Posts About "NHL Realignment"
Lightning Face New Threats in 2020-21 Division Realignment
December 13th, 2020 The latest NHL realignment proposal came out just a couple of days ago, the same day the NHL announced its plans for a 56-game season to start in mid-January. The temporary alignment will have an all-Canadian division to go along with the other three US-based divisions based on nearest proximity to each other. Per...
Sharks' 2020-21 Success Depends Greatly on Final Realignment Plan
December 12th, 2020 While the National Hockey League tries to salvage a successful 2021 season, the league is promoting a realignment of its current divisions. The realignment’s main purpose is to cut down travel for all teams, and, most notably, ceasing travel between the United States/Canada border. As both sides have their pandemic struggles, it is...
Bruins Face New Challenges With Proposed Divisional Realignments
December 8th, 2020 Since the NHL crowned the Tampa Bay Lightning Stanley Cup champions in September, the league has been saying that they hope to begin the 2020-21 season on Jan. 1. Now that we are in the second week of December, that seems unrealistic. The league has not made any announcement about what the season will look like, but realistically, we...
Rangers Will Face Challenges in 2020-21 With Divisional Realignment
December 6th, 2020 With the rumors swirling around the NHL community about the possibility of a 56-game season starting Jan. 15, I immediately realized that this proposal had the most potential. The timing needed to pull it off is still intact, and the length provides enough substance for players and fans to avoid placing an asterisk beside the winner's...
Flyers Rivalries Will Shift With Proposed Division Realignment
December 5th, 2020 When the 2019-20 season concluded this fall, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced Jan. 1 as the tentative date to start the next campaign. However, New Year’s Day is in less than a month, and we are still waiting to hear when training camps will open. It’s relatively safe to say the league is not going to hit that deadline. The...
Canucks: Pros & Cons of an All-Canadian Division
November 24th, 2020 If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected, especially in the sports world. Tom Brady in a Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey. Seven-inning MLB games. The Stanley Cup in Canada. And due to a pandemic that has overstayed its welcome, 2021 will continue to throw us curveballs. It seems the Vancouver Canucks will likely...
Predicting the Red Wings New Division After Realignment
November 18th, 2020 The next 24 to 48 hours should offer insight into the Detroit Red Wings' 2020-21 season. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is expected to release details about next season's start date, temporary division realignment and maybe even a schedule. The division adjustments are, of course, a result of border restrictions between Canada and the...
Realigning the NHL for the 2020-21 Season
November 17th, 2020 The NHL has been discussing how they are going to move forward after a successful playoff bubble experience. They’ve discussed a shortened season, which is almost a guarantee. They’ve also discussed temporary hub cities. They’ve hinted at temporarily changing up the divisions for geographical reasons. Due to the pandemic, the...
It's Time for the NHL to Revamp the Playoffs
March 7th, 2016 March is probably one of the most agonizing months of the year for hockey fans. It's a time when teams make or break their season, it's a time when dark horses emerge from the shadows, and it's a time when everyone in the league is keeping an eye on the standings to see who they may have a date with in the first round of the...
Dallas Stars Could Spend Less Time in the Sky After NHL Expansion
August 4th, 2015 Adding one team, much less two, to the National Hockey League is akin to dropping a rock into a still pond, the ripples spread across the water in every direction. Some “ripples” are readily apparent, such as the loss of one or two players from each roster in the NHL expansion draft, the financial windfall from expansion fees (to be...
The Best NHL Realignment: No Divisions or Conferences
July 28th, 2015 There has been a lot of talk lately, deservedly so, about realignment as a result of impending expansion in the NHL. Let's assume that you are a hockey fan reading this right now and you agree that the Stanley Cup Playoffs is the best postseason in professional sports. Now what if we told you that we could make the NHL postseason and the...
NHL Realignment Two Years Later
June 17th, 2015 It has been two years since the NHL adjusted its conferences to two divisions apiece, and shifted two teams to the Eastern Conference and one to the Western Conference. In that time, all three teams have seen success in their new divisions and the league itself has benefited from the competitiveness of all four divisions as a result....
First Look At AHL Realignment For 2015-16
May 13th, 2015 Since the American Hockey League announced in January that it was relocating five franchises to California and creating a Pacific Division, you knew the league was going to have a new look for the 2015-16 season. That look has been revealed as the AHL approved its division realignment for next season at its Board of Governors Spring...
