Some sort of realignment was expected for the NHL for the 2012-13 season with Atlanta making the move to Winnipeg. We’ve also heard rumors of a complete overhaul to how the divisions are structured using the East/West format.
However, according to the SportingNews, those rumors seem to becoming more and more of a reality.
“There will be. I can guarantee you. It will be more dramatic,” an NHL executive told Sporting News on Saturday. “It will be realignment of the whole league. It will be a different format. I think it’ll please a lot of people.”
Since Atlanta moved to Winnipeg this off-season it was assumed that the teams that could take their spot in the East were either Nashville, Columbus or Detroit. Each team has their argument as to why they believe they belong in the Eastern Conference. Nashville seems to be the natural fit to replace Atlanta in the Southeast Division. Columbus could develop a natural rivalry of sorts with Pittsburgh that would hopefully generate some more interest in the still young franchise. And Detroit, who lies just as much east as Columbus does could have renewed rivalries with the Maple Leafs, Rangers, Canadiens and Bruins.
All three of these teams however cannot make the jump to the East in the current conference setup.
“The fact remains that there are three teams that should be in the East that are in the West,” the executive said. “The only way you can make everybody happy is by restructuring the whole thing. That’s what they’re working on.”
It seems as though the leading plan is to have two conferences split up into 4 divisions with eight teams. Two of those divisions would have 8 teams while the other two would have 7 teams. Currently the NHL has 6 divisions with 5 teams per division.
“I’m just happy we’re discussing it. Maybe there’s a way for Detroit and Columbus to get in the East,” said Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson. “I’m glad we’re all open to it. We’ll see where it all goes.”
The realignment is expected to be finalized during the Board of Governors meeting in December.
I’m still going to say that this is just a rumor until further confirmation could be made. Stay tuned.
Source: SportingNews
