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euthy · December 23rd, 2006, 12:34 PM

Here's a solution. I think the problem is not with the new divisions per se, but with the conferences. I don't think it's a big deal to have Atlanta in a division with Chicago and Nashville instead of Washington and Tampa. The problem is putting Atlanta (and any other Eastern time zone team) in a CONFERENCE with Edmonton, Vancouver, etc. There is no more reason for Atlanta, or Central time zone teams for that matter, to be in a conference with true western teams than there is for Buffalo, Toronto, Philly, etc. The reason is simple: if you get on a plane in Calgary, it doesn't really matter whether you're going to Chicago, Atlanta, or Buffalo, or almost anyplace else in the Eastern or Central time zones. It's gonna be a pain in the neck one way or the other.

But as we said, divisions are OK, so what to do? I say, keep the divisions, DROP THE CONFERENCES. Just have 4 divisions. Scheduling the season and the Stanley Cup Final pairing based on conference affiliation has NO historical precedent in hockey. They've only been doing it since 1982, and nothing begun in 1982 can possibly be traditional!

Go ahead and switch Clb and Atl. Then probably Pittsburgh will move to Houston or KC. Then move Det to the Northeast as well. Now we're looking at a league like this:

Atlantic: you know which 8
Northeast: the current 5, plus Clb and Det
Central: Chi, Min, StL Dal, Hou, Nas, Atl
Pacific: the 8 true western

Require all teams to play all interdivision teams twice, with the remainder being spread across the teams in the division. This eliminates the problem of the Atlantic, NE, and SE teams having a tremendous travel advantage over the Central teams merely because of a few degrees of longitude.

The playoffs would involve the top four in each division, with first and second round play within the division, and then reseeding for the semifinals.

Then put a NE expansion team in southern Ontario, and a Central one in whichever of Hou or KC doesn't get the Pens. Now you've got 4 divisions of 8. The schedule could be: 4 games vs. each division team, 2 games against each interdivision team, for 76 games.

Now you've got a shorter season, higher attendances, and a hopefully more crisply-played postseason, but being in the same division as your rival still means something because you play twice as often as other teams, and regardless, the division rivalries that count will be guaranteed to come out in the postseason, because of the playoff structure.

Nor should the playoff pairings be so repetitive as the last time they used the top 4-format. In those days, 3 of the 4 divisions had only 5 teams, so there were only 10 possible playoff matchups. With 8 teams in a division, there are 28.

December 23rd, 2006, 12:34 PM	#5 (permalink)
euthy New Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 2	Here's a solution. I think the problem is not with the new divisions per se, but with the conferences. I don't think it's a big deal to have Atlanta in a division with Chicago and Nashville instead of Washington and Tampa. The problem is putting Atlanta (and any other Eastern time zone team) in a CONFERENCE with Edmonton, Vancouver, etc. There is no more reason for Atlanta, or Central time zone teams for that matter, to be in a conference with true western teams than there is for Buffalo, Toronto, Philly, etc. The reason is simple: if you get on a plane in Calgary, it doesn't really matter whether you're going to Chicago, Atlanta, or Buffalo, or almost anyplace else in the Eastern or Central time zones. It's gonna be a pain in the neck one way or the other. But as we said, divisions are OK, so what to do? I say, keep the divisions, DROP THE CONFERENCES. Just have 4 divisions. Scheduling the season and the Stanley Cup Final pairing based on conference affiliation has NO historical precedent in hockey. They've only been doing it since 1982, and nothing begun in 1982 can possibly be traditional! Go ahead and switch Clb and Atl. Then probably Pittsburgh will move to Houston or KC. Then move Det to the Northeast as well. Now we're looking at a league like this: Atlantic: you know which 8 Northeast: the current 5, plus Clb and Det Central: Chi, Min, StL Dal, Hou, Nas, Atl Pacific: the 8 true western Require all teams to play all interdivision teams twice, with the remainder being spread across the teams in the division. This eliminates the problem of the Atlantic, NE, and SE teams having a tremendous travel advantage over the Central teams merely because of a few degrees of longitude. The playoffs would involve the top four in each division, with first and second round play within the division, and then reseeding for the semifinals. Then put a NE expansion team in southern Ontario, and a Central one in whichever of Hou or KC doesn't get the Pens. Now you've got 4 divisions of 8. The schedule could be: 4 games vs. each division team, 2 games against each interdivision team, for 76 games. Now you've got a shorter season, higher attendances, and a hopefully more crisply-played postseason, but being in the same division as your rival still means something because you play twice as often as other teams, and regardless, the division rivalries that count will be guaranteed to come out in the postseason, because of the playoff structure. Nor should the playoff pairings be so repetitive as the last time they used the top 4-format. In those days, 3 of the 4 divisions had only 5 teams, so there were only 10 possible playoff matchups. With 8 teams in a division, there are 28.