NHL Realignment: League Approves Radical Changes

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says there is not enough data yet to draw conclusions about the link between concussions and a degenerative brain ailment that has been found in four dead hockey players.

Player safety was a major topic Tuesday as the league wrapped up its two-day Board of Governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif.

It came a day after The New York Times reported that former New York Rangers enforcer Derek Boogaard suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, an ailment related to Alzheimer's disease.

The 28-year-old Boogaard died in May of an accidental overdose of alcohol and oxycodone.

Former players Bob Probert, Reggie Fleming and Rick Martin previously were found to have CTE.

Comments

[47th]

12:22 AM on 12/10/2011

As a Hawks fan, I'm glad Detroit is still in our division. The Hawks and Red Wings are always great games. I like that Minnesota Wild has moved back into the same division as the Hawks. The old Northstars Hawks games were like wars, maybe the rivalry will be rekindled.

[FormerlyTCnSRQ]

03:44 PM on 12/06/2011

the 2 eastern divisions are a joke. Long time rivalries are being neglected. History matters with franchises that have been around since before x box

[ObliqueReference]

01:25 PM on 12/06/2011

Awful plan, another reason why they shouldn't have let ASG move the Thrashers so easily.
1. Teams in the two "eastern" 7-team divisions will have a 57% chance of making the playoffs whereas teams in the two "western" 8-team divisions will only have a 50% chance of making the playoffs.
2. The two Fla teams will have to log as many air miles as the Jets are this year
3. No basis for the all-star game other than North America vs the World again.
4. We all know the Yotes are moving East in a year or two and Columbus might be moving in short order as well... we'll just have to have another realignment in a few years.

[gh0st]

01:35 PM on 12/06/2011

1. I would need one of my friends that are far more statistical to "prove" this, but I am pretty sure the logic is right...you are talking about a coin flip, or a dice toss. Not really the case here. You have to make the top 4. If there are 5 teams, 10 teams or 20 teams, you have to make the top 4. You don't have to "beat out" anymore teams. You only have to beat out the guy that is in fourth. Now, if you are in 8th, you have to beat out four teams and if you are in 7th, you have to beat out 3. True enough. But those guys aren't going to make it anyway. I get your point from a true-math perspective, but it isn't like they sit around and generate it in a true math sense.

2. That's what they get for trying to play hockey in FL. Ok, that's a bit tongue in cheek, but the outlyers are always going to have this issue. It is just going to happen no matter what.

3. Still seems fairly east and west. Not purely, but seems close enough.

4. And in X years N will be moving. You have to deal with what you have to deal with. I don't see this as a valid point.

Is it "prefect". Of course not. Is it "awful", I don't think you have proven that.

[ObliqueReference]

02:34 PM on 12/06/2011

1. It is much easier to make the top 4 when there are only 7 teams than when there are 8 teams. It is incredibly unfair.
2. If they (NHL) had just moved Nashville or Columbus into the SE, or better yet bought the Thrashers so they could have a owner acting in good faith the keep the team in Atlanta, there wouldn't be the outlier issue.
3. If there are 16 teams playing for the West and 14 teams playing for the East, the West has a larger pool of potential players and therefore a competitive advantage.
4. If they wait a year for the subsidized Yotes to move to Quebec no inter-conference realignment needed.

[tobo]

03:33 PM on 12/06/2011

For one reason or an other, I'm not allowed to comment on your last reply. Very weird.

1. You say KC is a relatively small city of 1M people, but then you ask for teams in Victoria or Sask. Those places much smaller than KC. I doubt the corporate support is there. Today Winnipeg is the smallest city (pop. 750k) in the NHL. To me that's the bare minimum. Okay, QC got less inhabitants, but QC metro is way bigger.

2. Bettman and the others knew there was no other option than to let ASG sell the Thrashers to Winnipeg. ASG wanted to get them out of the Philips arena. So even if there had been a local buyer, they had nowhere to play.

3. You think it will take another two years for the yotes to move? Who will pay the losses? Glendale city officials said this was the last time the city payed 25M to cover the losses. To make things even worse, the latest rumours are that Jamison's out, he wasn't able to scrape together the 170 million required to buy the team. That means Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf's their last hope. When he withdraws his bid, the yotes are finished. Then PK Péladeau and Quebecor can sign the contract, and ship the team to Quebec. Me thinks this will be the scenario that will unfold itself when the yotes are crushed in the first play off round by the Wings.

[ObliqueReference]

06:08 PM on 12/06/2011

If Edmonton can sell out nearly every game when they're the worst team in the league for several years, it leads me to think that a Canadian city of 100,000 can support a hockey team. A city barely familiar with the sport like KC will be a huge uphill battle.
And I do believe the Yotes will be moved before the 2012-2013 season as well- but that will half-way balance out this new alingment but then if the Jackets move - perhaps in 2013-14 then they'll have to figure something else out.

[gh0st]

01:16 PM on 12/06/2011

As long as I get to root against Detroit and it is meaningful, I am happy. Detroit sucks!!!

[kahunacook]

03:13 PM on 12/06/2011

Perhaps if the Hawks can manage to make it out of the first round this year we can meet in the playoffs.

[Drama Llama]

01:14 PM on 12/06/2011

So my beloved HABS are no longer rivals with the Flyers or the Pens? THAT SUCKS..

what the hell is wrong with the NHL?

[ObliqueReference]

01:20 PM on 12/06/2011

Your HABs will be in a division where they with 7 teams so teams in that division will have a 57% percent chance of making the playoffs whereas the teams in the 8 team division will only have a 50% chance of making the playoffs. Not fair.

[gh0st]

01:24 PM on 12/06/2011

Eh...I am in one of the 8 team conferences and I don't see this as that big of a deal. Historically, there has often been mismatched divisions and conferences. Just the nature of the beast. One of the ways they tried to address that was putting Detroit in a division with teams that made absolutely no sense geographically. Now, I hate Detroit as much as the next red blooded Chicagoan, but it was a pretty raw deal.

I would much rather play 8 teams that make sense than 5 teams and be going up against Florida or something silly like that.

[Drama Llama]

06:09 PM on 12/06/2011

LOL have you seen my HABS play last few years? you think that 7% helps much?

[gh0st]

01:21 PM on 12/06/2011

Really? Wasn't even aware there were rivalries there. I thought the Habs and the Bruins was the big one.

[Drama Llama]

06:09 PM on 12/06/2011

Boston is the biggest .. so I guess that is why they made sure to keep it but man... Philly and Pitt and Boston.. They are smash mouth East Coast hockey at it's finest.. Been some big brawls over the years between all those teams.. I am gonna miss it

[DanoX]

08:22 AM on 12/06/2011

NHL management always heading in the wrong direction! Never mind what 99% of what the fans want!!! Bring back the old confrences!

[benji85]

08:48 AM on 12/06/2011

At least this balances the teams a little more.

[gh0st]

01:15 PM on 12/06/2011

99%? Really? What is it that you want? Perhaps if you made a point as opposed to just making noise...

[DanoX]

10:23 AM on 12/07/2011

Bah! You're probably a Gretsky fan!

[flyers]

08:21 AM on 12/06/2011

For anyone who grew up watching the NHL in the 1980's, this is almost the exact system they used with the exception of re-seeding in the conference round. I haven't liked much of what Bettman has done since he took over in 1993, but this was a good move. It will create great playoff rivalries, and really stress winning the division (or conference as its called now), and divisional games.

[baxtron]

02:10 PM on 12/06/2011

less teams in California, Texas, Arizona, and Florida in the 1980's.

[Bushisgone]

07:32 AM on 12/06/2011

Bettman has destroyed the history and legacy of the NHL

Bring back the Wales and Campbell conference

[mass maritimer]

09:22 AM on 12/06/2011

and Patrick

[Bushisgone]

09:46 AM on 12/06/2011

Patrick was the name of the eastern conference
All the conferences had names
Norris was another, I can't remember any of the others