Name: The NHL should have 8 NFL-style divisions: Mendes
Brand: theathletic.com
SKU: theathletic-com-197
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

The NHL should have 8 NFL-style divisions: Mendes

preview

Jan 21, 2021We’re a week into a new season and still grappling with some of the scheduling quirks of this pandemic-shortened season.The and will play three regular-season games in the span of four days this week, a scenario that would have been unfathomable at any other point in history.As Pierre LeBrun, the MLB-style schedule of three games in four nights against the same opponent might be something that stays with the NHL after the pandemic ends.Borrowing from baseball could be advantageous to the NHL in the long run, cutting down on travel and carbon footprints, while increasing the intensity of rivalries.If the NHL is willing to cherry-pick an idea from , perhaps it’s time to look at another league to solve a constant source of frustration for NHL fans: divisional alignment.With Seattle entering the NHL next season and the league going through this one-year temporary alignment, the timing seems ideal for a radical, long-term solution to the divisional format starting this fall.The problem with recent NHL division groupings is that they are simply too big. As a result, you end up with teams such as Toronto and Florida in the same division, despite it making little sense from a geographic or historical perspective. Even during this pandemic-shortened season, the geographic anomalies, such as Montreal and Vancouver or Minnesota and Los Angeles in the same division, don’t seem that misplaced because the NHL usually casts a wide net when grouping its teams.So today, we’re going to narrow the NHL’s focus and see if we can cut down the size of each division. And to do it, we’re going to steal the divisional concept from the most successful sports league in North America: the .The NFL is a 32-team league that employs eight divisions, featuring four teams each. As I attempt to apply those parameters to the NHL, I do have a couple of basic rules to follow:1. Geography will be the No. 1 factor in grouping teams.2. Whenever possible, I will try to keep historical rivals in the same division.As you’ll see, this eight-division realignment plan — with its schedule and playoffs — seems about as logical and reasonable as any format the NHL has employed over the past two decades. And as I’m sure you’ll see in the comments below, some will think this is also the stupidest and most ridiculous idea that’s ever been floated — especially if you’re a fan of a handful of teams. (I’m looking at you St. Louis. And Detroit. But also possibly Arizona, Buffalo, Chicago, Columbus, Nashville, Philadelphia and Seattle).So, if you’re open to the concept, I welcome you to the NFL-style version of divisional realignment in the NHLEmpire DivisionNew Jersey DevilsNew York IslandersNew York RangersPros: When NHL teams have provincial or state rivals, they are always in the same division. Think Tampa Bay and Florida. Edmonton and Calgary. The three teams in California. The lone exception? The Buffalo Sabres, who have never been in the same division as their New York state cousins. Let’s fix that anomaly and put the Sabres in the same division as the Islanders and Rangers. And keeping the Devils in that grouping was a no-brainer.Cons: I don’t see any obvious red flags – at least not geographically. But I’m sure some Sabres fans will be unhappy to be moved out of a division with their historical rivals such as Toronto, Boston and Montreal. And losing the Philadelphia-New York rivalry hurts, but we made sure the Flyers were still in the same division as their No. 1 nemesis.Heritage DivisionMontreal CanadiensPros: I know what fans (especially Sabres ones) are probably thinking here: “Wow, the guy who covers Ottawa for a living put them in a division with three marquee, Original Six teams.” But this division works both historically (Montreal-Boston, Toronto-Montreal rivalries) and geographically. And let’s be honest, since I cover the Senators for a living, you know I was going to find a way to keep Toronto and Boston in the same division.Cons: The Bruins would be the only American-based team in this division.Keystone DivisionPros: The two Pennsylvania teams are joined at the hip, so there is no way we could ever split up the Penguins and Flyers. Keeping Washington with them continues a divisional rivalry that dates back to the old Patrick Division.Cons: I’ll admit I had a really hard time figuring out where to put Columbus. Ideally, I would have loved to see them in a division with Detroit to try and build off that natural Ohio-Michigan rivalry. But as you’ll see below, I wanted to make it a priority to get Detroit and Chicago back in the same division.Coastal DivisionPros: Nashville is a bit of a geographic outlier by NHL standards, with no opponent within 300 miles of them. But putting them in the same division as Carolina and Tampa makes as much sense as putting the Predators with the . And before you complain about Nashville being in the ‘Coastal Division’ remember that we currently have an Atlantic Division featuring cities such as Buffalo, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal that have no ocean view.Cons: Nashville would be moved to the Eastern Conference, despite being on Central Standard Time. Also, this division gives off some serious retro Southeast Division vibes.Great Lakes DivisionPros: As I mentioned earlier, getting two Original Six rivals back together in the Red Wings and Blackhawks was a priority. Detroit and Chicago are division rivals in all the other major sports – NFL, and MLB – it seems wrong to have them separated in the NHL.Cons: Welcome back to the Western Conference, Detroit. And once again, Winnipeg is abandoned from its Canadian cousins.The South-Midwest&nbsp;Division&nbsp;Powered by GEICODallas StarsSt. Louis BluesPros: If you look at a map of the United States, these four cities actually form a parallelogram across the middle part of the country, so grouping this foursome isn’t as awkward as you might think. Also, I named this division because if corporate sponsors are still around, &nbsp;there is a 100 percent chance this will be the name.Cons: That previous sentence in favour of this division doesn’t exactly read like a ringing endorsement. And trust me, I already hear you St. Louis fans. Being separated from Chicago is less than ideal, given your historical and geographic rivalry with the Blackhawks. In my opinion, St. Louis probably comes out as the biggest loser in my re-shuffled deck.Golden DivisionPros: This might have been the easiest division to put together. And the suggested division name is perfect because it works in both the nicknames for the state of California and the team in Vegas.Cons: The Arizona Coyotes would probably like to replace Vegas in this division, but that’s really the only possible change to consider.Rocky Mountain DivisionVancouver CanucksPros: We have the potential for the division with the two most heated rivalries that involve all four teams: Calgary-Edmonton and Vancouver-Seattle. The Kraken-Canucks rivalry should be a ton of fun right away – especially if Seattle can mimic even a shred of Vegas’ early success.Cons: Just like the Bruins, Seattle is the only American team in its division. And there is an argument to be made that growing the game in a new market would be better aided with Seattle facing opponents from Los Angeles, San Jose and Vegas.Schedule format:Things are going to get a little complicated here, so if you prefer a quick, digestible version of the schedule format, here is what you need to know:• 82-game regular-season schedule remains intact.• You play teams within your own division six times (three home, three road).• You will face every other opponent in the league at least twice (one home, one road).If you’re satisfied with that generic explanation, I suggest hopping ahead to the playoff format below. If you’re a stickler for details, here is how it would play out, using the New York Rangers as our example team:• New York would play the three teams in its own division six times each (18 games total).• They would play one other Eastern Conference Division four times each (16 games total).• They would play the remaining six divisions in the league two times each (48 games total).And just like the NFL does with out-of-conference games, the NHL can employ a three-year rotation for which division you play the extra games against.Year 1: Rangers play four games each against the Boston/Montreal/Ottawa/Toronto division.Year 2: Rangers play four games each against the Columbus/Philadelphia/Pittsburgh/Washington division.Year 3: Rangers play four games each against the Carolina/Florida/Nashville/Tampa division.This would ensure every team in the league faces each other at least once at home and on the road, so everybody gets a chance to see the likes of , and Alexis Lafrenière.I would also be open to a slight “variation” of the plan above. Instead of rotating teams through the four divisions, you could also permanently attach teams to opponents outside of their divisions — and guarantee four games against them.I mentioned rivalries such as St.Louis-Chicago, Philadelphia-New York and Buffalo-Toronto that would be minimized in my realignment plan. Perhaps there is a way to ensure the Blues and Blackhawks meet four times each year to maintain that rivalry, instead of using the three-year rotation plan.Playoff format:Realistically, we can be as creative as we want with the playoff format.But here is my suggestion: The top two teams in each division advance to the playoffs with one small caveat: If the third-place team is within five points of the second-place team at the end of the regular season, they will have a mini play-in series to determine who gets the final playoff spot.Under this scenario, each team would start the season with a 50 percent chance of nabbing one of those two playoff spots in their four-team divisions. The 18 regular-season games within your division would take on an added significance and hopefully fuel rivalries – both old and new.Once the 16 playoff teams are established (after a potential play-in series), I would rank them by their overall standings and use the 1-16 format the league used to employ in the 1970s. That would allow for the potential of a Stanley Cup Final featuring heated divisional rivals facing each other.Picture a Stanley Cup featuring Pittsburgh against Philadelphia.Or Toronto against Montreal.Better yet: Just imagine a championship series featuring hated division foes St. Louis and Arizona.(Photo of Edmonton’s and Calgary’s : Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Jan 21, 2021We’re a week into a new season and still grappling with some of the scheduling quirks of this pandemic-shortened season.The and will play three regular-season games in the span of four days this week, a scenario that would have been unfathomable at any other point in history.As Pierre LeBrun, the MLB-style schedule of three games in four nights against the same opponent might be something that stays with the NHL after the pandemic ends.Borrowing from baseball could be advantageous to the NHL in the long run, cutting down on travel and carbon footprints, while increasing the...

public

Ian Mendes

Get every sports story that matters. Download The Athletic app: https://linktr.ee/TheAthletic

The NHL should have 8 NFL-style divisions: Mendes

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS