NHL to realign?
The NHL continues to shake things up, this time they want to realign the leagues. The realignment has yet to be put into effect as it is still in the works, but here’s a breakdown on what the changes could look like.
Currently the Bruins share a division with the Montreal Canadians and the Toronto Maple Leafs, but they could soon see another of the “Original Six” join their division. With the proposed realignment The Detroit Redwings would in a conference with the Bruins, Canadiens, Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning. That’s not the only team affected by the proposed realignment though as it would switch up the dynamic of the entire NHL.
A major force behind the realignment was the movement by the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg, which made travel in the Southeast Division extremely difficult to plan. The plan is to change the current two-conference six-division format to four divisions. The restricting would be as such:
I: CAR/CLB/NJ/NYI/NYR/PHI/PIT/WASH
II: BOS/BUF/DET/FLA/MON/OTT/TB/TOR
III: CHI/COL/DAL/MIN/NASH/STL/WIN
IV: ANA/CAL/EDM/LA/PHOE/SJ/VAN
The proposal will be put to the league’s board of governors and will be decided upon. Names for the divisions have yet to be announced, but should the proposal pass they will probably be released soon.
