Reallignment leaked by Nick Costanika

[worstfaceoffmanever]

BTW, in the NFL, Buffalo and Miami are in the same division, along with the Pats and Jets.

The NFL does its alignment differently because of the AFL-NFL merger. All four of the AFC East teams came from the AFL. The AFC West is the same way, and Major League Baseball is the same way, because it is technically an umbrella for the American and National Leagues (although the individual leagues no longer have offices).

The market that gets screwed over the most here is Quebec City. There would be nowhere for them to come into the league. Winnipeg is on an island, too; they aren't marketable in the US, and they have no Canadian partner to work with. One might could fix that by adding a hypothetical Markham team, but then the Markham team would have a brutal travel schedule. Not to mention the fact that teams like Chicago and St. Louis no longer get multiple match-ups with Detroit annually that get them on national TV more often; of St. Louis' seven TV appearances last year, four of them came when they played the Red Wings. Detroit was on national TV 15 times last year, Chicago was on 11 times, Minnesota had eight, and nobody else in the West had more than seven.

And, to be honest, I have little-to-no interest in seeing Winnipeg and Colorado. I could go either way with Minnesota and Dallas.

 

[29dryden29]

Over Dec and Jan T Bay gets a huge upswing in attendance from those of us that head down for holidays.

 

[Legionnaire11]

There are 4-6 other months in an NHL season that don't include Christmas and New Years. There are plenty of vacationing and relocated/retired folks in Florida from NYC, BOS, PHI, WSH... why not put them with those teams if the snowbird theory is true.

 

[kypredsfan]

I love this alignment for us! No more Wings in the house, except for 1 day a year. Count me in! Plus, spark a rivalry with stars, jet, and then make Suter play us tons. Oh so fun.

 

[Legionnaire11]

I don't ever see a rivalry with the Jets, and outside of Suter there isn't much interest in Minnesota.

But I do believe that Dallas (moreso) and Colorado (a bit less) would be a good draw and could build some sort of rival interest. Keeping the Chicago and St. Louis matchups is good too.

Would be nice if Quebec was a certainty and it forced us to keep Detroit instead of Winnipeg, but I think they would replace Colorado instead and we would still get the Jets.

For the Jets sake I think they would be better off with VAN, EDM, CGY. Not as many ideal start times for them, but way more fan and media interest.

 

[kypredsfan]

I don't ever see a rivalry with the Jets, and outside of Suter there isn't much interest in Minnesota.

But I do believe that Dallas (moreso) and Colorado (a bit less) would be a good draw and could build some sort of rival interest. Keeping the Chicago and St. Louis matchups is good too.

Would be nice if Quebec was a certainty and it forced us to keep Detroit instead of Winnipeg, but I think they would replace Colorado instead and we would still get the Jets.

For the Jets sake I think they would be better off with VAN, EDM, CGY. Not as many ideal start times for them, but way more fan and media interest.

I disagree with you on the Jets not being a rival. Of all the Thrashers fans, for or against Winnipeg, it could be really fun.

 

[PredsV82]

the good news is we no longer need to depend on 3 or 4 guaranteed sellouts vs the Wings each year to help attendance.

the bad news is I really, really wanted to win the division one time while they were still in it with us.

The one potential pitfall is in-division(or conference) playoffs... some people say it will create rivalries but I think it may create boredom, especially if the same four teams make it year after year... I can definitely see say chicago fans saying "ho hum, another first round series with nashville... we will just wait until the next round to show up"

 

[Legionnaire11]

I disagree with you on the Jets not being a rival. Of all the Thrashers fans, for or against Winnipeg, it could be really fun.

I don't think it will have that big of an impact. Similar to the Snowbird argument for CAN vs FLA teams. There are definitely Thrashers fans with a rooting interest, but Nashville and Winnipeg fans and media represent the vast majority and the interest isn't there.

IMO, Even if the on-ice rivalry heats up between the two, it would still have the least amount of potential fan interest vs potential interest in a rivalry with any other team in the division.

Of course that's not all bad. If there is just one team in the division that doesn't jive. Because like I said I think the Dallas rivalry would really blow up, and without Detroit to focus on, the St. Louis and Chicago rivalries would intensify.

 

[BigFatCat999]

I think the rivalry potential is Minnesota. You have Craig 'Mismanagement' Leipold and Ryan Suter.

Secondly, and for the Atlanta transplants; Winnipeg. They represent everything that Nashville fans hate; the south not deserving hockey so we must 'liberate' said teams to Canada. If there was any team that would represent what Preds Fans feel about certain members of the Northern Fanbase it is Winnipeg.

Colorado, Not sure about, there seems to be no connection. And with this proposal this should kill any chance of Nashville getting ROR.

From what I see, the Preds are trading the bottom half of the Central for the middle of the NW. A very good trade for the Preds since they have a 34-15-9 record against these teams in the past 3 years.

I'm trying to look at this from what was lost and what was won.

What was lost:

Main rival: Detroit. We finally become Detroit's 'rising monster' and they run tail to the easier east. A generation has past since Nashville came into the scene and the team has already won the kids of the Detroit auto workers. The true victory has been won.

Columbus: What could have been our 'Rising Monster'. i won't lie, Columbus scares the hell out of me. They set a Predators like foundation but unlike Nashville they most likely will have a #1 pick to set up their 1st line. (And maybe a #2 as well.)

Financially; a small loss. Yes, it would have been nice to have those Detroit games to push the ticket prices up but for Nashville to grow we have to out grow Detroit. The Preds are currently doing that. The Preds are a better team on the ice and we have a better attendance percentage.

There is still the top of the old central to deal with (CHI, STL) but instead of depending on a lot of CBJ wins, the team will depend on a lot of MIN, COL, DAL wins.

 

[PredsV82]

assuming we all continue to be reasonably good, our rivals will be Chicago and St Louis, until one of us falls back into suckage.

minnesota will be a rival, provided they become consistently competitive.

WPG, COL, and DAL, will only become major rivals if we end up in playoff series with them frequently

 

[RaiderDoug]

I dig the new alignment.

We lose a couple of Wings dates, but more than make up for it in guaranteed yearly visit from big draws like the Pens, Philly, Rangers, Leafs, Boston, etc.

While Preds fans think the Red Wings are a rival, to DRW fans we're like 3rd on the list (maybe even lower).

Less PTZ games are great! As an ETZ based fan, those games might as well not even be happening. And it never made sense for us to play someone like Vancouver more than someone like Washington or Carolina.

I don't even see a downside in the potential playoff plan. Familiarity breeds hate. Does anyone hate the Coyotes? Does anyone hate the Canucks? No, but run into someone like St. Louis or Dallas once or twice in the playoffs - it will add new meaning to rivalry.

 

[NSHPreds1835]

I don't think it will have that big of an impact. Similar to the Snowbird argument for CAN vs FLA teams. There are definitely Thrashers fans with a rooting interest, but Nashville and Winnipeg fans and media represent the vast majority and the interest isn't there.

IMO, Even if the on-ice rivalry heats up between the two, it would still have the least amount of potential fan interest vs potential interest in a rivalry with any other team in the division.

Of course that's not all bad. If there is just one team in the division that doesn't jive. Because like I said I think the Dallas rivalry would really blow up, and without Detroit to focus on, the St. Louis and Chicago rivalries would intensify.

Yeah outside of displaced Atlanta fans who either stuck with the team or moved on to Nashville I don't really think Nashville/Winnipeg will become much of a rivalry.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

Doesn't make any sense at all ... I suspect that the owners already have the Markham + QC card in their back pocket (which actually makes sense) and they're throwing this out there as a "soft landing" ... "well we tried to get you to the EC but, we couldn't pass up the gargantuan expansion fees that we're receiving from QC & Markham"

If they've got QC & Markham set up though - why would they move DET & CLM to an EC only to see them get bumped back when expansion hits?

Also, it seems "odd" that they'd publicize this before they have an ownership solution in PHO? Because if PHO moves to QC/Markham, someone is going to need to get bumped back to one of the "Western Conferences".

 

[tbcwpg]

I don't ever see a rivalry with the Jets, and outside of Suter there isn't much interest in Minnesota.

But I do believe that Dallas (moreso) and Colorado (a bit less) would be a good draw and could build some sort of rival interest. Keeping the Chicago and St. Louis matchups is good too.

Would be nice if Quebec was a certainty and it forced us to keep Detroit instead of Winnipeg, but I think they would replace Colorado instead and we would still get the Jets.

For the Jets sake I think they would be better off with VAN, EDM, CGY. Not as many ideal start times for them, but way more fan and media interest.

Just browsing future divisional rivals boards' for their opinions on realignment. In regards to your bolded point, I think that here in Winnipeg, the rivalry with those teams is pretty much non-existent at this point. The Oilers came here last season, and there wasn't as much hype about it as you would've thought. I think we're more interested in a competitive division with less travel and better start times. "Fan interest" can wane quite a bit when most of your games start at 8:30 or later.

 

[Legionnaire11]

Just browsing future divisional rivals boards' for their opinions on realignment. In regards to your bolded point, I think that here in Winnipeg, the rivalry with those teams is pretty much non-existent at this point. The Oilers came here last season, and there wasn't as much hype about it as you would've thought. I think we're more interested in a competitive division with less travel and better start times. "Fan interest" can wane quite a bit when most of your games start at 8:30 or later.

Does it translate across the border at all as in Minnesota and Chicago?

Obviously the Leafs and Habs would draw well anywhere, but a division with them is almost guaranteed to never happen for the Jets.

 

[tbcwpg]

Does it translate across the border at all as in Minnesota and Chicago?

Obviously the Leafs and Habs would draw well anywhere, but a division with them is almost guaranteed to never happen for the Jets.

It would, I think. When the team was gone for 15 years, many people in Winnipeg picked a new team to follow. Chicago is an obvious choice as an original 6 team, as well with a captain in Toews who was born and raised in Winnipeg. Geographically, Minnesota is the closest team to us (Calgary is a 12-14 hour drive, depending on how fast you like to go, Minneapolis is about 7 and a half hours). There are a lot of disappointed fans because Chicago has still not played here in Winnipeg. I think when it comes to Chicago, it would benefit us more than them as far as TV exposure goes, but it would be fun here.

Same with Minnesota, we played a home and away set with them last year and a lot of Jets fans made the trip to Minnesota. From browsing the Wild board, I think they'd be excited to have a team like the Jets in their division as well.

With our arena, we don't necessarily have to worry about certain teams drawing well, at least in the short term. The building will be full whether there are more games with Toronto, or Nashville. The only difference is that some Jets fans might put on their old team's jersey when they come to town (I'm a Jets STH and cheer for the Leafs when they come to town, as my old "first" team).

 

[Paranoid Android]

I like the groupings but I don't like the playoffs. I'm just not a fan of playing the same teams every year for the first 2 rounds. I liked when the NHL went away from that format, and was hoping they would go even further. I don't like the idea of potentially the 2 best teams in the league having to face each other in the 2nd round.

 

[Soundgarden]

I like the groupings but I don't like the playoffs. I'm just not a fan of playing the same teams every year for the first 2 rounds. I liked when the NHL went away from that format, and was hoping they would go even further. I don't like the idea of potentially the 2 best teams in the league having to face each other in the 2nd round.

I like the idea of meeting the same teams in the first couple rounds. Very easy for rivalries to form, or make current rivalries 10X better. We usually have great games with st. louis just imagine having to play them every year or two.

 

[Legionnaire11]

I like divisional playoffs better for the time being, more chances for intense rivalries to form for the Predators which further bolsters that interest in the game. Good for the league too, the Wings-Avs series was carrying the league for several years.

Now, in 10-15 years... maybe a different story.

 

[Drake744]

The one game I went to had 1/3 Leafs fans. Obviously, I don't know how often that happens. See post #17 above. Any Panthers fans out there?

I was an intern with the Panthers a few seasons ago. The number of visiting fans that fill the arena for games against teams like Boston, NY and specfically Montreal and Toronto are unreal. Never seen anything like it.

 

[Gnashville]

I think the rivalry potential is Minnesota. You have Craig 'Mismanagement' Leipold and Ryan Suter.

Secondly, and for the Atlanta transplants; Winnipeg. They represent everything that Nashville fans hate; the south not deserving hockey so we must 'liberate' said teams to Canada. If there was any team that would represent what Preds Fans feel about certain members of the Northern Fanbase it is Winnipeg.

Colorado, Not sure about, there seems to be no connection. And with this proposal this should kill any chance of Nashville getting ROR.

From what I see, the Preds are trading the bottom half of the Central for the middle of the NW. A very good trade for the Preds since they have a 34-15-9 record against these teams in the past 3 years.

I'm trying to look at this from what was lost and what was won.

What was lost:

Main rival: Detroit. We finally become Detroit's 'rising monster' and they run tail to the easier east. A generation has past since Nashville came into the scene and the team has already won the kids of the Detroit auto workers. The true victory has been won.

Columbus: What could have been our 'Rising Monster'. i won't lie, Columbus scares the hell out of me. They set a Predators like foundation but unlike Nashville they most likely will have a #1 pick to set up their 1st line. (And maybe a #2 as well.)

Financially; a small loss. Yes, it would have been nice to have those Detroit games to push the ticket prices up but for Nashville to grow we have to out grow Detroit. The Preds are currently doing that. The Preds are a better team on the ice and we have a better attendance percentage.

There is still the top of the old central to deal with (CHI, STL) but instead of depending on a lot of CBJ wins, the team will depend on a lot of MIN, COL, DAL wins.

This Winnipeg fans were some of the worst when Baldsilly was trying to more the Preds. They had no sympathy for fans losing their team yet cried for years about losing theirs.

It's time for us to move on from the Wings. The city has moved on from the expansion years when the arena was was 75% red for the Wings to being nothing but a few drunken idiots left cheering for the Wings.

There was never a rivalry with the Jackets after MacLean left. I actually want to cheer for them without any guilt.

I loathe Liarpold and $uter worse than Khan Noonien Singh does Captain Kirk.

so yeah the Mild will be rivals

 

[NSHPreds1835]

I was an intern with the Panthers a few seasons ago. The number of visiting fans that fill the arena for games against teams like Boston, NY and specfically Montreal and Toronto are unreal. Never seen anything like it.

Atlanta had the same problems. Lots of transplanted people that held onto their old hockey allegiences.

 

[triggrman]

We have some of that here with Detroit, St. Louis and Chicago. Detroit because of the car industry, Chicago thanks to the hourly SW flights I guess and St. Louis goes all the way back to the 60's and the railroad I guess. My mom is from St. Louis and her dad transferred here while working for the railroad, so that's the basis of that guess.