A “serious realignment is coming" to the NHL next season following the return of the Winnipeg Jets to the league, according to Craig Custance of SPORTING NEWS TODAY. An NHL exec said Saturday, “I can guarantee you. It will be more dramatic. It will be realignment of the whole league. It will be a different format. I think it’ll please a lot of people.” The exec added, “The fact remains that there are three teams that should be in the East that are in the West. The only way you can make everybody happy is by restructuring the whole thing.” Custance noted the Blue Jackets and Red Wings play in cities located in the Eastern time zone and the Predators in the Central time zone, and a move “would theoretically increase TV ratings, as well [as] help build geographic rivalries and cut down on travel costs.” The plan is “expected to be finalized during December’s Board of Governors meeting” (SPORTING NEWS TODAY, 6/26). The GLOBE & MAIL’s David Shoalts reported there “could be one 16-team conference with two eight-team divisions and one 14-team conference with two seven team divisions.” The Blue Jackets are “pushing the proposal for a 16-team conference and a 14-team conference in hopes of moving east.” Both conferences also “could each have a eight-team division and a seven-team division” (GLOBESPORTS.com, 6/25).
GETTING THE TIMING RIGHT: An NHL exec said that the divisions "would be based on time zones," and YAHOO SPORTS' Nicholas Cotsonika wrote that is a "common-sense solution to TV and travel problems that some teams face and have been frankly unfair for years." The exec added that the league's BOG "would rule on the issue in December, though there remains a lot to talk about." Hurricanes President & GM Jim Rutherford: "It's a good time to look at it. It really doesn't affect a lot of teams like ours, but Dallas has been in a little bit of an odd situation for a long time" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/25).
