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Realigning the NHL the Right Way, a Few Hours Late
My final proposal is just a little too late. And it's too bad, because I went all "Howard Hughes" obsessive with it and made it into more of an infographic, and the Scheduling Pods and Scheduling Quads concept was so cool... oh well.
Chicago Gets Detroit Back
Chicago fans can now calm down as I've put the Wings back in your conference.
Nine Road Games in the Mountain and Pacific
Wings fans, please put down the pitchforks. In phase two of the plan, your team only has to play nine road games per season in the Mountain or Pacific Time Zones... and you get to play the Leafs and the Rangers four times each during the regular season... and the Habs and Bruins twice each, rounding out the Original Six.
The Scheduling Pods That Never Got Used
Scheduling Pods and Scheduling Quads were the centrepiece of the infographic. The league moved first, and the concept went with it.
Read next
What Realignment Means for a League and Its Fans
Moving teams between conferences and divisions looks like a map exercise, but the promise and the cost land on rivalries, travel and the playoff path.
Conferences and Divisions: How They Shape a Season
Grouping decides the schedule, the playoff path and how often rivals meet. What conferences and divisions actually control, and why fans argue about them.
Travel, Time Zones and the NHL Schedule Debate
Distance is the easy part. Time zones change the body clock, which is why a genuinely fair schedule is harder to build than it looks on a map.