Why not have better regional divisions next year?

[Hockey Dad]

Dallas fans get screwed. That is what we had to deal with before. Right now is a 2 hour time difference.

 

[KingsFan7824]

I will never, ever understand this American obsession with giving rewards for winning your division. This isn't baseball or football where the concept makes sense due to how the schedule works. Seed them 1-8 in the conference and be done with it.

If you're going to have divisions, they need to mean something, because they do change the schedule you play in some form or fashion.

 

[Rysto]

If you're going to have divisions, they need to mean something

They really, really don't. The NHL has never improved its playoff structure by giving preference to teams based off the division that they play in.

 

[tony d]

Doubt they'd separate the Pennsylvania teams. Also think when they go to 32 teams they'll do some sort of realignment.

 

[KingsFan7824]

Dallas fans get screwed. That is what we had to deal with before. Right now is a 2 hour time difference.

Dallas is a team that is a throw-in when it comes to alignment talk. They're sort of west, and in the south somewhere, and nobody knows what to do with them since they're not all the close to any other team.

They really, really don't. The NHL has never improved its playoff structure by giving preference to teams based off the division that they play in.

Doing that was never about improving the playoff structure. It's probably mostly been about giving teams another banner to put up in order to sell more tickets, but if you're not giving division winners any leg up in the standings, then just don't have divisions.

 

[westc2]

I will never, ever understand this American obsession with giving rewards for winning your division. This isn't baseball or football where the concept makes sense due to how the schedule works. Seed them 1-8 in the conference and be done with it.

Lets say you have 2 divisions. We'll take the central and pacific.

Now let's say the final standings were like this.

Chicago - 92
Minnesota - 91
St. Louis - 90
Nashville - 89
Winnipeg - 88
Dallas - 87
Colorado - 84

San Jose - 136
Anaheim - 124
Edmonton - 54
Calgary - 50
Los Angeles - 46
Vancouver - 44
Arizona - 40

Let's also say...that Edmonton through Arizona are terrible this year, and all the Central teams are good... and San Jose / Anaheim have inflated points because of their easy division, but they're on par with most of the Central teams.

You'd still have a problem with Chicago getting the #2 seed in the West for winning it's division?

 

[Prairie Habs]

Lets say you have 2 divisions. We'll take the central and pacific.

Now let's say the final standings were like this.

Chicago - 92
Minnesota - 91
St. Louis - 90
Nashville - 89
Winnipeg - 88
Dallas - 87
Colorado - 84

San Jose - 136
Anaheim - 124
Edmonton - 54
Calgary - 50
Los Angeles - 46
Vancouver - 44
Arizona - 40

Let's also say...that Edmonton through Arizona are terrible this year, and all the Central teams are good... and San Jose / Anaheim have inflated points because of their easy division, but they're on par with most of the Central teams.

You'd still have a problem with Chicago getting the #2 seed in the West for winning it's division?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Season_structure_of_the_NHL

In the West you play the teams in your own division 29 times vs 21 times against teams in the other division in your conference.

San Jose/Anaheim plays the bottom 5 in the Pacific 24-25 times.

A Central team plays those bottom 5 teams 15 times.

Not nearly enough of a difference to make up the 32 point spread between Anaheim and Chicago.

 

[M2Beezy]

Lets say you have 2 divisions. We'll take the central and pacific.

Now let's say the final standings were like this.

Chicago - 92
Minnesota - 91
St. Louis - 90
Nashville - 89
Winnipeg - 88
Dallas - 87
Colorado - 84

San Jose - 136
Anaheim - 124
Edmonton - 54
Calgary - 50
Los Angeles - 46
Vancouver - 44
Arizona - 40

Let's also say...that Edmonton through Arizona are terrible this year, and all the Central teams are good... and San Jose / Anaheim have inflated points because of their easy division, but they're on par with most of the Central teams.

You'd still have a problem with Chicago getting the #2 seed in the West for winning it's division?

Yeah i doubt anything like that could ever happen

 

[Quarter]

Doubt they'd separate the Pennsylvania teams. Also think when they go to 32 teams they'll do some sort of realignment.

Only if QC gets Team 32. All that needs to be done when the league does finally expand is eliminate the wildcard. Top four in each division make the playoffs.

I'm not sure the league will get rid of it though. I assume they would. It would make complete sense, after all. But I can see the league wanting to keep the wildcard as a form of... well, gimmick, I guess. A little something to give hope to the fans of the fifth placed team who wasn't good enough to finish fourth.

 

[deckercky]

Next year with 31 teams it will be unavoidable. There's no way to split them such that divisions are equal in teams.

31 divisions.

QED.