Home › NHL Realignment Project
NHL Realignment Project Week 34: Moving Florida and Ohio
Only a day late, this week. Today we are going to take a break from solving the league's and the association's problems, since they do not want to have the problems solved to begin with.
Back Into "What If" Mode
Week 34 is back into "what if" mode, a.k.a. "Tom, you are an idiot, that will never happen". The structure stays as it currently is in the NHL, but the Florida and Ohio teams have been moved.
In doing so, we have minimized much of the outliers and created divisions that are a lot more sensible than they currently are. Pacific Division, I am looking at you. Oh, and the Phoenix Coyotes survived this week. I thought I would cut them a break.
Two Conferences of Three Divisions
Just what the NHL and the PA have decided we are going to be stuck with for a while: two conferences of three divisions each.
| Franchise | This week's move |
|---|---|
| Detroit | East, finally getting the wish |
| Columbus | East and north, to Hamilton |
| Tampa Bay and Florida | Pacific Northwest |
| Phoenix | Survives the week |
Travel
It is not perfect, but at least there are no crazy "Dallas and Minnesota traveling two time zones for a divisional game" scenarios. Divisions are pretty much as compact as they can be given the realities of geography. Obviously the 15 western-most teams have to travel more compared to what some of them currently do, but I am sure many would say this is pretty damn good.
The Detroit Problem
Detroit finally gets their wish of moving East. Columbus did too. Unfortunately for CBJ fans, they moved East and north, to Hamilton.
A Cohesive Northwest
Moving the Florida teams to the Pacific Northwest instantly makes the Northwest Division infinitely more interesting and sensible. Seattle and Portland is far more likely to become what we hoped Tampa and Miami would become than they actually did, at least the Lightning won a Cup, though.
Rivalries, and No Scheduling This Week
Though we lose CHI/DET, we do get TOR/DET. Not bad. The NYC-area teams, the Alberta teams, Pennsylvania teams, and BOS/MTL all stay together too, so check that off your list.
Not even going to bother with scheduling or playoffs this week. I like my solution from last week so much, I am just going to bask in that glory for a while longer.
Do not forget to share our lil' project with your hockey fan friends. And, as always, thanks for reading. Until next Sunday.
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.