JACKSONVILLE, Fla - Anyone can look at the NHL standings and see that realignment is on the horizon.  The move by the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg came too late to be able to do it for the 2011-2012 season.  So, leave Winnipeg in the Southeast Division and visit the problem in the off-season.  There are a lot of ideas floating out in the world that is the internet.  From minor tweaking to major overhaul to “let’s throw the team names in a bowl and see what happens”.  That’s basically how Atlanta and New Orleans ended up in the NFC West after the NFL/AFL merger in the late 1906’s.  Here is my idea for realignment.  It probably falls somewhere closer to the major overhaul than minor tweaking.  Will it see the light of day.  Unlikely.  However, that has never stopped me before.

Most people naturally are thinking that Winnipeg moves to the Western Conference and, mostly likely, Detroit replaces Winnipeg in the Southeast Division.  Here is another idea, why not move Nashville to the Southeast Division.  OK, that might be considered off the wall.  OK, it is off the wall.  How do you make this work.  Simple, go to a three conference format.  Here is now.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division--New Jersey, N.Y. Rangers, N.Y. Islanders, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh

Northeast Division—Boston, Buffalo, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto

CENTRAL CONFERENCE

Southern Division—Carolina, Florida, Nashville, Tampa Bay, Washington

Midwest Division—Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, St. Louis

Western  Conference

Mountain Division—Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Minnesota, Winnipeg

Pacific Division—Anaheim, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver

You do keep an 82 game schedule.  Play the other teams in your eight times (32 games), the other five teams in your conference six times (30 games) and the other four divisions once (for 20 games).  10 of those remaining 20 games are home games and the remaining are road and you rotate the home and away every other year.  That way, you are assured that every team in the league visits every other team in the league once every four years. 

Like I said before, not likely.  But it is a fun exercise.

Contact Kenneth.Holdren@prohockeynews.com