terms of how difficult it is to get into the playoffs, because the East is pretty awful compared to the West right now. The only two truly strong teams in the East are Boston and Pittsburgh and I think Boston has lost a step since their cup win.

 

[Fantasy Billionaire]

I guess we will have a lot more 8:00pm starts.

 

[YMCMBYOLO]

I guess we will have a lot more 8:00pm starts.

Unfortunately, yes.

 

[Hand of Gaudreau]

If anything, this realignment doesn't consider potential expansion teams in Quebec City or Markham.

And to make things more equitable, the wild card teams should be able to cross-over between west/eastern conferences.

There has been a lot of talk about a team in Seattle though, makes me interested in the players teams will lock up and not lock up for the expansion drafts, might be a good chance to unload some ****** contracts, last expansion draft there was no cap, now there is a lower cap than when most of the big contracts were signed.

 

[MarkGio]

It makes better sense, and if we still play every other team then we'll still get a good number of early starts

 

[Skobel24]

Seattle and Las Vegas expansion?

 

[1989]

Feels like that Mid-West Division would be the weakest.

 

[Calculon]

Not a big fan of divisional playoffs. Keeping as it is would have been better in my mind.

 

[Svenner]

It does seem like they are looking to expand out in the west but I still think they should bring back Quebec city, I think it would work this time around plus another Canadian team would be great. Either way im assuming they plan to expand in the next few years or else this is just dumb.. One conference has two teams more then the other, it just doesn't look right to me.

 

[scoringmachine]

So according to TSN and other sports channels, the NHL has created a layout for the new standings that can be in effect by next season (if approved by all parties).

The Divisions are as follows:

Pacific Division:

• Anaheim Ducks
• Calgary Flames
• Edmonton Oilers
• Los Angeles Kings
• Phoenix Coyotes
• San Jose Sharks
• Vancouver Canucks

Mid-West Division:

• Chicago Blackhawks
• Colorado Avalanche
• Dallas Stars
• Minnesota Wild
• Nashville Predators
• St. Louis Blues
• Winnipeg Jets

Central Division:

• Boston Bruins
• Buffalo Sabres
• Detroit Red Wings
• Florida Panthers
• Montreal Canadiens
• Ottawa Senators
• Tampa Bay Lightning
• Toronto Maple Leafs

Atlantic Division:

• Carolina Hurricanes
• Columbus Blue Jackets
• New Jersey Devils
• NY Islanders
• NY Rangers
• Philadelphia Flyers
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• Washington Capitals

Its pretty odd that we have two divisions with 8 teams and 2 division with 7 teams but they are looking to expand to 32 teams so we could see some changes. These standings have not been confirmed yet but there's a good chance they will stay like this. Playoffs will have something along the lines of the 3 top teams of each division are guaranteed a playoff spot and the remaining spots will go to the teams with the most points from any division.. Its a little confusing but we should hear more on exactly how it will work. There will still be 16 teams in the playoffs.

Heres more on the playoffs from TSN: ( http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=416887 )


My question is how do you think the Flames will do under this new layout? I'm personally a little worried since there are some pretty tough teams in our division and we could end up at the bottom of the pack (assuming Anaheim doesn't lose Perry or Getzlaf or both and the Oilers stop losing regardless of how many 1st overall picks they get). What do you guys think? Is this beneficial to the Flames or worse?

Heres another link: http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8...s-playoff-wild-cards-drops-league-4-divisions

I like the realignment but not the playoff. I would prefer they keep the playoff picture the same where the top 8 from from the west and top 8 from east make the playoff.

Currently this is what is proposed

Western Conference

Pacific Division (top 4 teams make the playoff)
Mid-West Division (top 4 teams make the playoff)

Eastern Conference
Central Division (top 4 teams make the playoff)
Atlantic Division (top 4 teams make the playoff)


Which mean points would not mean much as a non-playoff teams could have more points than a team in the playoff. Second they want each division to find a champion so Pacific division champ will play Mid-West division champ and the winner goes to play against winner of Central Division Champ vs Atlantic Division Champ. I rather keep the system we have now for playoff as it is less confusing.