Indecent Proposal-NHL Realignment

The New Proposed Western Conference (picture courtesy from Yahoo.sports.com)

The NHL tried unsuccessfully in 2011 to realign the Conferences and now that the lock out is over and fans are filling arenas they have made their next proposal.  The Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets are the organizations that wanted to move to the Eastern Conference the most because they reside in the Eastern Time Zone which makes really late nighst for their fan base when the team is on the West Coast.  Geographically this proposal makes sense but rivalries are not always a land matter!

The Hawks and Red Wings has been a rivalry since the NHL began and if this proposal is ratified there would only be 2 meetings a year unless they were both to face each other in the Stanley Cup finals.  This proposal though makes sense kills a great rivalry year in and year out. Columbus moving conferences isn’t that big a deal except that it means an increased amounts of  easier wins for the NY Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

The real problem, besides losing Detroit, with the new Hawks conference is where is the excitement? The Hawks lose the best rivalry in hockey in Detroit and we pick up the Wild and Avalanche. That is not very exciting to me as a Blackhawks fan.  Maybe if it was the North Stars returning to the Norris Division it would be exciting but the Wild just doesn’t do it for me although like the rest of the proposal it make sense for proximity of the teams.  Yes we get to keep the Blues and Predators and we pick up the Winnipeg Jets but all of this is a real downer if we lose the Red Wings and their strange octopus throwers.

Grant it last time their was realignment the players shot it down so this is far from a done deal, but this time it makes sense with the each team visiting all the NHL arenas once every season.

What do you think? If the proposal passes will the Hawks be able to grow new rivalries or will the 2 meetings a season with Detroit mean even more than before? For more Hawks conversation follow us on Twitter @Blackhawk_Up or Friend us on Facebook at Blackhawk Up