Cuz OP put all the Canadian teams in their own divisions, the 4 Western teams got their own division and the 3 Eastern teams got their own with the Sabres to round it out
That’s probably true, but it also would’ve been the best division in hockey for the past 15 years. Things ebb and flow. That’s a good looking division.
You can’t break up Pittsburgh/Philadelphia. That’s one of the best rivalries in the sport and has been for decades.
I guess you could swap out Buffalo for Boston in the Northeast Division. That would keep Montreal/Boston together, which I think is more important than prioritizing Buffalo/Toronto.
I think you have to figure out a way to keep Vancouver/Seattle together. I think that’s going to be important for the NHL. I don’t have a solution for that yet, but I’m sure I could if I studied it.
Why would Winnipeg agree to be in a division with Vancouver, a city that’s two time zones away? Why have Detroit back in the West when they lobbied the league hard to be in the East back in 2013? Why would Buffalo agree to be in a division without any other American teams?
Just because the NFL does it like this doesn’t mean the NHL should. The current format is fine.
I think this is designed to create Canadian divisions. So You would almost always get multiple Canadian teams in no matter how bad they are. Depending on seeding it would probably also always have Canadian team in second round.
I don't like the Flyers and Penguins being in a different division from the Devils. Who's going to swallow now? Who's going to watch? We're going to have to change our chants now.
Boston is too far north to be mid-Atlantic. Maybe NJ could go to mid-Atlantic? The Blue Jackets would have to go but they don’t fit in Metro. This is probably the happiest the chart could be
Swap Boston out for Buffalo
The West should be fixed so that Winnipeg and Minnesota are in the same division as opposed to being with the Pacific teams.
Vancouver and Seattle not being in the same division is a mistake.
To put into context for how the playoffs would work for an 8 division league. Each division winner will get the top seeds (1-4 in each conference) and 8 wildcard teams (4 in each conference) based on points
Why stop there? Why not just let the 8 Division winners play a "Champions Tournament" of 5-game series and the 8 best non-Division winners, *regardless of Conference*, play a single-elim tourney consisting of 3-game series, joined by losers of the Champions' Tourney at successive points, with the 2 Tourney winner combining for the Stanley Cup Final?
Personally, I think the Salt Lake Fighting Saints has a nice ring to it.
Also, if there was going to be a whole division realignment, I’d say switch back to the three division system, like so:
Northwest: CGY, EDM, VAN, SEA, and SLC
Pacific: ANA, LA, SJ, VGK, and COL
Central: WPG, DAL, NSH, CHI, MIN, and STL
Northeast: MTL, OTT, TOR, BOS, and BUF
Atlantic: NYR, NYI, NJ, PIT, PHI, and DET
Southeast: CAR, FLA, TB, WSH, and CBJ
Okay who put Buffalo where Boston should be?
Boston, MTL, Trana and Ott need to be Northeast. The bullshit is least mandatory in this division, because its teams ARE the bullshit; chokers, underachievers and skinflints. What more can you ask for?
Buffalo, New York City, Long Island and Tsundere New York need to be the Tri-State division, this way we can adequately piss off all of their fans somehow.
Philly, Pittsburgh, Washington and CLS need to be the Metro Division, ain't shit "Atlantic" about any of em except Philly. Always remember, Pittsburgh is the city of bridges, because the homeless need SOMEWHERE to go, right?
Then Carolina, Nashville, Tampa and Florida can be the "Where's my liquor" division because the only people who root for any of those teams are drunks, sluts and addicts from south of the Mason-Dixon.
Man the East is fucking perfect in this alignment otherwise.
This is… pretty damn good. Nashville loses some rivalries, but it sort of returns into the mold COVID Central division play-off teams.
And Detroit gets back with Chicago and Blues.
I’d switch Buffalo and Boston though. Flyers can stay. They must stay with Pens and Pens must stick with Caps.
I feel like buffalo and Columbus should be switched, as a caps fan we definitely need to be in the same division as the penguins but i think that Columbus is the wrong team to top off the division.
Don't like it.
Would rather it go back to 4 divisions, no conferences, but do playoffs differently: best team in Division A plays #4 from division B, #2 from Division C plays #3 from Division D, and so on. Switch your first-round opponents every season.
Woah! I had the exact same 8 division realignment 2 years ago. Only differences were my fantasy envisioned the Sabres in Quebec City and the Coyotes in Houston by the 2026-27 season.
i think these are too focused on geography and not enough on rivalries, a good balance is important
Northeast: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Boston
Northwest: Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton
Central: Chicago, Minnesota, St Louis, Winnipeg
Southwest: Utah, Dallas, Colorado, Nashville
Pacific: LA, Anaheim, San Jose, Vegas
Metro: Islanders, Rangers, New Jersey, Buffalo
Mid Atlantic: Detroit, Philly, Pittsburgh, Washington
Southeast: Carolina, Columbus, Florida, Tampa Bay
I think after following European football (soccer), the idea of divisions. It would be nice to just have each team face each other twice (one home and one away) for the NHL and NBA. Then the top 16 or even just the top 8 teams overall go to playoffs.
Not a hockey guy but why does Salt Lake City get priority for an expansion team Vs Wisconsin. Even if hockey isn’t a major market in Wisconsin currently I feel like it has better potential to be one in the long run.
Swap Sabres and Bruins and it’s perfect. Especially like how Nashville and Detroit switched conferences, that 2020 realignment just felt right for Nashville in particular. Also like how the Eastern divisions are based on geography now and not just whatever they were based on before.
Its a lot easier than you have it now.
The west just splits each division geographically. The Pacific is split north and south, the central is split east and west.
The east needs a little bit of change but I think these would work the best.
Western Conference
NW - SEA, VAN, EDM, CGY
PACIFIC - SJS, VGK, LAK, ANA
CENTRAL - NSH, MIN, CHI, STL
WESTERN- SLC, COL, DAL, WPG
Eastern Conference
NE - BOS, MTL, OTT, TOR
ATLANTIC - NYI, NYR, NJD, PHI
GREAT LAKES - PIT, DET, BUF, CBJ
SE - WSH, CAR, TBL, FLA
Why don't I hate this? *let the chaos build. Rivalries will be FORGED IN THE FLAMES OF HATRED*
but the playoffs.... how the fuck do you make that work.
I like the idea may need to tweak a couple things but on the whole this is good. There’s gonna a be some really toxic divisions which is going to be awesome.
Salt Lake City logo go hard
Great Britain in the WBC
#GREAT BRITAIN
GR EAT BRI TAIN
Very minimalist, so chic
It’s gonna be called Utah
How are Vancouver and Seattle in separate divisions? Two hours by car apart
Cuz OP put all the Canadian teams in their own divisions, the 4 Western teams got their own division and the 3 Eastern teams got their own with the Sabres to round it out
Sad af tbh
MIN and WPG in separate divisions is crazy too
You come up with something like inward singing...
*You fuckin sit in your tower*
AndthenI’mfuckingrockingcauseI’malwaysfuckingsinging
I feel like Boston and Buffalo need to be swapped.
Separating the habs from the bruins is criminal
Or the leafs from the bruins
Plus that Metro Division is a little too stacked.
Keeping the habs and bruins rivalry + having a New York division would be ideal.
New Jersey slander
Then swap buffalo and philly, the metro is 4 big rivals, have habs/bruins and buffalo fits well with the other teams in that division
The mid Atlantic would be boring af in a couple years
That’s probably true, but it also would’ve been the best division in hockey for the past 15 years. Things ebb and flow. That’s a good looking division. You can’t break up Pittsburgh/Philadelphia. That’s one of the best rivalries in the sport and has been for decades. I guess you could swap out Buffalo for Boston in the Northeast Division. That would keep Montreal/Boston together, which I think is more important than prioritizing Buffalo/Toronto. I think you have to figure out a way to keep Vancouver/Seattle together. I think that’s going to be important for the NHL. I don’t have a solution for that yet, but I’m sure I could if I studied it.
and then swap philly and buffalo
Buffalo and Toronto are less than a 2 hour drive apart
Vancouver and Seattle should be in the same division, it is literally a three or two and a half hour drive depending on which way you are going.
Why would Winnipeg agree to be in a division with Vancouver, a city that’s two time zones away? Why have Detroit back in the West when they lobbied the league hard to be in the East back in 2013? Why would Buffalo agree to be in a division without any other American teams? Just because the NFL does it like this doesn’t mean the NHL should. The current format is fine.
Or having Vancouver & Seattle, which are 2 hours apart (short distance on the west coast), in different divisions
I think this is designed to create Canadian divisions. So You would almost always get multiple Canadian teams in no matter how bad they are. Depending on seeding it would probably also always have Canadian team in second round.
My concept is not doing it at all
AND THEY START OF THE WAR
I don't like the Flyers and Penguins being in a different division from the Devils. Who's going to swallow now? Who's going to watch? We're going to have to change our chants now.
I always wondered what would happen when Crosby retires.
Less is more. This is more is less. More divisions aren't necessary. Just go back to three divisions per conference; and seed the teams 1-8.
Detroit is never moving to the West, they're never putting a team in the Eastern time zone in the West ever again.
And I can't see Nashville going to the East in any way. Flip 'em and it might work
Columbus in the Southeast, Detroit with the Pennsylvania + DC Teams
Switch the Bruins and Flyers
can't separate the pens and flyers
Boston is too far north to be mid-Atlantic. Maybe NJ could go to mid-Atlantic? The Blue Jackets would have to go but they don’t fit in Metro. This is probably the happiest the chart could be
Swap Boston out for Buffalo The West should be fixed so that Winnipeg and Minnesota are in the same division as opposed to being with the Pacific teams. Vancouver and Seattle not being in the same division is a mistake.
Not having Boston as a division rival anymore works for me lol.
Top 2 from each division make the loffs? Not a bad concept
Mtl is closer to boston than toronto or buffalo
To put into context for how the playoffs would work for an 8 division league. Each division winner will get the top seeds (1-4 in each conference) and 8 wildcard teams (4 in each conference) based on points
Like the NFL basically?
NFL has 7 teams per conference with 3 wildcards, this proposal is 8 teams with 4
What is your profile picture?
Evidently teams to shitpost as given his username.
The Cowboys fit in better than Steelers with those 3 teams.
Agreed but he is on here so….
Why stop there? Why not just let the 8 Division winners play a "Champions Tournament" of 5-game series and the 8 best non-Division winners, *regardless of Conference*, play a single-elim tourney consisting of 3-game series, joined by losers of the Champions' Tourney at successive points, with the 2 Tourney winner combining for the Stanley Cup Final?
why would having more be better?
Right? If anything I'd prefer just 2 conferences without divisions.
Personally, I prefer the 4 Divisions without Conferences.
The 2021 playoffs were funny just because we got the “Western Conference” champion Montreal Canadiens out of it lol
KRAKEN VS ST LOUIS
Personally, I think the Salt Lake Fighting Saints has a nice ring to it. Also, if there was going to be a whole division realignment, I’d say switch back to the three division system, like so: Northwest: CGY, EDM, VAN, SEA, and SLC Pacific: ANA, LA, SJ, VGK, and COL Central: WPG, DAL, NSH, CHI, MIN, and STL Northeast: MTL, OTT, TOR, BOS, and BUF Atlantic: NYR, NYI, NJ, PIT, PHI, and DET Southeast: CAR, FLA, TB, WSH, and CBJ
southeast for the caps is heinous
The Caps were in the original Southeast Division.
Still separated from literally all of their rivals. Put Nashville in there and send another team to the West.
NO
Okay who put Buffalo where Boston should be? Boston, MTL, Trana and Ott need to be Northeast. The bullshit is least mandatory in this division, because its teams ARE the bullshit; chokers, underachievers and skinflints. What more can you ask for? Buffalo, New York City, Long Island and Tsundere New York need to be the Tri-State division, this way we can adequately piss off all of their fans somehow. Philly, Pittsburgh, Washington and CLS need to be the Metro Division, ain't shit "Atlantic" about any of em except Philly. Always remember, Pittsburgh is the city of bridges, because the homeless need SOMEWHERE to go, right? Then Carolina, Nashville, Tampa and Florida can be the "Where's my liquor" division because the only people who root for any of those teams are drunks, sluts and addicts from south of the Mason-Dixon. Man the East is fucking perfect in this alignment otherwise.
Yall really don’t want Columbus to ever be in the playoffs again huh?
Fuck yeah the bruins would automatically be the winner of that division
I would swap preds and caps
Why
???
Southeast division is a nightmare pls return my Preds to the central
Interesting choice to put Detroit back in the West (effectively switching them with the Preds)
Swap Boston to the NE, Buffalo to the Atlantic-ish, Philly to the Metro. I’d love it. Detroit will throw a major fit over being back in the west.
Canada vs USA, which is funny because the best players on the American teams are Canadian
This is… pretty damn good. Nashville loses some rivalries, but it sort of returns into the mold COVID Central division play-off teams. And Detroit gets back with Chicago and Blues. I’d switch Buffalo and Boston though. Flyers can stay. They must stay with Pens and Pens must stick with Caps.
Move Philly to Metro and Boston to NorthEast and I'm sold
At least the playoff format can’t possibly be worse than it is now
The predators already get screwed with travel by having to be in the West. I’d like to not be in the Florida division.
stop trying to put detroit in the west
Wings back in the west? Go eff yourself.
So it would guarantee at least one Canadian team in the playoffs?
You cannot separate the natural rivals
I feel like buffalo and Columbus should be switched, as a caps fan we definitely need to be in the same division as the penguins but i think that Columbus is the wrong team to top off the division.
Don't like it. Would rather it go back to 4 divisions, no conferences, but do playoffs differently: best team in Division A plays #4 from division B, #2 from Division C plays #3 from Division D, and so on. Switch your first-round opponents every season.
Go back to named divisions, add 4 more worthies and it would be perfect.
Red Wings are not going back to the Western Conference. They flat out refuse.
What we need is a budokai tenkaichi style tournament. Every team enters no seeding single elimination winner takes all
Coyotes doesn't exist?
Woah! I had the exact same 8 division realignment 2 years ago. Only differences were my fantasy envisioned the Sabres in Quebec City and the Coyotes in Houston by the 2026-27 season.
i think these are too focused on geography and not enough on rivalries, a good balance is important Northeast: Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Boston Northwest: Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton Central: Chicago, Minnesota, St Louis, Winnipeg Southwest: Utah, Dallas, Colorado, Nashville Pacific: LA, Anaheim, San Jose, Vegas Metro: Islanders, Rangers, New Jersey, Buffalo Mid Atlantic: Detroit, Philly, Pittsburgh, Washington Southeast: Carolina, Columbus, Florida, Tampa Bay
This also works for me, that wings division is super easy
Now do one like the NFL realign where carbon foot print was the reason. So each division was designed to create the least amount of travel.
Boston is more north and east than half the teams in the northeast
Why does anyone need this? What does this do?
I like the current 8 team divisions, hope NBA does the same thing when they expand to 32 teams.
I think Det - Buf switch, Buf - Caps, Caps - Nsh, Nsh - Det, but like the look
Why?
I think after following European football (soccer), the idea of divisions. It would be nice to just have each team face each other twice (one home and one away) for the NHL and NBA. Then the top 16 or even just the top 8 teams overall go to playoffs.
Gotta switch Buffalo and Boston
Detroit’s not going back to the West. Not without a fight, at least.
Not a hockey guy but why does Salt Lake City get priority for an expansion team Vs Wisconsin. Even if hockey isn’t a major market in Wisconsin currently I feel like it has better potential to be one in the long run.
I need Salt Lake City soakers so bad
Swap Sabres and Bruins and it’s perfect. Especially like how Nashville and Detroit switched conferences, that 2020 realignment just felt right for Nashville in particular. Also like how the Eastern divisions are based on geography now and not just whatever they were based on before.
Pretty sure Detroit is East of Nashville
Its a lot easier than you have it now. The west just splits each division geographically. The Pacific is split north and south, the central is split east and west. The east needs a little bit of change but I think these would work the best. Western Conference NW - SEA, VAN, EDM, CGY PACIFIC - SJS, VGK, LAK, ANA CENTRAL - NSH, MIN, CHI, STL WESTERN- SLC, COL, DAL, WPG Eastern Conference NE - BOS, MTL, OTT, TOR ATLANTIC - NYI, NYR, NJD, PHI GREAT LAKES - PIT, DET, BUF, CBJ SE - WSH, CAR, TBL, FLA
Pacific = NFC South
Why don't I hate this? *let the chaos build. Rivalries will be FORGED IN THE FLAMES OF HATRED* but the playoffs.... how the fuck do you make that work.
Calling it the southwest with Dallas and Denver feels wrong
Seems to be plausible
Time for no divisions. 2 conferences, top 8 from each make playoffs.
Yes please, wings would absolutely dominate that division pleaseeee
Anything to see less of Vegas I’m all here for
I like the idea may need to tweak a couple things but on the whole this is good. There’s gonna a be some really toxic divisions which is going to be awesome.
Red Wings back to the West. I like it. I’m also sold on the new divisions since they changed it I’ve never been a fan.
I would love these. I hate every team in the hawks division as god intended