NHL Approves Four-Conference Format for 2012-13 Season

The NHL's Board of Governors announced on Monday night that they have come to a decision on a plan for league realignment. The league approved a new four-conference format that will go into effect for the 2012-13 season. Realignment became necessary when the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg and became the Jets this past summer. The new conferences are arranged to accommodate both geographic proximity and established rivalries. Conferences A and B will be comprised of eight teams a piece, while Conferences C and D will be made up of seven teams each. Here is what the newly realigned NHL will look like:

CONFERENCE A
Anaheim Ducks
Calgary Flames
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
Phoenix Coyotes
San Jose Sharks
Vancouver Canucks

CONFERENCE B
Chicago Blackhawks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets

CONFERENCE C
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs

CONFERENCE D
Carolina Hurricanes
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals

The realignment will even out the travel schedules for all teams so each team will play teams outside of their conference twice per year, once on the road and once at home. In the seven team conferences, those teams will play each other six times, three games at home and three games on the road. The eight team conferences will have a slightly different format. Those teams will play each other five or six times per year on a rotating basis. Three teams would play each other six times, while four teams would play each other five times. This process will then reverse each season. For the playoffs, the top four teams of each conference would qualify for the playoffs. In the first round, the first place team would play the fourth place team, while the second and third place teams would square off against each other. The second round would see the top seeded team play against the lower seeded team. For the third round, the four conference champions would face off against each other. The two remaining teams would then play each other for the Stanley Cup. The NHL general managers will determine the playoff structure after round two under the new realignment.