By Andrew Allsman| Posted: March 8, 2013| Contact |
The National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) has
given its consent to realignment according to a statement from NHLPA director
Donald Fehr. The realignment plan was proposed by the National Hockey League
(NHL) in late February but it had to receive the NHLPA’s approval before being
ratified. That approval came Thursday from the players.
The next step in the process is taking the plan to NHL
owners for a vote, which appears to be just a formality. The vote by the NHL
Board of Governors is expected to happen quickly.
“The NHL Players’ Association confirmed to us today that it has
consented to a revised Plan for Realignment, effective for the 2013-14 season,”
NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement. “Our next step will be to
bring the proposed Plan for Realignment to the NHL Board of Governors for its
consideration. We will update the status of the process as future developments
warrant.”
Under the proposal, which should be in place for next
season, there will be four divisions. The Blues will be in a division with Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota,
Nashville and Winnipeg. Both the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Red
Wings will move to the East under the proposed plan.
There
will be two conferences (East and West) and their numbers will be unbalanced.
The East will have 16 teams, while the West will have only 14 teams. The top
three teams in each division will earn a playoff berth. The final four playoff spots
would go to the two teams in each conference with the next-best records.
Essentially, teams in the West will have a 57% chance of making the playoffs
while teams in the East will have a 50% chance of making it to postseason play.
The
proposed plan will be re-evaluated after the 2014-15 season according to Fehr,
meaning that this particular plan is only guaranteed for two NHL seasons while
the sides assess its impact.
Here
are the proposed divisions:
Eastern
Conference
Atlantic division: Carolina, Columbus,
New Jersey, New York Islanders, New
York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington.
Central division: Boston, Buffalo,
Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Toronto.
Western
Conference
Midwest division: Chicago, Colorado,
Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, Winnipeg.
Pacific division: Anaheim, Los Angeles, Calgary, Edmonton, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver.