[driveway]

Reggie Dunlop had the right idea and this should be in its own thread outside of the Arizona / SLC thread.

Here's my idea for a schedule change, whether realignment happens or not:

Keep 4 divisions of 8 teams.

Home & Home vs all teams in the league: 62 games.
Home & Home vs division: 14 more games (76 games total).

Now the fun part:
8 Semi-randomly drawn "pools" of 4 teams. Based on your finishing position last year, you're placed in groups (Top 8 teams = group 1, Teams 9-16 = group 2, etc.). Randomly draw one team from each group = Pool A. Draw a second team from each = Pool B, etc.)

Home & Home vs your Pool: 6 more games (82 total).

Everyone sees every team, you get to keep in-division games, and from season to season the teams you get to see more often get mixed up. Also, there's the fun of the day when they draw the pools. Could do it on an off-day between Stanley Cup Final games.