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Posted on 12/06/2011 4:39:20 AM PST by airborne
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- The NHL's Board of Governors on Monday approved a radical realignment plan, eliminating the current two-conference, six-division setup in favor of a configuration that features four conferences based primarily on geography. Two conferences will have eight teams and the other two conferences will have seven teams.
The Board authorized Commissioner Gary Bettman to implement this proposal in Monday evening's vote, pending input from the National Hockey League Players' Association. The League's intention is for the four-conference set-up to be in place starting with the 2012-13 season.
The vote to approve realignment required a two-thirds majority of the League's 30 governors, and it passed on the first of two days of meetings here at The Inn at Spanish Bay.
The makeup of the yet-to-be-named four conferences is as follows:
* New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Washington and Carolina
* Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Florida and Tampa Bay
* Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota, Dallas and Winnipeg
* Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado
"I had nothing against the existing format, and but for the move to Winnipeg we wouldn't be looking to change it," Bettman said. "It wasn't a question of being dissatisfied, but we had a number of clubs that were unhappy with the current state of affairs, and in the context of having to make a change anyway felt it was important for their needs and their concerns and their issues to be recognized. It was intended to be as much a global solution as possible."
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And Dallas is in the same geographical area as Winnepeg? Sure it is!
It’s stupid Columbus has been in the west. Good move at least for Columbus.
The “Bore Us” division is back from the dead!
Will they keep the scheme where they play thousands of games only to eliminate eight teams from the post-season? What a farce.
Boston isn’t closer to Florida than New York.
Great, the Stars finally get to play most of their games in their own time zone....playing all of those games on the West Coast was killing this team.
But at least it's the same time zone, at least those games won't start at 9:30 PM local time, like all of their games against the Sharks, Ducks and Kings.
Tried posting a comment much earlier, but apparently FR is still having server problems...
I think the realignment will reduce travel expenses for many teams. Dallas has been in the West Division for years, requiring travel to Anaheim, L.A., Phoenix, etc., in the Pacific time zone; and those teams have to travel to Texas in the Central time zone. .....Same situation exists for other divisions, as well.
The new arrangement is not just significant from a geographic standpoint, but is also putting the divisions in common time zones and that will draw more viewership on TV. I often have not been able to watch the Dallas Stars games on the West Coast because they don’t begin until 9pm Central.
The NFL and MLB should also consider similar changes, to reduce travel expenses within divisions. The Cowboys, for instance, are in a division with the Eagles, Giants and Redskins... all being in the North and East and Eastern time zone. I know all four teams have long-established rivalries, but the costs associated with the travel are very high. ........Wow! Can’t believe I just said that, because I LOVE the rivalries with those three teams.
14 teams are eliminated, not 8.
And, like everything Gary Bettman touches, it will crash and burn. I hope I’m wrong because I love the NHL but he’s about as unimpressive a commissioner as I’ve ever seen.
Here’s a vote for going back to the way the NHL used to do things and name the conferences after people. That made the NHL distinctive back in the day but in Bettman’s never ending quest to make the NHL just like the failing NBA in everything except getting his league on a television network people actually watch, I won’t hold my breath.
While I liked the classic names it kind of sucked for new fans. What the heck is a Cambell conference, where’s a Norris? There’s not money in confusing new fans. And the ratings are way up from where they were on ESPN.
WTF...Strange Conference set up... (unless the Florida Panthers becomes the Hartford Whalers).
Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Buffalo should be together, but Tampa Bay (who should stay in Tampa, and will) and Florida (who would need players from Cuba, Jamica, Columbia and Haiti to get people in the seats) shouldn't be in that conference.
Bettman screwed up the NHL...with his sunbelt strategy, now with this setup... he really is smoking something funky...
The NHL should contract....I would get rid of Florida and Phoenix, for starters.
Cons: unequal chances at making playoffs in the 8 team vs. 7 team conferences, and imperfect placements of FLA & TB. But at least those teams will boost their attendances by playing several games vs. BOS, TOR, MTL rather than Washington or Carolina.
Sounds great!
Here’s my 1st-round suggestion for Conference names, in the same order as in the article:
the Incomprehensible Fans Con., the Snow and Sun Con., the We’re a Long Way From the Ocean Con., and the Surf and Turf Con.
Clever throwing the Fla teams in with the E. Canada teams for the snowbirds. On the whole an improvement.
“I think there are a lot of shysters in Florida.”
Who will move when Phoenix goes to Quebec City?
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