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NHL Realignment: 4 Conferences Means More Hockey Action for Fans

by NowPublic Staff | December 5, 2011 at 08:18 pm

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NHL Realignment: Hockey Fans Can See Every Team Play

The NHL Board of Governors approved a league-wide realignment that will divide the 30 professional hockey teams into four conferences; currently the league is divided between the Eastern and Western Conferences, each of which is broken down into three divisions.

The NHL realignment would mean that every team will play each other at least twice per season. Teams will play five or six intra-conference games and home-and-home series against non-conference teams. This is good news for hockey fans: now you can see every team play at your local NHL stadium, every year.

Also, think of how many more players Alex Ovechkin can hit.

What are the Newly-Realigned NHL Conferences Called?

The newly-proposed conferences don't have names yet, but these are how they'll be divided:

Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, and Phoenix Coyotes
Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars
Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning
Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, and Carolina Hurricanes

Currently the Western Conference is divided into the Central, Northwest and Pacific Divisions. The Eastern Conference is divided into the Atlantic, Northeast and Southeast Divisions.

The NHL Players’ Assn. must offer its input into the plan before it can go into effect. That's expected to happen before next season, though it might be delayed until 2013-14.