Hey y'all. I'm hoping this thread turns out to be decent, this is my first thread on this site, thought I've give it a shot, so if it doesn't turn out decent, cut me some slack.
Anyways, today I wanted to discuss the NHL's plans to redistribute the divisions following Seattle's incorporation into the league. Since Seattle is being incorporated into the Pacific Division, which already has eight teams while the Central Division only has seven, meaning one other Pacific Division needs to switch over in order to solve the issue of imbalance, and that team has already been confirmed to be the Arizona Coyotes. News of this confirmation immediately brought about rumors that this absolutely meant the Arizona Coyotes were relocating to Houston, given the financial struggles the team has already been, and still is, going through, and since moving the team over to Houston would put the team closer to its other Central Division rivals. However, these rumors have possibly been shot down by the Coyotes CEO Ahron Cohen, whom has stated, as I quote, "Any investment in our team must be laser-focused on helping the Coyotes achieve a long-term sustainable arena solution here in Arizona."
With a statement like that coming from the owner of the team, I wouldn't put my money on the Coyotes relocating anytime soon. Sure, it's possible the CEO could eat his own words and the team would relocate to Houston anyways if the team financially has no other choice, but don't hold your breath on it.
So this brings me to the main point of the thread. If the Arizona Coyotes are going to be realigned into the Central Division, and if they're staying in Arizona, travel costs can become an absolute nightmare, not only that, but all of its division rivals, with the exceptions being the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars, would be unnatural rivals well over 1500 miles away. Teams such as Winnipeg, Minnesota, Chicago, and Nashville would be in the same division as Arizona, while teams in Arizona's backyard such as San Jose, Anaheim, LA, and Vegas won't be. The desert rivalry between the Yotes and Knights? Gone. A shame too, I truly believe an own-the-desert rivalry between Arizona and Vegas would be great for both teams, and I think it could give the Yotes a boost in attendance as well.
But this division issue goes beyond just Arizona though. The two teams in Florida are arbitrarily grouped within the Atlantic Division, with teams way up north such as Boston and Montreal, instead of the Metro Division with teams far closer such as Carolina and Washington. The division alignment in the NHL is pretty sloppy, although to it's credit, it's nowhere near as bad as the NFL, but that's no excuse.
Now, I don't expect the NHL to at all take my advice on the following material, which I'm mostly just doing for fun. I do have my concerns with how the divisions are aligned, but I don't expect this thread to change anything at the higher level, this thread is mainly for a fun, but still intellectual, discussion topic. I would like to know how you personally would realign the divisions if you would like to let me know in the comments down below, but for now, I'll give how I'd do it.
Now, the way I'd do it.
Instead of having 4 divisions with 8 teams each, there'd be 8 divisions with 4 teams each. The conferences would stay the same, all the teams in either the Western or Eastern Conference would stay put.
In the regular season, any specific team would meet its three division rival 6 times, which adds up to 18 games. They would meet the twelve teams in the same conference but not the same division 3 times, which adds up to 36 games, 18 + 36 gives you 54 games. They would meet the sixteen teams in the opposite conference 2 times, which adds up to 32 games. 54 + 32 gives you 86, so it would be an 86 game schedule.
The playoff format format would revert back to a 1-8, 2-7, 3-6, 4-5 system, the way it was before the current division realignment.
Here's what the divisions would look like;
West
Northwest
Vancouver Canucks
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Winnipeg Jets
Pacific
Seattle
San Jose Sharks
Los Angeles Kings
Anaheim Ducks
Southwest
Vegas Golden Knights
Arizona Coyotes
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Central
Minnesota Wild
St. Louis Blues
Chicago Blackhawks
Nashville Predators
East
Northeast
Toronto Maple Leafs
Ottawa Senators
Montreal Canadiens
Boston Bruins
Atlantic
Buffalo Sabres
New York Rangers
New York Islanders
New Jersey Devils
Metropolitan
Detroit Red Wings
Columbus Blue Jackets
Pittsburgh Penguins
Philadelphia Flyers
Southeast
Washington Capitals
Carolina Hurricanes
Tampa Bay Lightning
Florida Panthers
