Oh, You Want a RADICAL Realignment? Try 32 Teams
You all knew I wouldn't be able to stop.
Here is the most radical, yet positively doable re-imagining of the NHL yet. It's a crazy hybridization of the plans being tossed around lately, plus relocation and expansion. It addresses the biggest gripe of the latest realignment, Chicago losing Detroit as a more-than-two-games-per-season opponent. It does however keep the other gripe that half(ish) fans have, the "final four" playoff style. Also, since we've upped to 32 teams, there shall be no whining about uneven/unfair playoff chances.
The Key: Two Extra Rivals Per Team
The key to it all is this: In addition to Conference opponents, each team gets two non-confence rivals which whom they have an additional home-and-home series. I picked the pairings based on previous rivalry history (i.e. Chicago/Detroit), relocation history (i.e. Quebec City/Colorado), Stanley Cup finals history (i.e. LA/Montreal). These pairings can obviously be tweaked, but the idea is there, and dare I say, really interesting to me.
The Gripe It Fixes, and the One It Keeps
Chicago losing Detroit as a more-than-two-games-per-season opponent was the loudest complaint about the realignment that passed. In this version the two are paired again. The "final four" playoff style that half the fans dislike stays exactly where it is.
Nobody Gets an Unfair Playoff Draw
At 32 teams, with four conferences of eight, the uneven playoff math disappears. That was the second half of the argument, and it is settled by arithmetic rather than by a compromise.
How the Pairs Were Picked
Previous rivalry history, relocation history and Stanley Cup finals history did the work, with Chicago and Detroit, Quebec City and Colorado, and Los Angeles and Montreal as the examples. The pairings are meant to be tweaked.
Apologies to Miami and Phoenix
I'll stop talking now... other than to apologize to the fans in Miami and Phoenix.
Additional Note: Florida to Houston could just as easily be to Kansas City or Milwaukee or some other Central Time Zone city.
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