I always thought that it would be good for the game if they did division realignment every season, and didn't force divisions into geographic areas. Using the McDavid example, because as much as we hate the Oilers, he is a major draw, but the same is true for star players. They often get tucked away into some corner of the NHL for most of their career. I think this really hinders the league from taking advantage of marketing their stars across the league to their full potential. Imagine if for example, Pittsburgh was in the same division as Arizona a couple of times during Crosby's peak. It probably would have had a positive effect on growing interest in that area.
It won't happen of course because it would probably add to much travel costs with divisions that ignore time zones. Plus, teams in the east would complain (but honestly, I would love to see travel parity).
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
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