Nashville Predators-for-Winnipeg Jets Swap Would Be NHL’s Best Realignment Scenario

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Jul 12, 2011

The National Hockey League hasn't had to deal with the major challenges of moving a franchise in 15 years. It's been some time since the NHL realigned its divisions, but the NHL needs to change the divisions because of the Atlanta Thrashers' migration to Winnipeg.

A bunch of teams, including the Red Wings, Predators and Blue Jackets, could make sense to make the jump to the Eastern Conference to fill the gap that the Jets are going to leave.

So which team should go where? The answer is fairly simple. Switch the Predators and the Jets. It's the simplest move the league can make, and it makes perfect geographical sense. The Predators, despite being in the Central Division, would fit well in the Southeast Division, thanks to their location. Nashville is closer to the clump of Southeast teams than to some of the teams in the Central division. And the Jets are probably going to end up in the Central Division because Winnipeg is located in central Canada. If the league makes a Predators-for-Jets swap, the realignment problem is fixed.

The switch also minimizes damage to the other divisions, which, right now, fit together fairly well. Most of those divisions contain strong rivalries, and it would be a shame to tamper with that. If more teams end up switching divisions, intense rivalries could be broken up. Yes, teams would still see each other four times a year (provided they stay in the same conference), but it's not the same as six games a year.

Out of the remaining Central Division teams, the Red Wings and Blue Jackets are potential Eastern Conference candidates. Switching conferences is a sticky subject, since it drastically changes scenarios for the teams involved. Teams in one conference play teams in the other conference a maximum of two times a year. With a conference switch, that could expand into as much as six times a year. Even though it's a difficult scenario to discuss for both teams, it's harder to imagine the Red Wings shifting than the Blue Jackets.

The Blue Jackets are a young team, and they just celebrated their 10th birthday the past season. They do have rivalries and ties to the Western Conference, but they aren't as strong as they are for teams like the Red Wings and the Blackhawks. If the Blue Jackets do go over to the Eastern Conference, at least two of the Eastern Conference divisions are going to be affected as well, in addition to the Southeast Division. The Blue Jackets can't just take Winnipeg's place in the Southeast Division, because it's not geographically practical. While the Atlantic and Northeast Divisions aren't a perfect geographical fit, the Columbus team is probably going to end up in one of the two. That would force another team from either division to vacate and migrate to the Southeast Division.

The Blue Jackets shouldn't switch conferences because the move would require more teams to switch divisions, and they fit will in the Central Division, where they're located fairly close to the other teams in that division.

The Detroit Red Wings, one of the NHL's finest and most consistent teams, should not move to the Eastern Conference. First and foremost, they're the Red Wings. They've been in the Central Division since it was created in 1993, and they have a nice rivalry pairing with fellow Original Six team Chicago Blackhawks. If the Red Wings move to the Eastern Conference, the Atlantic or Northeast (or both) Divisions will need to shift. A Red Wings move would also leave only one Original Six team in the Western Conference. While it would be great to see the Red Wings battle the Bruins, Canadiens, Rangers and Maple Leafs more, those matchups won't, and don't, have the same meaning as Red Wings-Blackhawks matchups do.

There aren't many positives in realignment, except that it allows the league to group teams geographically, which is what is happening with the Winnipeg Jets relocation. The biggest negative is that realigning teams affects more than just one team or one division, possibly resulting in disorder.

It's better for the league to keep the switching simplified for now, especially since the Phoenix Coyotes are in danger of moving as well. Should the Coyotes land up in a city far away from Arizona, the NHL is going to be forced to repeat this process again.

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