#nhl realignment

[hockeywiz777]

How Playing In Hubs During The 2020-21 Season Would Impact The League | Parlor Talk

As of right now, the NHL has yet to give clear direction to the league’s general managers and executives in regards to how the 2020-21 will be played out. According to reports are that the divisions may be re-aligned, hubs and a new season format could also be in the mix. The league hopes to get the season started up around January 1st of 2021, which means that there is much work to be done between the NHL and NHLPA. The goal is still to get some fans in the stands but by the looks of it, the games might start off being played in 4 hubs with 4 re-aligned divisions, including 1 all Canadian division. If the NHL does continue to use Hub cities, which cities might be used?

[mapsontheweb]

NHL Re-alignment Map

[rinkrover]

I'm glad that the Winnipeg Jets are finally in a division that suits them better geographically, but I'm afraid that the damage done by their time in the Southeast Division might be irremediable. When future generations, who have survived our civilization's apocalyptic destruction, find evidence that Winnipeg once played in the Southeast division, they will wonder what catastrophic earthquake caused Winnipeg to float down the Mississippi River and end up in the southern US. I predict that attempts to reconstruct literary classics will result in travesties (such as this pic) that try to explain how Winnipeg traveled down the Mississippi River. 

[jawn-hextall]

Here's some info on the realignment and of course the official season schedule.

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[mapsontheweb]

NHL Realignment Map Source

[if-i-were-a-penguin]

Re: NHL realignment

Earlier I posted about how I felt the NHL needed to realign into non-geography based conferences, and I have received some messages and comments from friends saying it would never work, however I found this.

We don't necessarily need geography-based alignment. The NHL survived 14 years between 1967 and 1981 without alignment based on geography. For all the crying we hear today from teams about hefty travel costs that could bring teams down, it worked for 14 years in a time without the technology that exists today. Is geography-based alignment ideal? Yes, but it's not the biggest concern.

Full article: http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2011/11/1/2529597/nhl-realignment-history-expansion

[if-i-were-a-penguin]

I think the NHL should follow the MLB and NFL in creating two non-geographic conferences, then divide the teams into geographic divisions. I have always felt the way the NHL and NBA have geographic conferences were more of a hindrance then it was any help. 

Although, I think that should happen, it would not make realignment any simpler. You would still have some of these problems:

1. Teams want to play other teams in their time zones

2. Teams want to play other teams who are geographically close to them

3. Teams want to maintain rivalries

[jacked-studnicka]

NHL realignment.