Realignment

As you can see, Detroit still is not very close to the Atlantic Ocean. I think the NHL needs to hire someone with a Geography Degree.

Realignment. It has finally happened. Well the good news is the Winnipeg Jets don’t play in the Southeast Division anymore. The bad news is we have a Metropolitan Division. What a terrible name. What was wrong with the Norris, Smythe, Adams and Patrick Divisions. Or at least consider updating them to more modern names. Gretzky, Lemieux, Orr, Roy, or Lafleur or something of the like weren’t options? Hey, some of this makes sense though. A Central Division with Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, and Winnipeg. Yeah, they’re all in the central part of the continent. Likewise with Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose, and Vancouver with the Pacific. But putting teams like Buffalo, Detroit, and Toronto in a division called the Atlantic Division doesn’t make much sense. Guess someone failed geography. I like the idea of divisional playoffs. 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3 in the division in the playoffs, with the division winners facing off in the conference finals. That method builds great rivalries. Instead, the NHL does this lame half-divisional playoff, with the top 3 in each division being guaranteed a playoff spot and the last two spots going to the best records in the conference. If the point of (poorly) named geographic divisions was to make it easier for the casual fan to understand, that is totally outbalanced by the loony playoff format. And with two less teams in the Western Conference that creates its own issues. But I get it, East Coast bias.

As for how realignment affects the teams, well everyone that played in the Southleast, I mean Southeast Division, gets totally screwed. No more benefitting from playing the other terrible teams all the time. Can the Capitals still be a good team now that they have to face the Penguins, Rangers, and Flyers on a regular basis instead of the Panthers, Hurricanes, and Lightning? I don’t think so. Maybe they’ll be a playoff team, but they’re closer to the playoff bubble than consistent division champs now. Likewise, the Panthers and Lightning now have to put up with powerhouses like Boston and Detroit, and solid teams like Ottawa and Montreal. And how about the poor Jets? After coming so close to a division title, they get moved into a division with Chicago and St. Louis, who should have a pretty solid claim to the division champs for the next five years or so. Edmonton also suffers. As a team on the rise, it would’ve been much easier for the Oilers to assert themselves in the rather weak Northwest Division. Now in the Pacific, they have to fight with Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Vancouver, who could all make a convincing argument for winning the division. Hey, at least the Oilers can still beat up on the Flames. Gotta love the Battle of Alberta.