NHL Realignment: A Look at the New Conferences

After what was said to be a little less than an hour long discussion about how the NHL would realign the divisions for the start of the 2012-2013 NHL season, the NHL's Board of Governors has reached the decision that they will adopt a four conference format.

Two conferences will feature seven teams, and two will feature eight.

No names have been revealed yet for the conferences.

It has been announced that teams will play a home-and-home series against every team outside of their own conference. Any games left over will be used in a balanced schedule against conference opponents.

Also, the first two rounds of the playoffs will be played against conference opponents. This means that the top four teams from each conference will advance.

After the first two rounds, teams will be seeded in order of regular season points, 1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3, against each other. Making it possible for a Detroit vs. San Jose or New York vs. Toronto Stanley Cup Final.

Here are the new conferences, as confirmed by SI.com.

Central Conference

Teams Featured: Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, Winnipeg Jets, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars and Columbus Blue Jackets

Pacific Conference

Teams Featured: Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Anaheim Ducks, Phoenix Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers.

Eastern Conference

Teams Featured: Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres.

Atlantic Conference

Teams Featured: New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes.

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Jordan Matthews will continue to have live updates on the realignment situation. For up-to-the-minute coverage, you can follow him on Twitter.

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