NHL Contraction: What the New NHL Would Look Like

NHL Contraction: What the New NHL Would Look Like

Most of us here on Bleacher Report agree that instead of relocation, the NHL should probably contract. Also, most of us agree that six teams should be contracted: and there is a pretty obvious six teams to contract.

Why contract? Because the American Economy is contracting, the NHL talent pool is contracting, and the NHL fan bases are contracting.

If six teams were taken out of the NHL, the NHL could maintain a sensible format of conferences and divisions. 12 teams to a conference, and each conference could have three divisions of four teams each.

In this article, we will take a look at which teams will contract and why, how the NHL would look then, and another slightly different topic: conference switches so that a team's division would be in a better geographic location to cut down on travelling costs.

Who will the NHL contract? Which teams are in danger?

It is pretty obvious that six teams should be contracted. And it is also pretty obvious who they will be. Lets have a look:

1. Atlanta Thrashers
2. Phoenix Coyotes
3. Tampa Bay Lightning
4. New York Islanders
5. Nashville Predators
6. Florida Panthers
7. St. Louis Blues
8. Los Angeles Kings

Six of those eight teams would be the ones to contract. For one thing, there seems to be a pattern: all but the Islanders are in the south.

Probably, spots one through five are definitely going to contract. The sixth team probably end up being Florida, with a slight possibility of St. Louis or Los Angeles.

However, for reasonable purposes, we are going to assume for the remainder of this article that Florida would be the sixth team to go.

The New NHL Picture

Proposed NHL Look after Six-Team Contraction

Eastern Conference

Coastal - Carolina (SE), Washington (SE), New Jersey (ATL), Philadelphia (ATL)

Great Lakes - Pittsburgh (ATL), Columbus (West, CEN), Buffalo (NE), Toronto (NE)

Northeast - Boston (NE), Ottawa (NE), Montreal (NE), New York (ATL)

Western Conference

Central - Detroit (CEN), Chicago (CEN), St. Louis (CEN), Dallas (PAC)

Northwest - Calgary (NW), Edmonton (NW), Colorado (NW), Minnesota (NW)

Pacific - San Jose (PAC), Los Angeles (PAC), Anaheim (PAC), Vancouver (NW)

As you can see, Columbus would have to be shifted to the East. The two remaining Southeast teams, New Jersey, and Philadelphia would form the "Coastal Division." A collection of teams would create the Great Lakes division, and the original Northeast teams plus New York would create the new Northeast Division.

In the West, Dallas would go to the Central from the Pacific, while Vancouver would shift from the Northwest to the Pacific.

This would be the new NHL after the contraction. If the NHL were to explore relocation to Winnipeg with some of the remaining unstable teams like L.A. and St. Louis, that would work fine, and probably go without a question.

Do you have your own thoughts on NHL Contraction that you'd like to share? Feel free to comment openly on this article!