Realignment Shakes Up League

            On Monday, the National Hockey League’s board of governors approved a realignment plan to create four new conferences and alter the playoff matchups.

            Before the meeting, the Columbus Blue Jackets were concerned with the worst-case scenario. In this situation, the NHL would keep its current setup (two conferences, six divisions), leaving the team still playing a good number of its games in the Mountain and Pacific time zones.

            Other teams upset with the effects of travel were the Detroit Red Wings, the Minnesota Wild, and the Dallas Stars. Coincidentally, each of these teams, including the Blue Jackets, was placed in the same conference.  

            With the realignment, each team will play a home-and-home series with every other team in the league.  Since it was placed in an eight-team conference, Columbus will play 44 non-conference games and 38 inter-division games. Teams in seven-team conferences will play 46 out-of-conference games along with 36 in-conference games.

             In the postseason, the top four teams from each conference will qualify. The matchups will be shaped based on the standings. The first-place team will take on the fourth-place team and the second-place team will play the third-place team.

            General managers plan to meet in March to determine the seeding for the Stanley Cup semi-finals.

           

Below is a look at the conferences to be in place for the 2012-2013 season:

Conference A           

Los Angeles               

Anaheim

Phoenix

San Jose

Vancouver

Calgary

Edmonton

Colorado

Conference B

Detroit

Columbus

Nashville

St. Louis

Chicago

Minnesota

Dallas

Winnipeg

Conference C

Boston

Montreal

Toronto

Ottawa

Buffalo

Florida

Tampa Bay

Conference D

New Jersey

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

New York Rangers

New York Islanders

Washington

Carolina