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The home of the NHL Realignment Project — and everything around it

Endless possibilities, zero consensus. This journal collects the things a hockey reader keeps coming back to: how a season is put together, why conferences and divisions matter, what relocation and expansion actually change, which hockey books hold up, and how to read the news without being sold a story. Nothing here is a prediction and nothing is a guarantee — just careful explanations and good arguments.

How an NHL Season Is Structured

Tom Fulery
IndependentWritten by readers for readers. No league, club or agency involvement.
No invented numbersEvery figure is either publicly checkable or absent from the text.
Opinion is labelledAnalysis, argument and opinion are always marked as such.

The journal at a glance

SectionWhat it coversWhat to keep in mind
HockeyThe league, the season, the rolesStructure before highlights
NHL Realignment ProjectMaps, conferences and travelAssumptions come first
The Hockey Book of the WeekHistories, memoirs, tacticsRead the sources list
SportsOther games in comparisonEvery sport builds its own season
Fun and GamesQuizzes, polls, fan debatesFun without the low blows
NewsFollowing and verifying storiesCheck the original source

Hockey All articles →

Hockey

How an NHL Season Is Structured

Preseason, regular season, trade deadline and playoffs: what each part is for.

Hockey

Reading the NHL Standings Without Getting Lost

Points, games in hand, tie-breakers and why a table can be misleading in October.

Hockey

What a Goaltender Actually Does: Roles and Habits

Positioning, reading the play and the routine that holds a goaltender together.

NHL Realignment Project All articles →

NHL Realignment Project

What Realignment Means for a League

The promise and the cost of moving teams between conferences and divisions.

NHL Realignment Project

Conferences and Divisions: How They Shape a Season

Why grouping decides rivalries, travel and who meets whom in the playoffs.

NHL Realignment Project

Travel, Time Zones and the Schedule Debate

What a map costs in hours and why a fair schedule is harder than it looks.

News All news →

Following Hockey News Well: Sources and Habits

A small set of sources and a routine beat doomscrolling every time.

Reading Trade Rumours Without Getting Fooled

How a report turns into a rumour and why most of them never happen.

When Rules Change: What Fans Should Watch

Rule changes arrive slowly; here is what to check when one is announced.

International Tournaments: Following the News

Calendars, rosters and why national-team news reads differently.

How to Verify a Hockey Claim Before Sharing It

A short checklist that stops a bad number before it spreads.

Latest from the journal

Hockey

Special Teams Explained: Power Play and Penalty Kill

What changes when a player sits in the box and why units are built differently.

Hockey

Why Line Changes Decide More Than Highlights Do

Line matching, shifts and the quiet management that decides tight games.

NHL Realignment Project

Relocation and Expansion: How Cities Join a League

Ownership, arenas and patience: the steps between an idea and a roster.

NHL Realignment Project

Building a Realignment Map: Assumptions First

How to sketch a map honestly, and where armchair projects usually go wrong.

The Hockey Book of the Week

Why Hockey Books Still Matter

Long form beats the highlight reel when you want to understand the game.

The Hockey Book of the Week

Classic Hockey Histories Every Reader Should Try

The kind of history book that explains an era instead of listing its results.

Read it for the hockey. This journal explains how the sport works; it does not predict results and does not sell anything. Where a number is not publicly checkable we say so instead of inventing one.