The Original Six Division

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supertack	The Original Six Division	Lead	[-]
Registered User Posts: 612 (10/31/09 08:46 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Tags : None I read a recent Sports Illustrated article about the NHL's original six teams, & how those franchises generate a large portion of the leagues overall revenue. I started thinking about how cool it would be to have all of those teams in the same division, & what a bold move it could make in the marketability of the league. Since you have 5 teams in every division, pulling 6 out of any given division would cause imbalance and also cause an odd number of divisions, so re-alignment would be necessary. The other part I thought would be cool is if the Original Six division was not in either conference. It could be a stand alone 'super division', but each team would have an established playoff conference designation, with 3 in the Eastern and 3 in the Western, so it would be possible for 2 Original Six teams to meet in the Stanley Cup Finals. Here's what I was thinking. Original Six Division Chicago Detroit Boston NY Rangers Montreal Toronto Eastern Conference Atlantic Division Washington Buffalo New Jersey NY Islanders Northeast Division Pittsburgh Ottawa Philadelphia Columbus Southeast Divison Tampa Bay Atlanta Florida Carolina Western Conference Central Division St. Louis Dallas Nashville Minnesota Northwest Division Vancouver Colorado Calgary Edmonton Pacific Division San Jose Los Angeles Phoenix Aneheim Then what I'd do is give the Rangers, Boston, & Toronto an Eastern Conference designation, & Chicago, Detroit, & Montreal a Western Conference designation. Which ever Original Six team won their division, they would get a top four designated conference rank based on point total. Either the Eastern or Western Conference would have an extra divisional winning seed dependant on which original six team won their division. So come playoff time you'd see rankings like so. Eastern Conference* 1. Pittsburgh* 2. Washington* 3. Tampa Bay* 4. Buffalo 5. New Jersey 6. Boston 7. Ottawa 8. Philadelphia --------------- 9. NY Rangers 10. Altanta 11. NY Islanders 12. Florida 13. Carolina 14. Columbus 15. Toronto Western Conference 1. Chicago* 2. San Jose* 3. Vancouver* 4. St. Louis* 5. Colorado 6. Calgary 7. Montreal 8. Los Angeles ---------------- 9. Detroit 10. Phoenix 11. Edmonton 12. Dallas 13. Aneheim 14. Minnesota 15. Nashville Just a little Saturday trip to fantasy land, but I think THAT would be way friggin' cool! Divisional re-alignment keeps all teams in the geographically correct division for the most part, & keeps all divisions with an even amount of teams. Although some teams changed divisions, the only team that would be forced to change Conferences would be Columbus. Notice how I put Detroit out of the playoffs? Fuck 'em. Last Edited By: supertack 10/31/09 12:05 PM. Edited 4 times.
ChiGuySez		#1	[-]
Registered User Posts: 5814 (10/31/09 09:24 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Hypothetical is a large part of what the boards are all about. Interesting thought.
gregz18		#2	[-]
Registered User Posts: 235 (10/31/09 11:08 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	That's a really interesting idea - but I suspect that teams outside of the original 6 division would complain about it being unfair (whether that's true or not). It also might be tough to make the schedule balanced. How about making 5 divisions of 6 teams each - forget the conferences - and make it so that the division champions get the top 5 seeds in a 16 team tournament for the playoffs? Original 6 - Chicago, Toronto, Detroit, NY Rangers, Boston, Montreal Southeast - Tampa Bay, Florida, Washington, Carolina, Atlanta, Nashville Northeast - Buffalo, New Jersey, NY Islanders, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Ottawa Central - Columbus, St. Louis, Dallas, Minnesota, Colorado, Phoenix Pacific - Los Angeles, San Jose, Anaheim, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton Dallas finally gets what they want (to get out of the Pacific time zone), Nashville might actually be able to develop a rivalry with somebody, and the only geographic stretches are Colorado and Phoenix (which are in the Mountain time zone anyways). As for the schedule - 34 games within the division (7 games against 4 of the teams, 6 against 1 of them), 48 games outside the division (play every team home and away). Or - if the NHL would want to take this opportunity to reduce the schedule (although I doubt they'd want to give up the $), they could shrink it down to 78 games and just play 30 divisional games.
dany		#3	[-]
Registered User Posts: 5 (10/31/09 11:14 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I would think that Toronto(former Norris Division team) would be placed in the Western Conference and not Montreal...how about a Canadian Division...thus guaranting a Canadian team in the playoffs...hah! OH yah by the way, I'm Canadian
supertack		#4	[-]
Registered User Posts: 612 (10/31/09 11:52 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	dany wrote: I would think that Toronto(former Norris Division team) would be placed in the Western Conference and not Montreal. Toronto is further east than Montreal, so it would make more geographic sense.
gregz18		#5	[-]
Registered User Posts: 235 (10/31/09 12:12 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Montreal is further east.
supertack		#6	[-]
Registered User Posts: 612 (10/31/09 12:34 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Douh. Your right, brain cramp.
Goldenjet		#7	[-]
Registered User Posts: 52 (10/31/09 01:43 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I love the idea, it would be a throwback to when Hockey was Hockey. Unfortunatley it will never happen, simply because overall league revenue would drop like the Hildenburg. The original 6 already fill their buildings regardless of who the visitor is, but as a visiting team an O-6 six team will help places like Phoenix and Long Island get a sellout that they wouldn't normally get against a less attractive opponent like Florida or Atlanta. The O-6 teams have fans all over North America that they will draw from and that represents an important amount of league revenue. As a fan however, I love your idea, too bad Bettman had to dilute the product to the point that it never happen.
thefoss1957		#8	[-]
Registered User Posts: 2765 (10/31/09 02:01 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Welcome to the Boards, Dany... They're always conniving and scheming. Sometimes they do both! I call that...Schenniving!
ChiGuySez		#9	[-]
Registered User Posts: 5814 (10/31/09 05:03 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Welcome Dany. Dont mind Miller.
Jim C		#10	[-]
Registered User Posts: 1422 (10/31/09 10:06 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Never happen...O-6 doesn't mean anything to fans outside of the O-6 cities any more. Plus, the realignment wouldn't make any sense. Interesting idea, sure, but not practical, at all. Plus it would be totally unfair to Chicago, who play in a different time zone than the other 5 teams. Fans in Phx and LA (and most of the NHL, really) pay to see the star players IN the jersey, not the jersey itself.
Moose Vasko		#11	[-]
Registered User Posts: 144 (11/01/09 10:26 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	I would be concerned about having to play Montreal in their McBurglar uniforms. I could see crowds of 8,000 at the UC if this happened too often.
thefoss1957		#12	[-]
Registered User Posts: 2765 (11/01/09 11:42 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Jim C...I don't think 1 time zone difference is as big a deal, as say, for the Stars or the Wild, currently, who have division games in multiple time zones...including AZ standard time... They're always conniving and scheming. Sometimes they do both! I call that...Schenniving!
Tonio35		#13	[-]
Registered User Posts: 549 (11/02/09 12:07 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	My concern is the very thought of seeing a Phoenix-Florida matchup leaves me with my wallet in my pocket and I would imagine loyal fans of those teams and the nhl think the same way. I think the only way it works with Bettman giving franchises to irrelevant markets is giving fans (if there are any) in those markets a chance to see strong, storied original 6 franchises play. It's like (sorta) fans in Jax getting a chance to see the Packers or Bears. Real football fans appreciate the visit and what the Pack or Bears represent. I grew up close to Buffalo and aside from the Hawks who I wished visited 8 times a season, I always tried to go to games when the Habs, Wingsuck, Rangers et al were coming to town. I think if we were to rearrange the conference setup, I would want to see the reinstitution of the (Chuck) Norris division. Bring back the days when every team in the league would toughen up just to play the Norris division teams...ahhhhhh, the good old days. Last Edited By: Tonio35 11/02/09 07:07 PM. Edited 1 times.
supertack		#14	[-]
Registered User Posts: 612 (11/02/09 05:39 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Not that it matters much, since this whole thing was done kinda tongue in cheek, but why would this scenario mean a drastic decrease in games vs original 6 teams? In this model, teams in the Original Six division would still play teams outside there division, just as teams in the Central Division do currently. There would be a slight unbalanced nature of the schedule for divisional teams, but that shouldn't change other teams abilities to play original six teams that much. Would this model be any worse than say the Hawks having to play Nashville as many times a year as they do? Tell me the league cleans up with those Tennessee dates. Or what about how little the Hawks play Montreal, Toronto, Boston, or the Rangers. I just read that the last time Montreal played in Chicago (prior to last week) was 3 years ago, that just aint right either.
oldjello		#15	[-]
Registered User Posts: 1116 (11/02/09 10:28 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	supertack wrote: Not that it matters much, since this whole thing was done kinda tongue in cheek, but why would this scenario mean a drastic decrease in games vs original 6 teams? In this model, teams in the Original Six division would still play teams outside there division, just as teams in the Central Division do currently. There would be a slight unbalanced nature of the schedule for divisional teams, but that shouldn't change other teams abilities to play original six teams that much. Would this model be any worse than say the Hawks having to play Nashville as many times a year as they do? Tell me the league cleans up with those Tennessee dates. Or what about how little the Hawks play Montreal, Toronto, Boston, or the Rangers. I just read that the last time Montreal played in Chicago (prior to last week) was 3 years ago, that just aint right either. Well, playing the East got easier since the NHL reduced the division schedule to 6 games per team, rather than 8-- freeing up 8 more games to play against the East. The NHL will probably never expand over 82 again (84 in the year they marketed the game to non-NHL cities at the time) -- but time will tell. Unless there's drastic relocation, Toronto may never see the Western Conference again-- and gone are the days of divisional playoffs-- unless the NHL goes to 4 divisions-- which will be uneven at 15 teams per conference (8 and 7). So, with the current schedule: 24 divisional games 40 conference games (teams within the conference, but outside the division) Which leaves 18 games for non conference. Everyone would play at least once, with 3 games being overflow. Those 3 could be used for O6 home + homes. The problem: one O6 matchup would not be included. I would rather see that than Florida twice a year. Commit to Makataimeshekiakiak. -BHP
gregz18		#16	[-]
Registered User Posts: 235 (11/02/09 04:21 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	If I had one wish, in terms of expansion/relocation/realignment, it would be the divisional playoffs. That was the one aspect of the NHL that made its schedule and playoffs different than any other league. It added to the intensity of the playoffs and made those first round matchups much more unpredictable (see Hawks/Blues and Hawks/Stars nightmares of years past). Obviously, to have divisional playoffs, there would have to be realignment - and in order to have even conferences, we'll have to have some expansion or see 2 teams disappear.
RVB		#17	[-]
Registered User Posts: 31 (11/02/09 07:11 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	The owners would have a rough time shoving that down Beastman's throat
bmark26		#18	[-]
Registered User Posts: 1581 (11/02/09 11:53 PM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	What really needs to happen, can't. That is, contraction. There is no good reason to have all the bad teams in bad markets that the NHL has. But Bettman will never let the bad markets relocate, especially to Canada. And the players union will never let there be contraction which equals loss of jobs. So there are too many teams, a watered down talent pool and divisions that make no sense. And never will, thanks to Bettman's southeastern US fetish. The one thing that could be addressed, which hurt the Hawks last year, is the idiotic playoff seeding system that allows a division winner in a crap division a higher seeding than a team that earned more points in the regular season. That's rubbish. You could easily say the division winner all automatically make the playoffs but the seeding is determined strictly by points earned. That way a bad divison winner might be the eighth seed, if that's where their point total puts them. As for the Original Six division, it's a cute idea but will never fly.
supertack		#19	[-]
Registered User Posts: 612 (11/03/09 05:40 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	gregz18 wrote: If I had one wish, in terms of expansion/relocation/realignment, it would be the divisional playoffs. That was the one aspect of the NHL that made its schedule and playoffs different than any other league. It added to the intensity of the playoffs and made those first round matchups much more unpredictable I kinda liked that format better myself, but I can totally see why they changed to the Conference format, and tend to agree with it. The main problem with the divisional format was when you had a shitty division, some very good teams were left outta the playoffs. I remember a couple of years in the Norris Division where the 4th place team was actually in the bottom 3 in the Conference, but still made the playoffs. The other issue back then was one Norris team, usually Detroit or Toronto, was soooo bad that making the playoffs wasn't feasible. The other Norris teams merely had to show up for the regular season to qualify for the playoffs. At least in the Conference format there is more emphasis on the regular season, which there should be considering how long it is.
adriaticfan		#20	[-]
Registered User Posts: 2238 (11/03/09 07:38 AM) Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts Report Post	Will never happen! It's more likely to happen that an entire new league sprout up devoted to canadian based team (cities), plus the original 4 american based teams, thus putting to rest this exercise of futility of promoting hockey in California, Florida, Phoenix and anywhere else where the climate is hot the the people uninterested in ice sports.

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