Division and Conference Points Distribution

would love to see the Islanders make a run and have all 5 Atlantic teams in the playoffs. We’ve had 4 in recent years, I don’t think all 5 is too unreasonable.

The Central is also strong this year. But I think the proposed realignment would be a bad idea for the Eastern teams in general. There are too many teams that have shown a propensity to spend up to and even beyond (when accounting for minor league demotions and creative accounting) the cap – the Rangers, Flyers, Penguins, Devils, Bruins, Leafs, Canadiens, Caps, and now even Buffalo. Limiting each division to 4 playoff teams each would create inequality a la what we have in baseball. Teams like the Isles, Canes, Panthers wouldn’t quite be as bad as the Orioles, but they’d be lucky to make the playoffs three times a decade (granted, the Panthers actually have not been to the postseason in a decade, but their division has tried to help them out as much as possible). And under the wrong ownership situation or an extended playoff drought the Devils could well end up in that situation.

In contrast, the West has maybe three teams that would consistently spend up to the cap (Detroit, Chicago, Vancouver), two teams that have only spent as much as they have due to the strength of the Canadian dollar (Calgary, Edmonton), and another couple of teams who really need to win to maintain a fan base (San Jose, LA). St Louis, Dallas, and Colorado are wild cards in the West – they’ve shown a tendency to spend a lot when in contention, but also don’t balk at the idea of spending a few years rebuilding.