NHL Realignment: Keep It Simple and Put the Predators in the Southeast

Besides Manitobans, Michiganders are bound to be the giddiest of all regional puckheads when they consider the long-term implications of the Atlanta Thrashers morphing into the Winnipeg Jets.

In the wee stages of the 2011 offseason, the NHL is already putting an impending realignment, effective for the 2012-13 season, on the forefront of its summer hot stove. In doing so, it has given Detroit Red Wings fans a chance to revamp one of their greatest grievances.

But if Gary Bettman and Co. get this right (which does happen once in a while), Detroit fans will just have to keep up the complaints or accept their arrangement as it is.

In the study of ethics, there is a concept known as the Greatest Happiness Principle, which is designed to satisfy everyone, even if a few have it less-than-perfect. That is what should apply here, once Bettman has fulfilled his promise to let Detroit, Columbus, and Nashville each make their case to switch conferences.

For the best interest of all parties concerned, once the Jets become a Western Conference constituent in about 15 months, the Nashville Predators ought to become the 15th Eastern Conference tenant. For reasons explained in the coming paragraphs, this would be best for the Predators, Red Wings, and several other franchises flanking them all over the map.

But first: Sorry, Hockeytownies. We know, we know. You have made your superficially logical point many times before.

Why are the Red Wings in the Western Conference? They play in the Eastern Time Zone!

The natural answer was always that they were simply among the westernmost half of the NHL’s constituents. It was the same reason why, before the last round of expansion commenced with the advent of the Predators in 1998, you had the Toronto Maple Leafs in the western circuit.

Now, by longitudinal logic, either the Wings or the Blue Jackets have a chance to make a more sensible case for shuffling out east.

Sorry to throw salt on your ice here, but that’s still not the way to go. If one of the Central Division teams from the Eastern Time Zone suddenly switched, that would mean leaving the other in the West. And that would mean two teams separated by a mere three hours could meet no more than twice each regular season.

And won’t someone think of the Chicago Blackhawks? What good is the notion of carrying on an Original Six tradition when one of those six hardly ever encounters any of its eldest rivals?

Do any Chicagoans or Detroiters really want that? Something tells me Chicago needs those six annual get-togethers with the Red Wings just as much as it needs those pipe organ preservations to slake its fan base’s old-time appetite.

Likewise, can’t you sense a budding animosity between Detroit and Columbus, particularly amongst all crossover fans of the Michigan and Ohio State football programs?

So instead, once it is cleared to realign next autumn, the NHL should put the Jets in the Northwest Division and make room for that by transplanting the Minnesota Wild to the Central Division.

In turn, the Predators should be bumped out of their lifelong abode and go fill the Southeast Division void left by Atlanta/Winnipeg.

Here comes the rebuttal.

But wait a minute! Nashville is in the Central Time Zone! It’s even farther west than Columbus or Detroit!

Well, yes. But grade-school geography has also taught us to file Ohio and Michigan under “Midwest.” Meanwhile, Tennessee is a part of the “southeast” region, similar to the likes of North Carolina, the District of Columbia, and Florida.

It could be worse. Look at the mess that is the NFL’s alignment. Since when is Indianapolis considered southern? Since when is Dallas considered eastern?

It can never be perfect, but Bettman and Co. can try a little harder to make sense, and to make everyone happy, than Roger Goodell and friends have.

Besides, in addition to the aforementioned Great Lakes rivalries, there’s just too much else that isn’t broken in the status quo that you wouldn’t want to fix. Transferring the Red Wings or Blue Jackets would most likely mean tampering with either the Northeast or Atlantic Divisions, both of which foster too many succulent rivalries to displace any of their current constituents.

What’s that? Two divisions per conference with either eight or seven teams apiece?

No thanks. Again, the NHL has had a good thing going ever since it decided to ease up on its intra-divisional overkill and have six games (rather than eight) between each divisional rival, four apiece between all non-divisional conference cohabitants, and 18 non-conference clashes for each team.

Not sure what sort of scheduling format is up the NHL's sleeve in the event of a four-division reformation, but thinking about it puts this author on the verge of vertigo.

So spare everyone the headache and find a way to keep everyone reasonably contented.

Leave the Midwesterners be―with the exception of inserting Minnesota, another Great Lakes/Midwestern state―and let’s give the Predators the Southern hospitality they were made for.