After much thought, the NHL Players' Association has given a thumbs-up to the league's proposed realignment plan. "After discussions with the Executive Board, the NHLPA has given consent to realignment, to be re-evaluated following the 2014-15 season,'' NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr said in a statement Thursday night. Both sides confirmed to ESPN.com that the NHLPA gave its consent to play in the proposed four-division system for three seasons -- through the 2015-16 season -- but the union will begin to re-evaluate the system after two seasons. Therefore, no changes would be made to the system before the 2016-17 season. All that remains now is for the NHL's 30 owners to vote on the plan in order for it to go into effect for the 2013-14 season. A source told ESPN.com on Thursday evening that the NHL hopes to hold the board of governors vote within the next week. "The NHL Players' Association confirmed to us today that it has consented to a revised plan for realignment, effective for the 2013-14 season," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement. "Our next step will be to bring the proposed Plan for Realignment to the NHL Board of Governors for its consideration. We will update the status of the process as future developments warrant." The NHL sent details of its realignment plan to owners Feb. 26 after discussing it for more than three weeks with the NHLPA. Read more http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/9029028/nhlpa-consents-realignment-plan
NHL realignment now official: Wild card playoffs, four divisions for next season Here’s the playoff format for next season, via Dan Rosen of NHL.com: The Stanley Cup Playoffs will still consist of 16 teams, eight in each conference, but it will be division-based and a wild-card system has been added as a new wrinkle. The top three teams in each division will make-up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots will be filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference, based on regular-season points and regardless of division. It will be possible, then, for one division to send five teams to the postseason while the other sends three. The seeding of the wild-card teams within each divisional playoff will be determined on the basis of regular-season points. The division winner with the most points in the conference will be matched against the wild-card team with the lowest number of points; the division winner with the second-most points in the conference will play the wild-card team with the second fewest points. The teams finishing second and third in each division will play in the first round of the playoffs. The winners of each series will play for the divisional championship. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-p...l-wild-card-playoffs-four-162852277--nhl.html
"Division B" is quite boring if you ask me. The only rivalry in this division is the Blackhawks and Blues. Blackhawks and Predators had some tough games but should not be considered a rival. Sucks seeing the Wings switch conferences but the plus is the Hawks can play a home and home against every Original Six team. My favorite part of the new alignment. The Florida teams are an interesting situation being with teams from Canada and northern teams. Travel isn't too bad but the whole "geographical" idea they were trying to work with got lost with those two teams. The good thing is they will be playing four of the six Original Six teams, bringing in better views.
