NHL Realignment Project Week 35: Merging the Worst Four

This week we are harkening back to a year in NHL history where it was not about expansion and relocation, but something else: a merger.

The Cleveland Barons Precedent

In 1976 the Cleveland Barons merged with the Minnesota North Stars, so we are running with that precedence and doing a little house cleaning.

The Cold, Calculated Move

Based purely on numbers, we are taking the four teams with the worst attendance this year and merging them into two new teams. To make it even more fun, we are moving the two resultant teams to two cities that lost their teams.

Obviously this never would happen, but I am still in a farcical mood, avoiding reality-based realignment scenarios at least for another week. The four teams in the crosshairs:

• Phoenix
• Dallas
• New York Islanders
• Columbus

And I am actually going to go back to the short-lived four-conference setup, which is where the travel and TV arguments come in.

Travel and TV Times

No team has conference-mates more than a single time zone over. And while the Pacific and Atlantic Conferences have pretty big north-south trips as part of their make-up, anyone who has traveled understands that is much less taxing than east-west travel.

Kind of an added bonus from the previous entry: the lack of time zone insanity keeps start times for most games within reasonable hours, meaning better ratings and better exposure to and for young fans.

Revenge in Hartford and Kansas City

The folks in Hartford and Kansas City can do some happy flips for getting their teams back. It worked for Winnipeg, right?

Rivalries Kept and Reborn

CHI/DET get to stay together. NY/NJ, PIT/PHI and EDM/CGY too. And KC/STL is reborn. Sorry we could not get Hartford together with Boston, but they do get to jostle with their other traditional rival, NYR.

Equity

The conferences are all the same size, seven teams, so no whining. Do not forget to share our lil' project with your hockey fan friends. Until next Sunday.