NHL Approves Re-Alignment

It has finally happened. The NHL and NHLPA have approved the re-alignment for the league effective next season. A few teams will be switching conferences and the divisions have been broken down based on geographic location. So lets take a look at how things will work out for the breakdown of divisions plus how games will be played and the playoffs.

So we start with the new look western conference. First Division A will have in it the following teams: Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and the Edmonton Oilers.  Now with Division B it will have in it the following teams: Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Perdators, St. Louis Blues, and the Winnipeg Jets.


The Eastern Conference has taken on a whole new look as well, with the addition of two brand new clubs and some divisional shake ups. So lets start off with Division C, which will consist of the following teams: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Finally there is Division D, which will consist of the following teams: Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Washington Capitals.

So that is what the new divisions will look like. With the new alignments in the league, that will mean new schedule breakdown and new playoff format. First here is how the schedule is going to play out. Western Conference has 7-team divisions. Within the division, 29 games will be played  5 games vs. five teams (3 Home/2 Away vs. two teams, 2 Home/3 Away vs. three teams) AND 4 games vs. one team (2 Home/2 Away). Teams rotated on a yearly basis. Now when it comes to playing teams in Conference outside the division it will look like this: 21 games * 3 games vs. each team (2 Home/1 Away vs. four teams, 1 Home/2 Away vs. three teams). Teams rotated on a yearly basis. Finally when it comes to playing Eastern Conference teams it will look like this: 32 games * 2 games vs. each team (1 Home/1 Away) (Exception: one team from each division plays one less game inside Division and one more game inside Conference outside Division).

So that is how things play out in the West. As for the Eastern Conference, where there are 8-team divisions, it looks a bit like this. When you play teams from you're Division it goes as follows: 30 games * 5 games vs. two teams (3 Home/2 Away vs. one team, 2 Home/3 Away vs. one team) AND 4 games vs. five teams (2 Home/2 Away). Teams rotated on a yearly basis. When you play the teams in the East that aren't in your division it breaks down like this: 24 games * 3 games vs. each team (2 Home/1 Away vs. four teams, 1 Home/2 Away vs. four teams). Teams rotated on a yearly basis. Finally when you play a team from the Western Conference it looks like this: 28 games * 2 games vs. each team (1 Home/1 Away).

So there is how the schedule breaks down. The playoff formatting will be a little easier to understand. The top three teams in each division will make-up the first 12 teams in the playoffs. The remaining four spots will be filled by the next two highest-placed finishers in each conference, based on regular-season points and regardless of division. It will be possible, then, for one division to send five teams to the postseason while the other sends three. The seeding of the wild-card teams within each divisional playoff will be determined on the basis of regular-season points. The division winner with the most points in the conference will be matched against the wild-card team with the lowest number of points; the division winner with the second-most points in the conference will play the wild-card team with the second fewest points. The teams finishing second and third in each division will play in the first round of the playoffs. The winners of each series will play for the divisional championship. The two divisional champions in each conference will then play in the conference finals to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

That's how things will look in the NHL next season with re-alignment. One of the biggest disappointments expressed over the realignment is the loss of one of hockey's biggest rivalry's in the Blackhawks and Red Wings. Yet in retrospect it kickstarts a renewal of old rivalry's between Detroit and Montreal and Detroit and Toronto. Plus with having teams clustered into divisions based on geographical location, it saves on wear and tear on teams due to travel during a long season. Most players get tired both mentally and physically during the course of a hockey season. By having the divisions now set up as they are it will make things easier on the players and they won't have to travel as much. That could save the careers of some players and cut down on the long grind of travel.

It may not look like it right now but in the long run it will benafit the league and the players!

Anquan Boldin Delt to 49ers

The Baltimore Ravens made a very surprising move yesterday in trading stud receiver Anquan Boldin to the San Fransisco 49ers in exchange for a 6th round draft pick. A 10-year veteran, Boldin led Baltimore with 65 catches for 921 yards and four touchdowns in 2012. He was sensational in the postseason, totaling 16 receptions for 276 yards and three scores. Boldin spent the first seven seasons of his NFL career with Arizona, which lost the 2009 Super Bowl to Pittsburgh. In that game, Boldin caught eight passes for 84 yards.

Last season Baltimore had the 15th best passing team in the NFL averaging 233.7 yards per game through the air. Now with Boldin taken out of the mix, the top pass catches in Baltimore will be Ray Rice Dennis Pita and Torrey Smith. Nobody is really quite sure why the Ravens decided to move Boldin, who was by far the club's #1 receiver. It leaves Ravens QB Joe Flacco with a few less targets to throw to next season, so it will be interesting to see how the Ravens turn this around without Boldin in the lineup.

What hurts the Ravens will now seriously help the 49ers. Last year San Fran had the 23rd best passing offense in the league, averaging 206.1 yards per game through the air. San Fran's leading receiver from a year ago was Michael Crabtree, who had 85 catches for 1105 yards and 9 touchdowns. Vernon Davis was the 49ers other big time threat at the receiver position with over 500 yards receiving a year ago. Now with Boldin thrown into the mix, the 49ers have a great one-two punch with Boldin and Crabtree. This is a similar situation for Boldin, who was part of another great one-two punch with Larry Fitzgerald in Arizona when he played for the Cardinals.

So now with Boldin going to the 49ers and Percy Harvin headed for the Seattle Seahawks in the other trade yesterday, the NFC West just got a lot tougher to play in.St. Louis and Arizona are going to have an uphill climb in the division with the improvements made by Seattle and San Fransisco already. And if this is all done before free agency has even fully kicked off, things are going to be real interesting as the summer moves along.

Vikings Ship Harvin to Seahawks

With Free Agency in the NFL right around the corner, some teams have already made noise this offseason. First their was the Tom Brady Extension, then Joe Flacco gets a new contract from the Ravens. Alex Smith then gets shipped off to the Kansas City Chiefs. Now we can add Percy Harvin's name to the list of players making noise this year. It was announced today that the Minnesota Vikings have traded receiver Percy Harvin to the Seattle Seahawks. In return, the Vikings will receive undisclosed draft picks. The trade agreement, contingent on Harvin passing a physical, was earlier reported by Fox Sports. Seattle has a connection to Harvin. The team's offensive coordinator, Darrell Bevell, held the same job with Minnesota when the Vikings drafted Harvin in 2009.

Last season, the Seahawks finished 27th in the NFL in passing yards with 189.4 yards per game, and their leading receiver was Sidney Rice who had 50 catches for 748 yards and 7 touchdowns.Last year Harvin was the Vikings leading receiver with 62 catches for 677 yards and 3 touchdowns, while the Vikings were 31st in the league in passing yards last season with 171.9 yards per game. In his career, the 24-year-old Harvin has 7,168 all-purpose yards in his four-season career with 29 touchdowns (20 receiving, five return, four rushing). He also has 280 receptions in 54 career games.

So what could this move mean for both football clubs? Well first things first the Seahawks have to make sure that Harvin will be 100% healthy by the time the regular season gets going. When he's healthy, Precy Harvin can turn out to be one of the more lethal deep threats in the league. Adding him to the roster will give Seattle QB Russel Wilson more targets to throw to next year and will surely help spread out an already potent Seattle attack.

As for what the Vikings get, it doesn't look like much right now on paper. All they are reported to get is an undisclosed number of draft picks. In retrospect I can understand this trade, because last year Harvin was unhappy with the Vikings organization and requested a trade, but that didn't exactly work out for him. So he gets the trade now and it appears that both sides win out on the deal.

So Harvin has been traded to the Seahawks. With the way things have been moving this offseason in the NFL, there could be more major news to come so stay tuned!

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