AHL Realignment: Great Idea, but Could Be Better-Executed

Earth to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman: Before anyone offers any more traction to the notion of regressing from six to four divisions, look at what your top developmental circuit just did.

The American Hockey League had operated under the same seven- or eight-member divisional approach until Monday, when a cleaner arrangement of six, five-team divisions was unveiled.

It will go promptly into effect for the 2011-12 campaign and while the scheduling format has yet to be finalized, odds are that emphasis will be placed on increasing order on non-conference, intra-conference, and intra-divisional matchups.

On that note, there are a few key areas where Dave Andrews and Co. egregiously missed the net when they realigned their teams. Certain existing rivalries are not exactly in danger of diminishing, but are not helped by the fact that their constituents are now in separate divisions.

Let’s start on the east coast. Until the realignment, the Atlantic Division might as well have been dubbed the New England Division as it exclusively carried all seven of the region’s AHL satellites.

Naturally, at least two had to be evicted when the league reached its decision at the annual meeting. Not an easy move to make, but there were a few lesser evils in this scenario.

Unfortunately, the wrong teams were nudged out. The new, five-team Atlantic Division still includes the Providence Bruins, Worcester Sharks, Manchester Monarchs and Portland Pirates, but has also enlisted the yet-to-be-named St. John’s team.

Meanwhile, both Connecticut-based teams and the Springfield Falcons are left to join the newly-crafted Northeast Division, opposite the Battle of the 518 area code between Adirondack and Albany.

As a result, the following matchups are bound to decrease in frequency: Providence-Connecticut, Providence-Springfield, Springfield-Worcester, Connecticut-Springfield.

Again, no telling exactly how often divisional and non-divisional rivals will lock twigs, but you can bet all the contents of your CCM duffel bag that the P-Bruins are going to engage Manchester, Portland, and St. John’s more often than the Falcons and the Whale. 

That’s just not right.

Providence and Springfield are the most time-honored AHL bases in New England and ever since the Connecticut Whale came along as the Hartford Wolf Pack in 1997, they have been the P-Bruins’ topmost rival.

Likewise, the Hartford/Connecticut and Springfield franchises have enjoyed their moments of mutual animosity, partially stemming from their geographic proximity (25 miles) and the fact that the old NHL Whalers based their prospects in Springfield for many years.

And then there’s the Bay State Battle between the Falcons and the Sharks. How do you justify separating those two?

The way it should have been is as follows: Simply swap out Manchester, Portland, and St John’s in exchange for Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Springfield. That way, all five of the teams based in the southern New England states can fan their flames of hatred to the fullest.

Meanwhile, out west, the Midwest Division makes 80 percent sense with the Chicago Wolves, Milwaukee Admirals, Peoria Rivermen, and Rockford IceHogs.

But just what are the Charlotte Checkers doing there? Why not the Lake Erie Monsters, or better yet the Grand Rapids Griffins?

Not only are Cleveland and Grand Rapids both actual Midwestern cities, but they also have a rich history against the likes of Chicago, Milwaukee, and Peoria that dates back to final years of the old IHL.

The Checkers would actually be a better fit for the East Division, which is home to their closest AHL cohabitant, the Norfolk Admirals. In fact, all of the East Division teams are closer to Charlotte than any of their Midwest cohabitants.

If Charlotte transferred to the East, then the Syracuse Crunch could move out west to the North Division and renew their intrastate rivalry with the Rochester Americans.

Again, like Providence and Springfield, you have two classic AHL cities there. And with Lake Erie in the equation, you could potentially have three of them in the North. Meanwhile, the Griffins could simply find a better home in the Midwest Division.

Other than that, this looks as good as can be. And it’s certainly a tidier alignment than what the AHL had before―and what the NHL is strangely considering.

Are you paying attention, Mr. Bettman?