Winners and Losers of the NHL's Realignment

It was announced late on Monday night that the NHL would be changing the makeup of the league and realign the divisions and conferences. Instead of the traditional two conferences with three divisions, there are now just four conferences. Two primarily western conferences (A and B) and two primarily eastern conferences’ (C and D) is how the Board of Governors decided to restructure the league.

The two western conferences will each have eight teams; the two eastern conferences will each have seven. The top four teams in each conference will make the playoffs and have to play teams within their conference in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

The league will also now have a more balanced schedule, as teams will play 36 games against division opponents while facing every other team in the league twice in a home-and-home series.  

Here’s how the conferences will look:

Conference A: Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver

Conference B: Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, Winnipeg

Conference C: Boston, Buffalo, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Toronto

Conference D: Carolina, New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington

After all that has been said, let’s take a look at the winners and losers of the NHL’s realignment.

Winners: Detroit Red Wings

For a while now, Red Wings fans have complained about being in the Western Conference. They hate having to stay up late to see the majority of the Red Wings games despite being in an Eastern Conference time zone.  The Red Wings must have stockpiled enough frequent flyers miles to take three free trips to the space station, considering all the traveling they had to do while playing those Western teams.

Now, they don’t have to worry about any of that. Sure, there are a few teams in their conference that are more in the central time zone, but I think eight o’clock starts will sit much better with fans than a 10 o’clock opening faceoff. They will only have to visit the West Coast just four times, as they will see Anaheim, Vancouver, Los Angeles and San Jose once each as the visitor. Detroit also has the benefit of being in what, on paper, looks like one of the weaker conferences thus far.

In last year’s final standings, only three of the teams in this conference made the playoffs (Detroit, Chicago and Nashville). This year, Dallas and Minnesota are playing much better and will make that conference tougher, but overall, this looks like the weaker division, and the Red Wings, if they stay healthy and continually make smart moves, could dominate this conference every year.

Loser: The other “Western” Conference

In an almost exact polar opposite, Conference “A” will probably be the toughest conference for everyone involved. Five of those eight teams made the playoffs last year, and this year once again, five teams are in or near a playoff position. The problem here is that some of these teams could be better, and usually are better, than teams in the “B” conference.

But because only the top four from each conference go in you could end up with the playoffs looking like this, which is based on last year’s standings with those who would make the playoffs under the new format in bold.

Conference A: Vancouver 117 pts., San Jose 105 pts., Anaheim 99 pts., Phoenix 99 pts.,

Los Angeles 98 pts., Calgary 94 pts., Colorado 68 pts., Edmonton 62 pts.

Conference B: Detroit 104 pts., Nashville 99 pts., Chicago 97 pts., Dallas 95 pts.,

St. Louis 94 pts., Minnesota 86 pts., Columbus 81 pts., Atlanta/Winnipeg 80 pts.

As you can see, Los Angeles would not have made the playoffs but have a better record than Dallas and Chicago. This won’t sit well with some of the fans on the West Coast but fans in the Central time zones will see an increased chance for their teams.

Winners: Boston Bruins

The most recent Stanley Cup champions have made the playoffs four times going back to the lockout. Coincidentally, so have Buffalo, Montreal and Ottawa ,who will continue to be in the same conference. Overall, Boston has been division champion twice, while only Buffalo has matched them in that category. However, Boston is the only team to have won the Stanley Cup from that division since Montreal in 1993.

The Bruins also have a lot of returnees from that champion squad and a lot of good young players that will help them down the road. In a division which they have been very dominant over the last few years, the Bruins, like the Red Wings, should continue to play well against these teams. The Panthers and Lightning combined have not made the playoffs as many times as the Bruins since the lockout.

Boston fans should be happy they didn’t move out of their comfort area under the new alignment and should expect to see the Bruins in the playoffs year after year.

Loser: New York Islanders

The Islanders are the worst team in the NHL’s Eastern Conference. They have been for a while. They have made the playoffs just once since the lockout and have only won three playoff games in the last 10 years. Although they do have some good young players, they will have to continue to trudge along at the bottom until they fully develop.

Now, they will have to play some very good teams even more considering the conference they’re now in. Having to face not only the Rangers, Flyers, Penguins and Devils, they also got arguably the two better teams from the South Division in Carolina and Washington. Although the Islanders fans will get to see Ovechkin or Eric Staal visit Long Island three times a year, it won’t do the Islanders any good in the standings if they can’t find a way to beat those teams.

Although Washington and Carolina are not off to the best of starts this year, they have been an annual threat, making the playoffs six times combined since the lockout.  

Winner: Trainers and Coaches

Injuries are going to happen in the game of hockey. It’s a rough sport. But sometimes, the injuries are increased due to pains and stress of traveling. How many times have you heard of a player not making the trip because of an injury and they would rather him just rest?

The NHL travel schedule should be a lot more relaxed under the new format. Now trainers won’t have to worry about whether the traveling will over exacerbate an injury. They can spend more time on getting guys back in shape faster. This, in turn, helps the coaches who won’t have to deal with continually changing their line-ups night after night. The coaches can focus more on his main players and not have to rely too much on teaching call-ups the ropes and getting them to learn a new style of play than they're used to.

I’m not saying guys won’t get injured playing hockey; it will happen. But less traveling means more time spent on getting better and doing so in a place you’re accustomed to. Also, with less travelling, the coaches won’t be as tired while working on game plans and strategies. They will be home more often with their families, which also lessens the stress that builds up over the course of a season.

These people may seem larger than life on TV, but they are just like you and me and find the same stresses in life. And maybe without having to spend as much money on travel costs, maybe the franchise can use some of that money to go towards investing in that key player that can put them over the top.

Loser: General Managers

I think general managers will feel more and more pressure to make moves as the season goes on. In the past, a GM could always make the excuse that there are six or seven teams that they are battling to make the playoffs, and because of that, you don’t want to trade with any of them. You also don’t want to trade with teams higher than you in the standings because you may have to face them in the playoffs. And teams below you will react the same way.

The four-conference format removes any of those excuses. If a team is on the cusp of being in the top four of their conference, they will have at least 23 other teams that they are not in direct competition with that could be a potential partner. I think the fans and the media will see it this way and the pressures on the GMs will build. Making moves will be more expected whether you are a buyer or seller, looking for a last piece for a playoff run or looking to move assets for draft picks.

Of course, anyone who is a fan of the trade deadline frenzy will enjoy this more, and it will always be up to the GM to make the moves and not the fans, but at the same time, there will be more speculation and expectation put on the shoulders of the GM’s, and some may not be able to handle that pressure.    

Winner: 6 of the Canadian Teams in the Regular Season

Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal will all be playing Canadian teams 20 times a year, which makes up almost a quarter of their schedule. Fans love to watch an all-Canadian team showdown, and with the way the schedule is now, that will happen more and more often.

The battle of Ontario will occur six times a year, as will the battle of Alberta. They will also be in direct competition with each other to make the playoffs year after year. I know that these teams are already in the same divisions, but they will face each other more often, and that’s never a bad thing.

The loser here is the Winnipeg Jets, who will only host and visit a Canadian team’s city 12 times. I don’t think their ratings or tickets sales will drop because of it, but overall, a little disappointing.

Loser: Stanley Cup Hopes for a Canadian Franchise

If you just want to see a Canadian team win the Stanley Cup, regardless of which one, those odds just went down. Even if all seven make the playoffs, at least half of them would be eliminated by the second round. The only way you could get an all Canadian semifinal matchup is if one of Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton plays Winnipeg in the “Western” finals.

The only chance of an all-Canadian Stanley Cup final lies within one of Toronto, Montreal or Ottawa having to make it all the way. This is a downside for fans that like to see Canadian teams battling in the playoffs because it will only happen in the opening stages. Still, the fact that it could happen more often is a bonus since, as mentioned before, there will be six teams broken up into two of the same conference.

Winner: Fans of the Regular Season

The regular season will mean so much more now. Fans will get to see all the stars of the league at least once with the home-and-home series. They won’t have to wait a few years to watch Sidney Crosby play against Corey Perry, Drew Doughty of the Kings go toe-to-toe with Zdeno Chara in Boston or Roberto Luongo play against Martin Brodeur.

The playoff races should increase across the league and be even more intense, as instead of beating a team and waiting to see if three or four other teams lose, your team will most likely be playing the team they need to beat or will only have to rely on one or two other teams losing. It should mean that the playoff races go down to the wire every year.

Loser: Fans of the Best Teams Make the Playoffs Concept

As mentioned earlier, the best teams won’t necessarily make the playoffs, and for some hockey fans, that means less exciting or talented hockey. And while there may be some teams who get in that don’t have a better record than teams on the sidelines, it will be more of a statement as to how tough or weak a division is.

That also means, though, that by the time the playoffs role around, some fans could be tired of seeing two teams play each other.

If the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres meet six times in a season, will people still be interested in seeing them go at it in a best-of-seven? Most hockey fans should like this idea because the players will be intense and know how to play against each other more so than in previous years. But I can see some part-time hockey fans not liking the same matchups year after year.

Just ask yourself this: Would you hate seeing Montreal and Toronto battle in the playoffs every year? How about Los Angeles and San Jose or Detroit and Chicago? Those matchups already give me goosebumps regardless if they are one of the best overall teams. If a team is good enough to make the playoffs in their own conference, then they are good enough to be in the playoffs.