NHL Realignment on the Horizon

That's a major move, eh?

Winnipeg getting an NHL Franchise back has turned the whole system upside down. A couple of scenarios were presented to the Board of Governors about what do to accommodate the Winnipeg Jets. It seems like they went the extreme one. The Board of Governors has approved a radical reshaping of the NHL into 4 conferences instead of two. Two of the conferences will have 8 teams and the other two will have seven teams. The playoffs will have 4 teams from each conference (still a grand total of 16 i.e. way too many) and the conference winners (after they play each other in the conference) will face another conference winner for the right to go to the Stanley Cup Finals. It seems that this system will be finalized later this season and most likely implemented next season.

Lot of issues here. First, why not just have two conferences with just two divisions in each one? That would make more sense than just putting in two more conferences in place. Unless you're rotating on a year to year basis which conference champions play which one in the Semi-finals, it makes more sense to just have two conferences. Second, still too many playoff teams. I know it's the same number but quite frankly when over 1/2 the teams make the postseason it just feels watered down. Third... okay, those were my only complaints... and technically the first one is the only real issue that is solely brought up with this realignment but 16 teams is way too many postseason teams.

Overall, it seems like a good move for the NHL. I still would like to see how they will approach the Semi-finals issue but I'm sure that will get settled fairly. Now that I do think about it, this is a plus for rivalries. The first two playoff rounds being inside your conference (division) seems like a good move for increased interest.

P.S. It's also a plus for the Sharks as they will finally be able to call themselves a conference champion before being eliminated. OH SNAP!!!