2015-2016 AHL alignment

[sureLoss]

San Antonio and Texas join the Pacific Division

[devo22]

7 relocations and 4 affiliation changes. That has to be some kind of modern day record.

[Roof-Daddy]

So in our division, we have:

Oilers (Condors)
Kings (Reign)
Avalanche (Rampage)
Ducks (Gulls)
Sharks (Barracudas)
Flames (Heat)
Stars (Stars)

[Resolute 14]

I would like to thank the Sharks for ensuring "Heat" is only the second worst name in that division...

I'm guessing San Antonio and Texas will play the same reduced schedule we will. Wonder what it took to convince them of that? But the nice thing is the alignment eliminates playoff problems. Top for in each division qualify, no crossovers.

[Hockey Fan #751]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

I would like to thank the Sharks for ensuring "Heat" is only the second worst name in that division...

I'm guessing San Antonio and Texas will play the same reduced schedule we will. Wonder what it took to convince them of that? But the nice thing is the alignment eliminates playoff problems. Top for in each division qualify, no crossovers.

Texas is owned by the Dallas Stars so I would guess that the only team that needed to be convinced was San Antonio. And I'm sure their options were to either be in a division with nearby California teams or in a five-team division with teams from Charlotte, Iowa and who knows where else.

Also, it really did make sense to have division playoffs for the first two rounds as it would have been very difficult to calculate with a handful of teams playing a reduced schedule.

[Trailer Fire]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

I would like to thank the Sharks for ensuring "Heat" is only the second worst name in that division...

Reign??

[sureLoss]

interesting story about the AHL-PHPA CBA negotiations and how the Califronia teams are complicating things:
http://wrongsideoftheredline.com/201...-negotiations/

The prior CBA had been in place since 2010. It was set to expire last summer, but the AHL used it’s league option to extend the agreement with the PHPA into the 2014-15 season.

Now with five California-based teams playing less games than the rest of the league, a simple extension for the 2015-16 season isn’t a possibility.

“Not too much I can say about it right now, but it’s certainly made it a bit more complicated,” said Maxime Fortunus, a PHPA player representative and former Texas Stars captain. “Right now it’s hard to finalize things when so much still has to be determined.”

Under the prior CBA — and throughout AHL history — all teams were on an even playing field when it came to games played.

Now all contracts aren’t created equal.

The number hasn’t been finalized, but it’s believed the California teams will play 68 games while the rest of the league will play 76.

On a pro-rated basis, contracts in California are worth more with less games. It also becomes an issue about qualifying for the playoffs, where the Golden State teams are playing less games than divisional opponents in Texas.