WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest (LW) - CGY, EDM, SEA, VAN
Central (C) - CHI, DET, MIN, WPG
Pacific (Scratched) - ANA, LAK, SJS, VGK
Southwest (IR) - ARI, COL, DAL, STL
82 GAME SEASON
EC vs WC - 2 games x 16 teams = 32 total games
Conference Play - 3 games x 12 teams = 36 total games
Division Play - 4 games x 3 teams = 12 total games
*Division Rival Games - 2 games x 1 team = 2 total games
*NOTE: Rivalry games played on last weekend of season
PLAYOFFS
Seeds 1-4: Division Winners
Seeds 5-8: Wild Cards
1st Round: 1 vs 8 | 2 vs 7 | 3 vs 6 | 4 vs 5
2nd Round: *Teams Reseeded - 1 vs 4 | 2 vs 3
Conference Finals: Traditional Format
Stanley Cup Finals: Traditional Format
Nice effort! I like this idea. I especially like the division rival final weekend concept. I might flip flop Boston and Buffalo, but otherwise the division set ups are solid.
If not this, I would be supportive of something similar. Give each team and their fan bases a chance to see other teams, break up the same teams fighting it out in the first round while potentially creating new rivalries.
One potentially negative aspect would be if you had a division that imploded, and had a division winner who either shouldn’t be in the playoffs, or gets in by default. Unlikely, but greater risk with only 4 teams.
I think the biggest obstacle would be getting DET to agree to going back to the Western Conference. BOS might not be happy about being the only US team in an otherwise Canadian division, despite having a couple of their all-time biggest rivals there.
I really like this set up though. That Southeast division especially. There's tremendous potential for a great regional rivalry there, but the NHL has never done anything to encourage it.
Nice effort! I like this idea. I especially like the division rival final weekend concept. I might flip flop Boston and Buffalo, but otherwise the division set ups are solid.
I figured MTL and BOS plus TOR was a big deal. But agree that you can put BUF in because TOR
If not this, I would be supportive of something similar. Give each team and their fan bases a chance to see other teams, break up the same teams fighting it out in the first round while potentially creating new rivalries.
One potentially negative aspect would be if you had a division that imploded, and had a division winner who either shouldn’t be in the playoffs, or gets in by default. Unlikely, but greater risk with only 4 teams.
Yeah always a risk there too but figured most of the divisions were pretty stout with how I aligned them.
I think the biggest obstacle would be getting DET to agree to going back to the Western Conference. BOS might not be happy about being the only US team in an otherwise Canadian division, despite having a couple of their all-time biggest rivals there.
I really like this set up though. That Southeast division especially. There's tremendous potential for a great regional rivalry there, but the NHL has never done anything to encourage it.
I live in the South now so I’d love to see more effort put on for teams in the new area I live in