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You said bye bye to Florida Tampa Carolina Dallas Anaheim Phoenix but you dont have Columbus listed at all. Not as a bye bye city or remaining or moving you just left them off entirely.
Ah crapola I can't believe I made that mistake..... Oh well... thanks for pointing that out though, I'll have to try this again at some point!
Talent should be boosted by consolidating to 24 teams.
Eliminate conferences, with four divisions of six teams each. Schedules would be weighted toward divisions (play each other team in the division 6 times, with the other 18 teams played a total of 50 times - most 3x; four of them only 2x) for an even 80-game schedule.
Each division winner receives a bye; they are seeded 1-4.
Each division runner-up makes the playoffs; they are seeded 5-8.
The four remaining teams with the next-best records regardless of division make the playoffs; they are seeded 9-12.
Each round, the highest seed plays the lowest seed, the next-highest seed plays the next lowest seed, etc. This will set up the possibility of an all-western or all-eastern final - possibly even two teams from the same division. It is not logical that every final must be between a team from the eastern-most half of the league and a team from the western-most half of the league. Possible finals could be New York v. New Jersey, Montreal v. Toronto, Philadelphia v. Pittsburgh, and so forth.
Boston
Montreal
New Jersey
New York
Ottawa
Quebec
Buffalo
Hamilton
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Toronto
Washington
Chicago
Detroit
Minnesota
St. Louis
Wisconsin
Winnipeg
Calgary
Colorado
Edmonton
Los Angeles
Portland
Vancouver
I'd move the Panthers to Quebec, and keep Tampa Bay right where they are. Tampa Bay game are usually packed with fans.
Without the Panthers, Tampa is like 1,000 miles from the nearest team and stuck in a division with New England + Canada. I've got family in Tampa Bay. It's not a bad area. It's just not logical. There is no Atlanta NHL. There is no JAX NHL. There is no New Orleans NHL, or Orlando, or Miami (with the Panthers in Quebec).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bondurant
Why do you assume Seattle and Portland will make great hockey markets? You are not alone in this sentiment. Oddly enough, no one ever states why. They just make "because" type statements.
Seattle was the first American city to win a Stanley Cup. They've embraced every sport they've had. The Mariners of the 90s had great fans. The Seahawks have amazing fans. Seattle Sounders have the best fans in MLS. The Sonics are going to come back - it's only a matter of time.
That leaves out NHL, and again, they had a team, and a successful one with that. The rivalry with the Canucks and/or Portland will be good.
Without the Panthers, Tampa is like 1,000 miles from the nearest team and stuck in a division with New England + Canada. I've got family in Tampa Bay. It's not a bad area. It's just not logical. There is no Atlanta NHL. There is no JAX NHL. There is no New Orleans NHL, or Orlando, or Miami (with the Panthers in Quebec).
Why wouldn't that be logical?
Are there any other southern cities that could garner fans if they got a team; Houston, Birmingham, or Jacksonville?
I'm a big NHL fan (and just saw my Sharks blow a chance to wrap up the series with the Kings), but I've always felt that the league should contract to 28 teams. I think 30 now is too much, and talking about expansion to 32 just boggles the mind.
Hockey is a very niche sport and is very local - it doesn't play nationally. The fact that Florida has two teams is silly - it's not a state in which you can grow (even though both teams have been there for 20+ years) the sport. The only time the arenas are filled are when NE teams come down to play - I think realignment helps these under performing teams out quite a bit.
You still haven't explained why you'd move Tampa and why there can't be one team in Florida.
Because there's nothing at all anywhere near them. It'd be almost like a London team in the NFL or a Tokyo team in MLB. There are no other teams in the deep Southeast.
Talent should be boosted by consolidating to 24 teams.
Eliminate conferences, with four divisions of six teams each. Schedules would be weighted toward divisions (play each other team in the division 6 times, with the other 18 teams played a total of 50 times - most 3x; four of them only 2x) for an even 80-game schedule.
Each division winner receives a bye; they are seeded 1-4.
Each division runner-up makes the playoffs; they are seeded 5-8.
The four remaining teams with the next-best records regardless of division make the playoffs; they are seeded 9-12.
Each round, the highest seed plays the lowest seed, the next-highest seed plays the next lowest seed, etc. This will set up the possibility of an all-western or all-eastern final - possibly even two teams from the same division. It is not logical that every final must be between a team from the eastern-most half of the league and a team from the western-most half of the league. Possible finals could be New York v. New Jersey, Montreal v. Toronto, Philadelphia v. Pittsburgh, and so forth.
Boston
Montreal
New Jersey
New York
Ottawa
Quebec
Buffalo
Hamilton
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Toronto
Washington
Chicago
Detroit
Minnesota
St. Louis
Wisconsin
Winnipeg
Calgary
Colorado
Edmonton
Los Angeles
Portland
Vancouver
I like your idea of a bye but I would rearrange your divisions differently and am not sure all your cities would make the cut-doubtful that Wisconsin, Portland and Hamilton (Toronto would NEVER agree to their territory being infringed) would acquire franchises. I'd put the Eastern Canadian teams in the same division:
Montreal Buffalo Ottawa Quebec Hamilton Toronto
Boston New Jersey New York (Rangers, I presume)
Philadelphia Pittsburgh Washington
Chicago Detroit Minnesota St. Louis Wisconsin Winnipeg
Calgary Colorado Edmonton Los Angeles Portland Vancouver
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