Jay's Take on NHL Realignment

Howdy my fellow Rioters!  I apologize for my absence.  I was in an automobile accident and suffered what I like to call a Grade 2 Crosby (concussion if you didn’t get the reference).  I’ve spent the past few days feeling like I was drunk, but with a killer headache, and some serious nausea (sharing my medical condition with you Rioters! is what you need).  Although I’m still unsure of my name at times and I occasionally wander into my kitchen, only to pee my pants, but the show must go on.

The NHL is had their Board of Governors Meetings this week in Pebble Beach (even Canadians like to golf), and somehow Commissioner Gary Bettman hammered out the NHL realignment in just under two hours (I really wonder what “favors” he dealt out for 24 of 30 owners to agree on it).  After reviewing it I was on the fence, but after thinking about it some more I stand behind it.

In case you live under a rock or don’t dig on hockey (which makes you an a*hole), next season’s alignment will look like this:

Conference D – Rangers, Islanders, Devils, Flyers, Penguins, Capitals, Hurricanes

Conference C – Bruins, Maple Leafs, Canadiens, Senators, Sabres, Panthers, Lightning

Conference B – Red Wings, Stars, Blackhawks, Blues, Predators, Wild, Jets, Blue Jackets

Conference A –  Oilers, Canucks, Flames, Kings, Coyotes, Sharks, Flames, Avalanche

Although I find the that there’s four conferences as opposed to divisions peculiar, I think moving each team into similar time zones, along with the schedule changes is going to be best for the NHL and its fans as a whole.

PROS:

Return of the Patrick Division – Growing up in New York, the Patrick Division was my favorite division in all of hockey (it never hurt I loved the Flyers and grew up with three local teams who were not named the Flyers).  All of the teams were pretty much within a five hour drive from each other and it was a great rivalry for the fans.  Once the NHL split into six divisions, they moved the Capitals to the Southeast, which really hurt what was the Patrick Division (I loathed the Capitals growing up and Rod Langway was one of the first professional athletes I wanted to punch it in the face).  The Patrick Division being realigned (along with the Hurricanes), really takes me back to a day of the JCHL.  That was a time when the NHL was a dominant force.

Natural Rivalries Remain – I know Mike Ilitch wanted the Red Wings to move to the East, and I know the NHL did everything to bend over for him, but I’m glad the Wings have remained where they are.  The Blackhawks, Blue, and Stars (they were North once), are the Wings natural rivalries (you could even throw the Jets in that basket).  The same can be said for other conferences with Montreal, Boston, Toronto, and Buffalo remaining together, as well as keeping the Oilers and the Flames together so they can continue the “Battle of Alberta”.

Hockey Returns to Quebec?  While it’s not official, every indication seen at the Board of Governors meetings pointed to that.  It seems that within the next couple years (if not next year), the Phoenix Coyotes will be relocating to Quebec City.  Aside from how people were speaking regarding possible relocation, they kept both eight team conferences out West.  Once relocation happens (and it will, Phoenix doesn’t deserve a hockey team), they will simply move the Coyotes (I mean Nordiques), into “Conference C”.   I know it, if you didn’t now you do, and above all Quebec City knows it, so congratulations to them (Quebecers, I’ll do my best to learn French).  Now we all just need to start the campaign to make sure they’re named the Nordiques (which is something all of us at TSR! will stand behind).

Home at Home Schedule – I’ve read that some teams aren’t happy about this (mainly on the East Coast, boo hoo), due to travel, but the new schedule will require each team to play a game in each opposing team’s city.  This is great for fans in the West that don’t get a chance to see Claude Giroux and people on the East Coast to see Daniel Sedin.  Personally I like it because it guarantees me once a year I can root on the Jets and Oilers live from my home in Philadelphia (I’m selfish like that).

CONS:

Room For Expansion – With the good in everything there is always the bad.  The one thing I see that I won’t be a fan of is expansion. 

When you have two conferences each with seven and eight teams, you’d have to think the NHL is going to eventually want eight teams in all four conferences, so it’s balanced.  Whether they are considering putting teams in Seattle, Hamilton, Kansas City, or even Quebec (should by some major malfunction, Gary Bettman’s US-bias continues and doesn’t approve another Canadian relocation), I don’t like the idea.  I’ve made it clear in the past that while I find NHL players to be the most talented of all athletes in North American professional sports (Yeah, I said it, let’s see if Kobe can fire a wrist shot, while getting molested by another teams defense; all this while on skates), ever since expansion I think the talent pool has gotten thin and the game as a whole has suffered.

Playoffs – I do like the initial idea of the top four teams in each conference making the playoffs with the winners facing each other (with a yet to be determined how the finals will pan out, be it record or by geographical location), I will miss how the playoffs are currently structured.  There’s something great about heading into March with four teams battling for one spot.  I’m sure it is possible within the conference, but to me it’s not the same.  Also it leave it open for a team in a weaker conference to slide in when teams in a tougher conference are missing the playoffs (the NFC West has been like that in football for years).

Florida Teams Not Quite Aligned – While the alignment was done the best it could, the Florida teams got the shit end of the stick being thrown in with a bunch of Northeast teams.  While I do like it because it brought back the former Patrick Division (not moving the Flyers and Capitals south), the Panthers and Lightning suffered.  Sure they’ll have to travel a ton but maybe if they really had a true fan base they wouldn’t have been overlooked and given more consideration.

MISC:

 Conference Names – This really isn’t a pro or con (hence while it’s filed under “MISC”), but it’s definitely and interesting debate.  I’ve heard some people think bringing back the old Patrick, Adams, Norris, and Smythe were the way to go (and I like it a ton better then something like Pacific, Central, Northeast, and Atlantic, which is lame), I have a better idea.  It’ll bring back some hockey history and will have relevance to each conference.  Check it:

Conference A: The Wayne Gretzky Conference – The Great One spent his best years with the Oilers, he played on the Kings and coached and owned the Coyotes (at least partially). 

Conference B: The Gordie Howe Conference – Gordie is one of the greatest players who ever donned an NHL sweater and spent almost his entire career in Detroit.

Conference C: The Bobby Orr Conference – The best defenseman the NHL has ever seen (I hope you aren’t reading this Rick, Paul Coffey is still better), he set records that will never be broken.  He also spent his entire career in Beantown and is a legend.

Conference D: The Mario Lemieux Conference – In the 80’s there wasn’t a better player than Lemieux.  Oh wait there was...  Nevertheless Gretzky’s bridesmaid has gone down in history as one of the greatest players ever.  Seeing he was a career Penguin it’s a perfect fit.

I think there’s not a better honor for any of the NHL greats than to name a newly formed conference after them.

What are your thoughts?  Is this just my bruised brain talking (which isn’t too much different than my drunkenness, sans the headache), or am I actually making sense?  Let me know your thoughts.  Hit me up at shatmeself@yahoo.com.  Oh and there’s still that Twitter thing.  You Rioters! are beginning to piss me off.  Log in, search @TheSportsRiot, and “follow”.  It’s not rocket science kids.