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Bettman got one right:
Not always the most popular man in the NHL, Commissioner Gary Bettman seems to have made a good move.
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Mark Spector, TSN.ca, December 6, 2011

PEBBLE BEACH — It was the Toronto Maple Leafs who gave us the most accurate picture of how the National Hockey League’s board of governors were chewing on this realignment idea.

General manager Brian Burke, speaking before the meeting had begun, sounded sour on the idea of increased travel and expense for his hockey team. But his owner, he admitted, was ready to vote for whatever was best for the league, so Burke likely had an inkling he was going to be talking about a four Conference NHL by day’s end.

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"It had very strong support and we support it too," said Burke as he walked out of the meeting, acknowledging that the hockey man in him might not be in love with taking on more travel to help teams like Dallas, Columbus, Minnesota and Nashville. "Sometimes you have to vote with your team’s interest in mind, but there are times when you can vote with the league hat on. That’s what we tried to do."

The National Hockey League will no longer have Divisions after this season, but instead will move to four Conferences. (Note: The NHLPA must still be consulted on the realignment, but it seems impossible to put the toothpaste back into this tube.)

In seven team Conferences, teams will play each other six times, plus a home and home with the 23 other clubs. In eight-team Conferences, teams will play each other five or six times on a rotating basis yearly, plus home and home against the rest of the NHL.

Winnipeg moves out of the Southeast and into a Conference chalk full of Central time zone teams. That also helps the Blue Jackets, Stars and Predators, whose televised road games against Pacific Division teams started as late as 10:30 locally. Yet, the Red Wings stayed in that Central time zone Conference, which was also important.

"Detroit going to the East is not good for us," said Nashville GM David Poile. "They’re one of our biggest draws."

"This certainly gives us a chance to grow our TV revenues," said Columbus GM Scott Howson, whose club’s finances are in desperate need of this type of a boost. "Our gates are significantly better with Eastern Conference teams. So, I think we’ll certainly see an uptick in our per-game revenue based on that, and not losing Detroit. If Detroit had of gone East and we stayed West … Detroit’s our biggest draw."

The Eastern Canadian teams are affected little, gaining Tampa and Florida in their Conference. The Western Canadian teams join up with the three California clubs, Colorado and Phoenix. With two eight-team Conferences in the West and two seven-team Conferences in the East, relocating the Coyotes if need be will be easily done.

For the Flames and Oilers, that means more 8:30 pm TV starts for road games, with now four Conference opponents in the Pacific time zone.

"For us, it’s only one hour," said Oilers president Kevin Lowe. "That’s a compromise that a team like ours has to make. Some of these other teams are really struggling — the likes of Dallas, Columbus — in terms of attendance. Matters get even worse when fans can’t even watch them on television (at a decent hour). We were a willing partner to make sure this things works for everybody."

In the end, as predicted, this came down to 30 teams thinking selflessly, not selfishly. The Philadelphias, New Yorks and Bostons were all happy to cash those expansion checks when many of the troubled teams were invited into the NHL. Now that they’ve been around a while and figured out that the current alignment is killing them, it was incumbent on the established owners to lend a hand.

In return, theoretically at least, those younger teams should become financially more stable, and less of a drain on the league. And with two Conferences of seven teams and two of eight, there is the very real possibility of expansion on the NHL’s horizon, an influx of cash that would more than cover the increased travel costs of the Eastern clubs.

"More teams are going to have to do more travel," said Detroit GM Ken Holland. "There's things in there that everybody likes to a degree, and some they wouldn't like. Ultimately it's about compromise. From the Detroit Red Wings perspective, we like it."

Give commissioner Gary Bettman credit for sowing the seeds of agreement over the past few months. The discussion, expected to be so contentious, only lasted little more than an hour.

As for the playoffs, the first two rounds will take place in Conference — 1 versus 4, and 2 versus 3, then a meeting of the winners.. Once four Conference champs are declared, they might re-seed for Round 3, or perhaps Central will play Pacific, and the two Eastern Conferences will meet.

"This is a decision I’ll let the general managers make," at their next meeting, said Bettman.

Smooth day, Gary. Very smooth indeed.

NHL REALIGNMENT PLAN
Conference A Conference B
Anaheim Ducks Chicago Blackhawks
Calgary Flames Columbus Blue Jackets
Colorado Avalanche Dallas Stars
Edmonton Oilers Detroit Red Wings
Los Angeles Kings Minnesota Wild
Phoenix Coyotes Nashville Predators
San Jose Sharks St. Louis Blues
Vancouver Canucks Winnipeg Jets

Conference C Conference D
Boston Bruins Carolina Hurricanes
Buffalo Sabres New Jersey Devils
Florida Panthers New York Islanders
Montreal Canadiens New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators Philadelphia Flyers
Tampa Bay Lightning Pittsburgh Penguins
Toronto Maple Leafs Washington Capitals

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