NHL Realignment: Outside the Box Possibilities Part I North-South Conferences | Bleacher Report
2011/11/10 3 Comments
Bleacher Report’s Russell Francis has begun his own NHL realignment fun…
Havalook: NHL Realignment: Outside the Box Possibilities Part I North-South Conferences | Bleacher Report.
Thanks for the shoutout!!! I’ve been considering Realignment possibilities for a while, and it’s fun to see someone approach it with the same nerdy passion that I do!
Carnes Proposal:
3 Conferences Howe/Lemieux/Gretzky
Howe – Great Lakes & Atlantic
Lemieux – Central & Southeast
Gretzky – Northwest & Southwest
Howe Conference
Great Lakes Division
Ottawa
Toronto
Buffalo
Detroit
Chicago
Atlantic Division
Boston
NY Islanders
NY Rangers
NJ Devils
Montreal
Lemieux Conference
Central Division
Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
Washington
Columbus
Carolina
Southeast Division
Dallas
St. Louis
Nashville
Tampa Bay
Florida
Gretzky Conference
Northwest Division
Vancouver
Calgary
Edmonton
Minnesota
Winnipeg
Southwest Division
Anaheim
Los Angeles
San Jose
Phoenix
Colorado
Game Distribution
Division 24 Games 3H 3A
Cross Division 20 Games 2H 2A
Cross Conference 40 Games 1H 1A
Total 84 Games
Play-off Format
16 Teams
6 Division Winners = 6 Teams
Next 3 Best Records in each Conference = 9 Teams
Wild Card (Next Best Record) = 1 Team
4 Rounds – Best of Seven
All Series Played: 2-3-2
Format: 1-16 Seeding System
Reseed teams after each round
Preliminary Round 1: 1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15 etc.
Quarter Finals – Round 2: 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7 etc.
Semi-Finals – Round 3: 1 vs. 4, 2 vs. 3
Stanley Cup Finals – Round 4: 1 vs. 2
Interesting proposal. I’ve always been intrigued by a full 1-16 playoff format. Owners of course would fight it tooth and nail, but I’ll let you use my “King of North America” defense on that one.
Thanks for readin’!