Realignment On The Horizon

Early into the NHL season one of the better stories is the return of the Winnipeg Jets.

It took 15 years but after losing their original franchise to Phoenix in 1996 the NHL returned to "The Peg" this past summer when the Atlanta Thrashers were purchased by Mark Chipman & True North Sports Entertainment.

So far it has been a rough start in Winnipeg as the Jets are 1-4-1 in their 1st six games. However the locals don't care that they are watching the Thrashers in cooler uniforms. They could finish 2-78-2 and Winnipeg would be fine with it this season because the NHL has returned. 

While the focus in Winnipeg is having the NHL back around the rest of the league Owners & GM's are wondering how to realign for the 2012-2013 season.

Since the deal to purchase Atlanta & move them to Winnipeg happened in late June there wasn't enough time for the NHL to realign and adjust the schedule for the 2011-2012 season. Because of this the Jets are playing in the Southeast Division with Tampa Bay, Carolina, Florida, & Washington. 

That will change next year when the Jets move out of the Souheast & into the Western Conference. That much we do know. What we don't know is which team will move East & what the domino effect will be for all the other teams involved.

Let's look at the realignment possibilities and how they affect a few NHL teams.

Detroit Red Wings: 

There has been an understanding between Detroit owner Mike Illitch & NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman that if there was ever an opportunity for the Red Wings to move to the Eastern Conference they would be given 1st consideration over any NHL club.

It makes sense as Detroit is one of two teams in the Western Conference that play in the Eastern time zone. With four of the original six teams in the East you could move Detroit and rekindle old rivalries that have gone stale in the last few years.

But I don't believe that the Red Wings moving to the East is a lock. It takes 2/3rds of a vote for realignment to take place. With as good as Detroit has been the last 20 years the last thing an owner from the East wants to do is have to compete with Detroit for a playoff spot.

Another thing to factor in is Detroit is one of a handful of teams that draws good crowds on the road. The owners of the teams in the West can't like the idea of Detroit coming into their building once a year instead of 2 to 3 times a year.

And then you have the Central Division.

The big rival for the Red Wings in the Central is the Chicago Blackhawks. I can't imagine Chicago would be too happy with their rival leaving them behind for the Eastern Conference.

Another rival in the Central is the St. Louis Blues. While it doesn't have the history it does with Chicago, The Red Wings have had a heated rivalry with the Blues in the past. St. Louis probably isn't thrilled with the possibility of Detroit leaving the West either.

As for the other teams in the Central Nashville & Columbus the history may not be there but the seeds have been planted for competitive rivalries to develop. Nashville finished 2nd in the Central last year & has played Detroit well in the past while Columbus & Detroit adds another layer to the rivalry between the State of Ohio & the state of Michigan.

The other thing is if Detroit goes East where do you put them? The teams in the Atlantic & Northeast fit so well together it makes no sense to break them up to make room for Detroit. The only opening is in the Southeast Division which only makes sense in the fact that Detroit is in Southeast Michigan. 

Columbus Blue Jackets: 

Columbus would love to leave the West & play in the Eastern Conference for the same reason Detroit does. Unlike Detroit they don't have the history the Red Wings do & would probably cause the least amount of controversy.

You would have the same issue in the Atlantic & Northeast as you do with moving the Wings but the Blue Jackets would be a better fit geographically in the Southeast than Detroit. 

And with the Southeast being a weaker division than the Central the Blue Jackets would have a better chance to compete for a playoff spot than they do right now.

Nashville Predators: 

If you want to talk about geographic fits then no team makes more sense than moving the Predators to the Southeast. Nashville is the definition of a southern town. Plus like Columbus they have a young history where if you move Nashville you aren't disrupting a lot of rivalries.

The thing that works against Nashville is they are in the Central time zone. I can't believe the NHL is anxious to move a team in the Central time zone to the East when their are two Western Conference teams that currently play in the Eastern Time zone that also prefer to move.

While these three teams are the ones most likely to move to the East the talk of realignment doesn't end there. There are a couple teams in the Western Conference that would love to move to the Central Division should a spot open up. 

Minnesota Wild: 

It's no secret that fans of the Minnesota Wild have never been crazy about being in the Northwest Division. Road games within the division start around 8 PM at the earliest which means fans have to stay up anywhere between 10:30-11:30 waiting for a game to finish.

Plus ask a Minnesota hockey fan and they remember the good old days of the Norris Division when Chicago, St. Louis, & Detroit were the main rivals for Minnesota hockey.

Rivalries against Vancouver, Calgary & Colorado just seem forced & doesn't inspire the same passion as the old Norris Division. Being placed in the Central would provide the chance to rekindle those old rivalries & cut down on travel within the division. 

Dallas Stars: 

While the state of Minnesota remembers those rivalries & would love a return to the Central Division, the team involved in those rivalries would like the same thing even though home is now 946 miles away from where they use to play.

Even after moving to Dallas, the Stars still had good rivalries with Detroit, St. Louis, & Chicago. Much like the Wild, Dallas would like to leave their division because of travel.

The Stars play in the Pacific Division which means most of their division road games start at 9 PM Central time. Dallas has had good fan support since moving to Texas but it would be beneficial to their fans if they were in a division where their road games where to start around 7 PM instead of 9 PM. 

Phoenix Coyotes: 

Why do I mention Phoenix here?

Because the franchise is still up for sale and until they have an owner we don't know where they are going to end up.

They could stay in the desert which would keep realignment at a minimum. Or they could leave Phoenix & start a second wave of realignment. Anything is a possibility with the Coyotes which is why Winnipeg may go to the Central in a straight swap with Detroit, Columbus, or Nashville going to the Southeast.

At this point I don't know what is going to happen with realignment. I have seen numerous scenarios. Some which make sense & some which are way too extreme even for my liking.

If you had to ask me my best guess is Columbus is swapped out with Winnipeg while the NHL waits to see what happens with Phoenix.

The next meeting with the NHL Board of Governors is in December. We should have an answer by then.