2023-24 NHL Season Thread.

[ketzil]

I propose they go back to the old division names, but keep the conference East/West so fans have enough familiarity with the layout. This way the changes in teams divisional location will not seem illogical, and it will bring back that old familiarity for longtime fans of the game. As for the actual shift in whose playing where, the Thrashers/Jets will join the Smythe (Norhtwest) replacing the Wild who will be put into the Norris (Central). From there move the Red Wings into the Adams (Northeast) and move Buffalo into the Patrick (Atlantic). Thats where the moving around will end. Yes, according to this plan there will be only 4 teams in the Southeast and 6 in the Patrick but considering location and rivalries (with regards to Detriot) it seems to make the most sense. You could put Philly in the Southeast but I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't want to see the two Penn. teams split up like that. I could be wrong about this though.


Proposed Divisional Layout:

East

Patrick (Atlantic)
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
New Jersey Devils
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Buffalo Sabres

Adams(Northeast)
Boston Bruins
Detriot Red Wings
Montreal Canadiens
Toronto Maple Leafs
Ottawa Senators

Howe(Southeast)
Carolina Hurricanes
Florida Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning
Washington Capitals

West

Norris (Central)
Chicago Blackhawks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues

Smythe (Northwest)
Calgary Flames
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers
Winnipeg Jets/Thrashers/Frozen Thrashers/Whatever
Vancouver Canucks

Richard (Pacific)
Anaheim Ducks
Dallas Stars
Los Angeles Kings
Phoenix Coyotes
San Jose Sharks

I decided on naming the Pacific and Southeast after Rocket Richard and Gordie Howe. Immediately Gretzky comes to mind as far as a candidate for a division name but I think its too soon for him.

As stated above having the Wings with 3 of the original 6 in one division would be a huge boost for the NHL. And Buffalo in with the other two NY teams would really boost their potential three way rivalry. Same with Winnipeg, having them with the other 3 western Canadian teams is a no brainer.

And Renn, I think you can never really get enough competition. The Red Wings are a great franchise that would make the east stronger.

[AceofHarts]

I doubt Detroit would be the first choice to be put in the Eastern conference. The East has enough competition from good teams, we don't need Detroit in it to make things worse.

so many good teams that it, like the western conference, came down to the last game of the season to decide the playoffs? oh wait, no, that was the west only. the east does not compare to the west.

[Kyeguywar]

Even if i live in the Boston area, i don't care the Bruins suck
GO VANCOUVER!

[Rennadrel]

so many good teams that it, like the western conference, came down to the last game of the season to decide the playoffs? oh wait, no, that was the west only. the east does not compare to the west.

Yeah, because the last 3 playoff spots were all decided last year by less than 5 points between them in the East and it's been pretty close on a lot of playoff positions in the last few years.

[AceofHarts]

Yeah, because the last 3 playoff spots were all decided last year by less than 5 points between them in the East and it's been pretty close on a lot of playoff positions in the last few years.

4-8 were all 3 points apart (97-99) in the west this year, as you were saying?

[Epuration]

ok west is 3k rated and the east is 1.4k rated
that should explain the diff....

---------- Post added 2011-05-31 at 11:24 PM ----------

and for people that pve its HM vs reg

[Rennadrel]

And moving a team like Detroit out of the West and into the East effectively pushes every playoff contender in the 5-8 spots out of that opportunity in the East. Even the 8th seed Hawks had more points then the bottom 3 teams in the East at the end of the regular season. While the East had more teams with over 100 points, the West had more balanced point totals for all teams and there wasn't a huge disparity in points between 2 and 8, Vancouver was obviously the exception. Three teams tied for 4th place position in the West while two tied for 6th in the East, I'd say that a 4 team tie in points means that the competition in the conference is plenty healthy while there are far too many fringe teams in the East that would not have made it anywhere in the post season. The Hurricanes, Rangers and Sabres are all teams that can make the post season, and Toronto is pretty close too. 3 of the 5 worst teams this year were in the East as well, and the bottom 9-13 in the West all had more points then anyone in the East in those spots.

It makes no sense to put a team, especially one that is always a contender, in the East when it's already a bitch for most teams to make any progress in our own division. And no, I don't want to see the Red Wings 6 times a year, I am sick of having to see the Habs and Sens, but 6 games a year against any team is freaking stupid. I'd sooner see more games against Western teams like Vancouver and Anaheim then Montreal, Ottalawl and Barffalo.

[phazedin]

ok west is 3k rated and the east is 1.4k rated
that should explain the diff....

---------- Post added 2011-05-31 at 11:24 PM ----------

and for people that pve its HM vs reg

Truly. The disparity between west and east is noticable, if not for the weakness of the rest of the East, Washington/Boston/Philly wouldn't look like such total powerhouses. Compare those teams to Chicago/LA who squeeked into the playoffs in the west and they would have trouble.

It's not to say they aren't good teams, but the arms race in the west that started with the Detroit/Colorado rivalry has amped up the competition considerably in the west and has created a noticeable difference. Top Western team 3rd liners would be welcome 2nd liners in the East.

Another reason I'm calling sweep.

omfgsostokedjustdropthedamnpuckalready

[AceofHarts]

And moving a team like Detroit out of the West and into the East effectively pushes every playoff contender in the 5-8 spots out of that opportunity in the East. Even the 8th seed Hawks had more points then the bottom 3 teams in the East at the end of the regular season. While the East had more teams with over 100 points, the West had more balanced point totals for all teams and there wasn't a huge disparity in points between 2 and 8, Vancouver was obviously the exception. Three teams tied for 4th place position in the West while two tied for 6th in the East, I'd say that a 4 team tie in points means that the competition in the conference is plenty healthy while there are far too many fringe teams in the East that would not have made it anywhere in the post season. The Hurricanes, Rangers and Sabres are all teams that can make the post season, and Toronto is pretty close too. 3 of the 5 worst teams this year were in the East as well, and the bottom 9-13 in the West all had more points then anyone in the East in those spots.

It makes no sense to put a team, especially one that is always a contender, in the East when it's already a bitch for most teams to make any progress in our own division. And no, I don't want to see the Red Wings 6 times a year, I am sick of having to see the Habs and Sens, but 6 games a year against any team is freaking stupid. I'd sooner see more games against Western teams like Vancouver and Anaheim then Montreal, Ottalawl and Barffalo.

except that it opens up a spot for one of those west teams (See Dallas with 95 Points, Calgary with 94 Points) to move into the West Stanley Cup Playoffs, while getting one of the teams who cannot even get 94/95 points in an easy conference (see New York Rangers) out of the Playoffs.

[ketzil]

except that it opens up a spot for one of those west teams (See Dallas with 95 Points, Calgary with 94 Points) to move into the West Stanley Cup Playoffs, while getting one of the teams who cannot even get 94/95 points in an easy conference (see New York Rangers) out of the Playoffs.

Exactly. Its a slight shift in power that is good for the whole league. The teams that deserve a chance can get one and the ones that don't deserve it won't.

[AceofHarts]

Exactly. Its a slight shift in power that is good for the whole league. The teams that deserve a chance can get one and the ones that don't deserve it won't.

you sure you want detroit in the same conference as Boston though? i seem to recall Detroit DESTROYING Boston this year....

---------- Post added 2011-06-01 at 12:18 AM ----------

twice too. <3

[ketzil]

Yeah I like detroit. And I'm not worried that would happen every time we played.

[Bamboozles]

i'll give the bruins one game.

canucks in 5.

[phazedin]

Malhotra at the doctor today instead of practice... I had a feeling we might have jumped the gun with him.

---------- Post added 2011-05-31 at 05:53 PM ----------

Thought I'd post a proper avatar.

Bob Krieger, local genius political cartoonist posted this on the day bin laden was 'eliminated from the postseason'

[Zoma]

Start the damn game already! I'm getting withdrawal!

*hugs knees to chin, starts rocking back and forth, staring at CBC*

[Lilcheeks]

Dont know if you watch this series or not but if you did you would know just giving Tampa 1 powerplay would kill the B's and like Kerry Fraser said put away the whizzle' is the same as saying let them cheat. And we clearly know who benefited on the let them play mentality that scared and bad refs apply.

If it is a penalty in 3rd week of October it is a penalty in Game 7 of the Cup final in a tied game with 4 min left on the clock.

LOL. Did you watch this series? Up to game 6 when the flood gates opened on the man advantage, Game 5 Tampa was 0-4 on PP, G 4 0-2, G3 0-3, G2 1-4, G1 1-5. That's 2-18... A real certain thing that a penalty or 2 would have changed the game. Nice argument.

[conscript]

Ketzil's post about realignment /snip.

No way will the NHL go back to the amazing old division and conference names. They are simply "too confusing" for casual or new fans lol. That is why the NHL stupidly changed them last time. I support a similar line of realignment. Shifting Detroit to the East makes far, far more sense than moving Columbus as Detroit has built in rivalries with Toronto, Boston, Montreal, and the Rangers because of Original 6 ties or because of former conference rivalries with Toronto. Not to mention Detroit's rivalry with Pittsburgh. Columbus has essentially no built in sports rivalries outside of
The idea I have been toying with and like more and more is essentially MLB's unbalanced conferences. 16 teams in the East, 14 teams in the West:

Atlantic: Philly, Pitt, NY, NY, NI
Northeast: Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Detroit, Ottawa, Buffalo
Southeast: Washington, Columbus, Tampa, Carolina, Florida

Central: Chicago, Nashville, Minnesota, St Louis, Dallas
Northwest: Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton
Pacific: San Jose, Anaheim, Phoenix, LA, Colorado

All 16 EST teams will now be in the East where they belong. It streamlines start times for that entire conference. The West no longer has teams scattered across 4 time zones which is just awful right now for travel, start times and viewership.

---------- Post added 2011-06-01 at 12:04 PM ----------

How pumped are you Canuck fans for these 5pm start times all series? Woo the game starts before most of you can actually get out of work. Fun!

[Asera]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30058556/IMG...601_125231.jpg

Comic today in the Halifax Metro.

[Epuration]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/30058556/IMG...601_125231.jpg

Comic today in the Halifax Metro.

ha ha thats epic(its funny because its true).

[VanillaO]

Not a bad idea, conscript (I'd support it, too), but there will always be flaws with that setup. The NL Central (with 6 teams) is by far the weakest division in baseball... and has been for a few years now. It would also make some scheduling issues. Right now it's 6-division, 4-conference, 1-opposing conference, with 3 extra games played against non-conference opponents.

It just 'works' right now with the amount of games you play against each team in your division and conference.

In my perfect world, the NHL would recognize it's role as a niche sport outside of Canada, cut 4-6 teams, and just pare down to 4 division of 6-7 teams each. It would allow for more teams to have deeper talent, which I think would allow for more competition in the league. This will, of course, never happen, but I think it'd be best for the league. While there is growth in certain markets, there are still a number of teams that aren't even coming close to the salary cap; some because they don't want to and are in rebuild mode, but more often because they simply don't have the money to compete.

I will be over here continuing to fantasize about this... and the Leafs winning enough games to, you know.. make the playoffs or something.

That comic about sums up Toronto's feelings about ALL our sports teams in the last few years. Raptors stink, Leafs are mediocre, and the Jays are... well they're better than most people expect them to be, but still not good enough to compete in the AL East without more consistency with the bat.