NHL Realignment

By now, we have all heard that the NHL Board of Governers approved the NHL alignment plan which means the NHL is in for a shakeup next season. The conferences have yet to be named which means they are now known as Conferences A-D. That’s right, the NHL will now have 4 conferences.
Conference “A” will consist of:
• Anaheim Ducks
• Calgary Flames
• Colorado Avalanche
• Edmonton Oilers
• L.A. Kings
• Phoenix Coyotes
• San Jose Sharks
• Vancouver Canucks.

Conference “B” will consist of:
• Chicago Blackhawks
• Columbus Blue Jackets
• Dallas Stars
• Detroit Red Wings
• Minnesota Wild
• Nashville Predators
• St. Louis Blues
• Winnipeg Jets

Conference “C” will consist of:
• Boston Bruins
• Buffalo Sabres
• Florida Panthers
• Montreal Canadiens
• Ottawa Senators
• Tampa Bay Lightning
• Toronto Maple Leafs

Conference “D” will consist of:
• Carolina Hurricanes
• New Jersey Devils
• New York Islanders
• New York Rangers
• Philadelphia Flyers
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• Washington Capitals

You may have noticed that Conferences A and B have 8 teams and Conferences C and D only have 7 teams. In our seven-team conference, teams will play each other 6 times- 3 home and 3 away. Whereas, the 8-team conference teams will play each other 5 or 6 times in a season on a rotating basis. Also, each team will play one another at least twice a season, one home and one away with each team.

One thing that has not been decided is whether or not the Stanley Cup finals can be played with 2 teams from the east or west. We know that the top four teams from each Conference will make it into the playoffs and the first two rounds will determine which four continue on to the two semifinals. After that, it is unsure what will happen.
Therefore, it will take further meetings to work everything out.

For the Pens, our “conference” is not all that different from our current division but we do have the addition of some tough teams (If they are to stay relatively the same for next season.) We will have to travel more with having to face every team, but that was known to happen because this was done in part to rectify the excessive traveling some teams were doing in the current alignment. We will have to wait and see what the new alignment will bring and how this will further affect the Stanley Cup playoffs.