Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
I would love that, but that would really wreck and semblance of symmetry in the league. It's bad enough that we have an imbalance of 14 teams to 16 teams, but a conference split of 13 to 17 would be horrible.
For geographic purposes, the NHL is still going to pull out all the stops to keep the Coyotes there.
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Geographic purposes won't be enough of a reason IMO. The only reason the will forcibly keep the team in Phoenix is because they for some reason still believe in the potential of the market. If the team is put up for sale again, I don't think the NHL will stand in the way or own the team themselves again, just for divisional reasons. If anything, they just rejig the divisional setup slightly until Las Vegas and possibly Seattle come in.
Colorado to Pacific
Columbus to Central
Quebec to Atlantic
Detroit to Metro
Then when LV and Seattle come in
LV and Seattle to Pacific
Colorado to Central
Keep Columbus in West, who cares if they don't like it. They've been in the league for a relatively short time (unlike Detroit) and were in the West for most of their history, so it makes sense to keep them in the West out of the other choices to maintain 16/16 split. If Florida relocates, swap with Columbus if it's to a western market. Then swap Det with CBJ so they are back in their original divisions.