NHL realignment on the table again.

[Rylan]

Seattle and Kansas City are getting teams

[nocera]

Columbus/Pittsburgh rivalry. Make that happen.

[Beveridge]

If the map teaches us anything, tampa and florida should just go away and 7 teams in each conference.

Pens call dibs on Stamkos.

[no name]

All of the above implies:

No team in QC
No 2nd team in Toronto

MLB went many years with imbalanced leagues and I can't say affected things too much.

I wouldn't go that far, expansion wouldn't be ready until 2015 so in the mean time this does make the most sence. By having 7 teams in the western side of the US you really cut down on travel. Having the 8 teams in the east doesn't realy add all that much travel. Detroit and Columbus are in the eastern time zone so it makes it better for thier TV schedule. My biggest question is how does the playoff pool work. If there is some crazy stupid extra round i won't like it.

[Nizzy]

Whats going to happen when Quebec City Nordiques come back? Maybe it will be the Flordia Panthers or something.

Can the NHL really handle 32 teams? They finally start to stabilize (or atleast when Phoenix -30 million is gone) and then expand AGAIN?

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Do. Not. Like. I don't mind our division rivals, but I don't like an 8 team division.

[no name]

From what i read the 4th and 5th place teams in the 8 team divisions would play a game or 3 game series to see who gets the final play off spot. i don't like that at all. Seems stupid and more taxing on the players. Imagine if you are the 4th seed team abd have a 6 point advantage on a 5th seed team, i don't think you should have to play them to earn a playoff spot. i thought they should of gone with a 8-7 east conf. and a 8-7 west conf. If the 5th seed team from a 8 team division has more points then a 4th seed team in the 7 team confrence, that 5th seed gets the 4th seeds spot.

[Kovy27]

So, on NHL Home Ice on SiriusXM, they just said the perfect answer to this. If you win your "conference", you are a top 4 seed. The rest of the teams are lined up by record. So, Pens might be #2 seed and have to play #15 Colorado in round 1, then #10 Phoenix, then #7 Anaheim, and in the Cup Finals play #5 Philly.

I actually think I like it better this way.

[no name]

So, on NHL Home Ice on SiriusXM, they just said the perfect answer to this. If you win your "conference", you are a top 4 seed. The rest of the teams are lined up by record. So, Pens might be #2 seed and have to play #15 Colorado in round 1, then #10 Phoenix, then #7 Anaheim, and in the Cup Finals play #5 Philly.

I actually think I like it better this way.

Never happen, keeping the playoffs within the division makes it easier on the players travel wise. Just deal with the uneven divisions, so what if you got 8 in your division.

[nocera]

National seeding would make for new and exciting match-ups plus the opportunity for an inner conference Stanley Cup Final. How awesome would a Pittsburgh/Philadelphia Finals be?

[MRandall25]

National seeding would make for new and exciting match-ups plus the opportunity for an inner conference Stanley Cup Final. How awesome would a Pittsburgh/Philadelphia Finals be?

If this board is any indication, a nightmare.

[nocera]

National seeding would make for new and exciting match-ups plus the opportunity for an inner conference Stanley Cup Final. How awesome would a Pittsburgh/Philadelphia Finals be?

If this board is any indication, a nightmare.

Well, obviously the Pens would get swept in 3 games.

[SolidSnake]

National seeding would make for new and exciting match-ups plus the opportunity for an inner conference Stanley Cup Final. How awesome would a Pittsburgh/Philadelphia Finals be?

If this board is any indication, a nightmare.

Why do you spend so much time on this nightmare then?

[MRandall25]

National seeding would make for new and exciting match-ups plus the opportunity for an inner conference Stanley Cup Final. How awesome would a Pittsburgh/Philadelphia Finals be?

If this board is any indication, a nightmare.

Why do you spend so much time on this nightmare then?

I'm saying a Stanley Cup Final against the Flyers would be a nightmare.

[Lt. Dish]

National seeding would make for new and exciting match-ups plus the opportunity for an inner conference Stanley Cup Final. How awesome would a Pittsburgh/Philadelphia Finals be?

If this board is any indication, a nightmare.

Why don't you just draw up my divorce papers, MRandall? Huh?




no, not srs

[no name]

National seeding would make for new and exciting match-ups plus the opportunity for an inner conference Stanley Cup Final. How awesome would a Pittsburgh/Philadelphia Finals be?

Yeah this would be great but you might have to wait 25 years for this to happen then the rivalry would be so dead it really wouldn't matter.

[Kovy27]

So, on NHL Home Ice on SiriusXM, they just said the perfect answer to this. If you win your "conference", you are a top 4 seed. The rest of the teams are lined up by record. So, Pens might be #2 seed and have to play #15 Colorado in round 1, then #10 Phoenix, then #7 Anaheim, and in the Cup Finals play #5 Philly.

I actually think I like it better this way.

Never happen, keeping the playoffs within the division makes it easier on the players travel wise. Just deal with the uneven divisions, so what if you got 8 in your division.

Who gives a **** about travel. That's more exciting than playing Phi, NYR, and Bos every year before making it to the finals.

See Detroit for the last 20 years. I'm saying travel isn't as big of a deal as people make it out to be.

Change the format of the 7 game series H-H-A-A-A-H-H

[jimreb]

So, on NHL Home Ice on SiriusXM, they just said the perfect answer to this. If you win your "conference", you are a top 4 seed. The rest of the teams are lined up by record. So, Pens might be #2 seed and have to play #15 Colorado in round 1, then #10 Phoenix, then #7 Anaheim, and in the Cup Finals play #5 Philly.

I actually think I like it better this way.

Never happen, keeping the playoffs within the division makes it easier on the players travel wise. Just deal with the uneven divisions, so what if you got 8 in your division.

Who gives a **** about travel. That's more exciting than playing Phi, NYR, and Bos every year before making it to the finals.

See Detroit for the last 20 years. I'm saying travel isn't as big of a deal as people make it out to be.

Change the format of the 7 game series H-H-A-A-A-H-H

I'm old, so I remember when they used to do this in the mid-late 70s they used to seed 1-16 2-15....I actually preferred it that way, also. Of course, the Pens were in a division that included Los Angeles and Montreal, lol. Would love to see a Philly-Pens, Rangers-Pens Final.

Agreed, the easiest travel solution would be the 2-3-2 format.

Another twist on that to satisfy both ways, is to play the first two rounds all conference based and then when you get to the final four, seed based on points. That way you could have a Pens-Wings, Flyers-Canucks matchups in the final four and still have a possible Flyers-Pens final.

[jagr's mullet]

[Senka]

...Everyone is forgetting about Brooklyn. tsk tsk

[DelPen]

Only change I'd make is move the NY area teams to the NE and FL, TB and Detroit to Atlantic.

You could then break them down into 4 team groups too if you want. I'd be fine seeing Philly, Columbus and Detroit more. Geographically that makes more sense then being in a division with the NY teams.

[Nizzy]

So, on NHL Home Ice on SiriusXM, they just said the perfect answer to this. If you win your "conference", you are a top 4 seed. The rest of the teams are lined up by record. So, Pens might be #2 seed and have to play #15 Colorado in round 1, then #10 Phoenix, then #7 Anaheim, and in the Cup Finals play #5 Philly.

I actually think I like it better this way.

That's cool but that's not the reason they are pushing this format. Its so you play in conference teams in the first 2 rounds of the playoffs.

[pekkasteele]

I don't like this setup at all... I think keeping the old system and just move some teams around would be better. Unless they are preparing for a expansion, then I can see the need for it.

But I don't like the breakup of east and west, It should be as it was before. So we can only face a western team in the SCF.

[no name]

When you concider in the next 3 to 5 years 2 more teams could be added and 2 other teams could be relocated, who knows what that map will look like then.

And honestly if the league wanted to reduce travel, why don't they allow each divisional team to play 2 games in a row in each city once a year. So all our divisonal teams visit Pitts and play 2 games like a Mon. and Wed. If you allow all teams to do this once a year you really cut down on travel.

I was hoping for FLA and TB to be in our division. I would of loved to of had the ability to visit Florida a few times a year. Pitts, Washington, Detroit, Columbus, Carolina, Philadelphia, TB, FLA

[pekkasteele]

Yea, if thay want to reduce travel, how does FLA and TB end up with MTL etc? That division looks strange.

If they wanted to reduce travel, it would look like.

FLA, TB, Was, Pit, Phi, Car, CBJ, Det

MTL, Tor, Ott, Bos, Buf, NYR, NYI, NJD