Quebec City and Las Vegas
2015/07/27 10 Comments
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With the news coming down that only two cities actually ponied up the $10M to apply for expansion, we have to look at the very real possibility that the perceived “Westward Expansion” ain’t happening. That said, I threw together a quick map that I shared on twitter (feel free to follow me @NHLMaps), but neglected to post here. Below is that map. I’m actually pulling together some thoughts on a real solid argument for the four standalone conferences you see in this map and will post that soon(ish… newborns and blogs aren’t a good pairing it turns out).
Until then, enjoy this map:
I actually love the idea I saw suggested on SI (?) – one division that’s all 8 Canadian teams, and then divvy up the 24 US teams into 3 divisions.
Endless possibilities. Here is mine:
4 Conferences, 8 Divisions
Pacific Conference
Division A
– Vancouver Canucks
– San Jose Sharks
– Los Angeles Kings
– Anaheim Ducks
Division B
– Edmonton Oilers
– Calgary Flames
– Las Vegas
– Arizona Coyotes
Central Conference
Division C
– Winnipeg Jets
– Minnesota Wild
– Colorado Avalanche
– Dallas Stars
Division D
– Detroit Red Wings
– Chicago Blackhawks
– St. Louis Blues
– Nashville Predators
Atlantic Conference
Division E
– Ottawa Senators
– Toronto Maple Leafs
– Buffalo Sabres
– Tampa Bay Lightning
Division F
– Quebec
– Montreal Canadiens
– Boston Bruins
– Florida Panthers
Metropolitan Conference
Division G
– Pittsburgh Penguins
– Columbus Blue Jackets
– Philadelphia Flyers
– Carolina Hurricanes
Division H
– New Jersey Devils
– New York Rangers
– New York Islanders
– Washington Capitals
Regular Season
6 Games (3 Home / 3 Away) vs. each team in division
6 Games X 3 Teams = 18 Games
4 Games (2 Home / 2 Away) vs. each team inside conference but outside division
4 Games X 4 Teams = 16 Games
2 Games (1 Home / 1 Away) vs. each team outside conference
2 Games X 24 Teams = 48 Games
Total = 18 Games + 16 Games + 48 Games = 82 Games
Playoffs
– Playoffs are best of 7.
– Division winners in each conference are seeded 1 and 2 according to regular season points. Next 2 highest point teams in each conference regardless of division are seeded 3 and 4.
– Round 1 = 1 seed vs. 4 seed and 2 seed vs. 3 seed
– Round 2 = 2 winning teams in each conference in round 1 face each other
– 4 remaining winning teams are re-seeded according to regular season points.
– Round 3 = 1 seed vs. 4 seed and 2 seed vs. 3 seed
– Stanley Cup Final = 2 winning teams in round 3 face each other
4 Conferences, 8 Divisions:
Pacific Conference
Division A
– Vancouver Canucks
– San Jose Sharks
– Los Angeles Kings
– Anaheim Ducks
Division B
– Edmonton Oilers
– Calgary Flames
– Las Vegas
– Arizona Coyotes
Central Conference
Division C
– Winnipeg Jets
– Minnesota Wild
– Colorado Avalanche
– Dallas Stars
Division D
– Chicago Blackhawks
– Columbus Blue Jackets
– St. Louis Blues
– Nashville Predators
Atlantic Conference
Division E
– Ottawa Senators
– Toronto Maple Leafs
– Detroit Red Wings
– Tampa Bay Lightning
Division F
– Quebec
– Montreal Canadiens
– Boston Bruins
– Florida Panthers
Metropolitan Conference
Division G
– Pittsburgh Penguins
– Philadelphia Flyers
– Washington Capitals
– Carolina Hurricanes
Division H
– Buffalo Sabres
– New Jersey Devils
– New York Rangers
– New York Islanders
Regular Season:
6 Games (3 Home / 3 Away) vs. each team in division
6 Games X 3 Teams = 18 Games
4 Games (2 Home / 2 Away) vs. each team inside conference but outside division
4 Games X 4 Teams = 16 Games
2 Games (1 Home / 1 Away) vs. each team outside conference
2 Games X 24 Teams = 48 Games
Total = 18 Games + 16 Games + 48 Games = 82 Games
Playoffs:
– Playoffs are best of 7.
– Division winners in each conference are seeded 1 and 2 according to regular season points. Next 2 highest point teams in each conference regardless of division are seeded 3 and 4.
– Round 1 = 1 seed vs. 4 seed and 2 seed vs. 3 seed
– Round 2 = 2 winning teams in each conference in round 1 face each other
– 4 remaining winning teams are re-seeded according to regular season points.
– Round 3 = 1 seed vs. 4 seed and 2 seed vs. 3 seed
– Stanley Cup Final = 2 winning teams in round 3 face each other
4 Conferences:
Pacific Conference
– Vancouver Canucks
– Calgary Flames
– Edmonton Oilers
– San Jose Sharks
– Los Angeles Kings
– Anaheim Ducks
– Arizona Coyotes
– Las Vegas
Central Conference
– Colorado Avalanche
– Minnesota Wild
– Chicago Blackhawks
– St. Louis Blues
– Nashville Predators
– Dallas Stars
– Tampa Bay Lightning
– Florida Panthers
Northeastern Conference
– Winnipeg Jets
– Detroit Red Wings
– Toronto Maple Leafs
– Buffalo Sabres
– Ottawa Senators
– Montreal Canadiens
– Quebec Nordiques
– Boston Bruins
Metropolitan Conference
– New York Rangers
– New York Islanders
– New Jersey Devils
– Washington Capitals
– Carolina Hurricanes
– Philadelphia Flyers
– Pittsburgh Penguins
– Columbus Blue Jackets
Regular Season:
Intra-Conference Play = 34 Games
5 Games vs. 6 of the teams within Conference (3 Home / 2 Away or 2 Home / 3 Away)
4 Games vs. 1 of the teams within Conference (2 Home / 2 Away) on a rotational basis each year.
Inter-Conference Play = 48 Games
2 Games (1 Home / 1 Away) vs. each team outside conference
Total = 34 Games + 48 Games = 82 Games
Playoffs:
Wild Card Playoffs
– Best of 3 between 4th and 5th placed team within each Conference
– Game 1 is at 5th placed team; Games 2 & 3 are at 4th placed team
Conference Playoffs
– Best of 7 between top seeded team in Conference and winner of Conference Wild Card Series
– Best of 7 between 2nd and 3rd placed teams in Conference
then:
– Best of 7 between winners of previous round to determine Conference Champions
Conference Champions Playoffs
– 4 Conference Champions are re-seeded according to regular season points accumulated during the 48 Inter-Conference games (ie. games played outside of the teams’ own Conferences)
– Best of 7 between re-seeded Conference Champions = 1 seed vs. 4 seed and 2 seed vs. 3 seed
Stanley Cup Final
– Best of 7 between the 2 winners of the Conference Champions Playoffs
I have a couple Ideas that I don’t think see here… What about 2 conferences and 4 division per conference
Here is with Seattle and Quebec, all Canadian teams in same conference, all current metro still conferenced, Chicago is not in the west :p
Prince of Wales Conference
Western Division
Vancouver
Seattle
Edmonton
Calgary
South Division
Colorado
Dallas
St. Louis
Nashville
Central Division
Winnipeg
Minnesota
Chicago
Detroit
Eastern Division
Quebec
Ottawa
Toronto
Montreal
Campbell Conference
Western Division
San Jose
Los Angeles
Anaheim
Arizona
South Division
Tampa Bay
Florida
Carolina
Washington
Central Division
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Columbus
Buffalo
Eastern Division
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
New Jersey Devils
Boston
Then with Las Vegas…
Prince Of Wales Conference
Western Division
Vancouver
Calgary
Edmonton
Winnipeg
South Division
Colorado
Arizona
Dallas
St. Louis
Central Division
Minnesota
Chicago
Detroit
Columbus
Eastern Division
Toronto
Ottawa
Quebec
Montreal
Campbell Conference
Western Division
San Jose
Los Angeles
Anaheim
Las Vegas
South Division
Carolina
Nashville
Tampa Bay
Florida
Central Division
Buffalo
Pittsburgh
Washington
Philadelphia
Eastern
New York Rangers
New York Islanders
New Jersey
Boston
Neither Las Vegas nor Arizona has a large enough hockey following to sustain long-term franchise success. But perhaps Las Vegas AND Arizona do!
Expansion in the west should (eventually) go to Seattle while the Desert Southwest gets to keep its team, simply known as the Coyotes (no geographical designation), who play 20 or 21 home games in Las Vegas and 20 or 21 in Arizona. Rotate the (not necessarily sequential) 41st home game each season (…or someone wins an NHL game in their backyard at a slot machine << but really, just see that 41st game as an opportunity for geographical/promotional creativity).
With two so-so-sized fan bases forced to savor their opportunities to be at a home game, this might just work. The percentage of attendees who actually make it to upwards of 20 games a year is probably negligible anyway (in any market), meaning little to no effect on Coyotes fans' balance of TV & in-person enjoyment of games and quite probably a positive effect on ticket sales. Lastly, since Las Vegas probably has the smaller hockey following, throw a greater share of weekend games their way to attract the getaway crowd from Arizona (I imagine that's a one-way street)…from EVERYWHERE for that matter.
The NHL is seen as an innovative major league, and this would certainly uphold the reputation. Worth a try in my opinion.
The four conferences with two divisions of four teams model works best. Scheduling 6 games each against division rivals (18 games), four games each against conference foes (16 games), and twice against the non conference opponents (48 games) provides a division rival focused schedule while still maintaining the same 82 game schedule. The first round of the playoffs will feature #2 vs #1 from opposite divisions within a conference with the winners meeting for conference championship and spot in the Stanley Cup semi finals. A wrinkle could be added that if a number 3 team has a better record than a number 2 finisher in the opposite division within their conference to take that teams spot in the first round. That would eliminate a criticisms of potentially weak divisions sending two bad teams to the playoffs. I’ve given the conferences names and went with geographic terms for division names. If alternative names are preferred, then so be it. The point is the scheduling and alignment of teams.
Canadian Conference
East
Montreal Canadiens (Original Six-O6)
Ottawa Senators
Quebec Nordiques
Toronto Maple Leafs (O6)
West
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers (WHA)
Vancouver Canucks
Winnipeg Jets
Atlantic Conference
North
Boston Bruins (O6)
Chicago Blackhawks (O6)
Detroit Red Wings (O6)
New York Rangers (O6)
South
Carolina Hurricanes (WHA)
Florida Panthers
Nashville Predators
Tampa Bay Lightning
Metropolitan Conference
East
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
Philadelphia Flyers (Second Six-S6)
Washington Capitals
West
Buffalo Sabres
Columbus Blue Jackets
Pittsburgh Penguins (S6)
St. Louis Blues (S6)
Western Conference
Central
Colorado Avalanche (WHA)
Dallas Stars (S6)
Los Angeles Kings (S6)
Minnesota Wild
Pacific
Anaheim Ducks
Arizona Coyotes (WHA)
Las Vegas Black Knights
San Jose Sharks
Like where this is going, but the USA could be better:
Western Conference:
Selanne Division:
Anaheim, LA (E6), San Jose, Seattle*
Roy Division:
Arizona, Colorado, Dallas, Vegas
Eastern Conference:
Messier Division:
Boston (O6), NY Islanders, NY Rangers (O6), Philadelphia (E6)
Brind’Amour Division:
Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay, Washington
Mid-Western Conference:
Chelios Division:
Chicago (O6), Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis (E6)
Lemieux Division:
Buffalo, Columbus, Detroit (O6), Pittsburgh (E6)
*Relocated from New Jersey
Only major rivalries lost are MTL-BOS and PHI-PIT
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Once the four conference champions are determined, the one from the all-star tournament winning conference should decide which team it plays.