NHL Realignment

     Obviously things are out of whack with the Winnipeg Jets in the Southeast Division. Here are some things to consider regarding realignment. You want to make things easier regarding travel distance, proximity to cities and keeping rivalries and historic match-ups in tact. Here is what I would have for divisions.

American
East
Boston Bruins
New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens
Buffalo Sabres
Ottawa Senators


Central
Philadelphia Flyers
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
Washington Capitals
Carolina Hurricanes


West
San Jose Sharks
Los Angeles Kings
Anaheim Ducks
Phoenix Coyotes
Colorado Avalanche


National
East
Detroit Red Wings
Pittsburgh Penguins
Toronto Maple Leafs
Chicago Blackhawks 
Columbus Blue Jackets


South
Tampa Bay Lightning
Florida Panthers
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Dallas Stars


West
Vancouver Canucks
Edmonton Oilers
Calgary Flames
Winnipeg Jets
Minnesota Wild


     The schedule format will look as follows. Teams play their division opponents 5 times, alternating each year which team you play three times at home and three times on the road. You play your conference opponents 3 times, alternating each year which team you play at home twice and away twice. Then you play your out of conference opponents twice each year, once at home and once on the road. 


     The only change I would make to the regular season is to eliminate this point system. The point system is bizarre. In the NBA, you don't get a half a victory if you lose in overtime. In the NFL, you don't get a point for losing on a field goal in overtime. In the MLB, you don't get a point if you take the game into 11 innings. The NHL standings will work like all the other leagues work, with wins and losses; no points. This will make the games much more intense, especially in the overtimes and shoot outs knowing that you don't get anything for losing. 


     The playoffs would work pretty much the same way except for a minor tweak. The three division winners will be the top three seeds as usual, but one minor change will be that each division has at least one other team in the playoffs. I don't like the possibility that one division has four playoff teams because I think if you can't even finish in the top three in your division, you shouldn't make the playoffs. The rest of the playoffs would work the same way, seeds 4-8 being determined by record.