DraperFan MN

I wouldn't call it replacing....Souray isn't near as sound on D as Rafalski.

anyone?

Let me try that again... So if this is our team... Z - Dats - Homer Flip - Grigs - Hudler Kopecky - Franzen - Sammy Cleary - Draper - Maltby Lids - Kronner Rafalski - Lebda Chelios - Lilja Quincy Hasek/Ozzie What is the payroll on that team?

So if this is our team... Z - Dats - Homer Flip - Grigs - Hudler Flip - Franzen - Sammy Cleary - Maltby - Draper Lids - Kronner Rafalski - Lebda Chelios - Lilja Quincy Hasek/Ozzie What is the payroll on that team?

it is on the TSN front page now...

...and that is okay with me.

Exactly, they're all beanpoles right now....I think I saw one in the first round that looked like he was filled out.

Thank goodness.

I like this guy, he's got balls, and a lot more business sense than 75 % of the owners. Why there hasn't been a revolt I'll never know. The league needed a salary cap and Bettman got that done, but other than that, he hasn't made one right move. I know we have some Preds fans out there, but getting a team out of Nashville is a step in the right direction. This guy is going to be able to jump ALL the hurdles in front of him by throwing mass amounts of money at them.....and he'll win. The fact he paid twice what the Preds are worth is evidence of that.

Do you watch much hockey?

Recently, I had a ton of downtime at work, and I put a lot of thought in to this and got some stuff down on paper. What I have come up with is conference and division alignments that will allow every team to play each other at least once and more importantly, put Detroit in the Eastern Conference. Go ahead and read the attachment below. There are going to be things that catch your eye and you will have questions about, but read my explanations first before bashing the proposal. I heard Gary Bettman say to the guys on Sports Inferno (radio show on WXYT in Detroit) regarding the difficulty of re-alignment, "Our problem is, most of our teams are in the Eastern Time Zone." This is true, because under his watch he added Nashville, Columbus, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and Florida among other teams. This realignment I have put together makes the Eastern Conference the heavier conference as far as number of teams, but this will allow for future business and solve the problems caused by previous expansion with, (yes I know), more expansion. The cities I suggested for expansion make sense for the following reasons: Portland or Seattle - These cities could easily support a hockey team and have a history of hockey in their market. Kansas City - They were lobbying HARD for the Penguins. The arena is almost built and would be a no brainer for any prospective owner. A natural rivalry would exist between this team and St. Louis Las Vegas - Both the NBA and MLB are considering expansion into this market. Beat them to the punch. Plenty of people from out of town consistently present, and the permanent population is growing by the minute. You'll also notice the scheduling is only for 72 Games. This would be a sell for the players. With expansion, the number of games will increase, and if expansion occurs, there is room to gradually increase to 82 games. I don't think this solves all problems and it isn't perfect. With that said, IMO, it is a helluva lot better than what the NHL and its fans have right now, it allows for future business as the game grows, and only serves to enhance regional television markets as far as scheduling is concerned. This will also grow the fan base because fans will have the opportunity to see all teams in person at least once every other year (every year on TV) due to rotation of home and away for inter-conference games. Furthermore, I also think this will place more importance on the regular season. While divisional play is weighted heavier, it isn't so much more that rest of conference and inter-conference play do not mean anything.

I agree, and there a couple of more markets where hockey could succeed. There more I think about it, I think I like the four division idea. This would only require adding two teams. I will go back to the drawing board with this and come back with something that will blow your minds!

Thank you Vladdy, this is the second poster in this thread that has already tempted fate today.

The Sports Inferno guys know nothing about hockey. They admit this on a regular basis and I have pleaded with them to improve their knowledge before getting on the air. Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa, and Nashville are s***ty teams? That is just not true. Nashville, Tampa, and Atlanta ALL made the playoffs this year and Carolina just won the cup. All are being run quite well IMO. Columbus is trying. Florida is the one team that is s***ty and doesn't give a rats ass. These teams need regional rivalries that make sense, and this division would do that and help grow the fan base. I guess I cannot disagree with your assessment on those teams more.

A team in Alaska would never happen, if not for anything, travel time and expenses. You're not the first person to suggest another team in Canada, but in response to you and many others, there just is not another market in Canada that can realistically support an NHL franchise. A team in Wisconsin could be interesting, but the most likely city would be Milwaukee, and I don't know if they could absorb another franchise and how revenue could or would be shared with the Bucks since that is likely where they would play. To all posters... While this thread certainly brings expansion into the discussion. It is not the main point. The main point is how to re-align now, with what the league currently has. Please remember this as you are posting. Some have given some good feedback, but some are waaaay off track from the main idea.

That is priceless. He and Thorne were having a good time. It is certainly not my intention to hijack this thread...but here is another classic Shanny clip. So funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDruy1A94lw...ted&search=

You did not just write that. Edit this freakin' post right now. Did anyone see the Free Press this morning? Cool Picture and article http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID...RTS05/705200685

Yeah, Chicago as the lone O-6 team out west looked weird to me too. The idea of your movement of teams is certainly palatable. Chicago in the Great Lakes division is VERY desirable, and Pittsburgh in the East - Southcentral could be sold. My question would be removing Nashville from a division where two very natural regional rivalries could exist with Atlanta and Carolina. I know people here on this board might be inclined to say "Who cares about Nashville", but I know Legionnaire and other Nashville fans would rather be playing Carolina and Atlanta more throughout the season than Minnesota, St. Louis, and Dallas. (BTW, Minnesota and Dallas is not a geographic rivalry I have to be truthful. When considering these options, the sad state of affairs that is the Chicago Blackhawks led me to put them out west. While they are an 0-6 team, the organization and its fans need a change. Being in the same division as Detroit year after year has just destroyed the self-confidence of that organization.

Answer: Time Zones, I tried to keep teams in the same time zone whenever possible, also, I structured things the way I did based on the teams we currently have, and the teams in parentheses are only possiblilities for expansion. If expansion occurs, then maybe restructuring the alignment could happen, but we have to start from somewhere.

That would be to start....once expansion occurs, this amount would decrease....The increased amount at first would also serve to strengthen rivalries in the Central Division of the Western Conference that currently are not there. While I agree it is not optimal to start with it keeps the amount of divisional games consistent between conferences. Yeah, I really like the Great Lakes Division, although Montreal is a bit of an oddity there.

St. Lake City is certainly a possibility, but I really do not know what they would be like as a hockey market. Houston maybe, but Austin....I just don't think Austin is realistic....The Ice Bats can't get people out to those games consistently.

I thought about playoffs, but after going over countless scenarios, I just decided they would remain the same. Yes, easier for the Western Conference teams. With that said, which conference is it more difficult to make the playoffs in currently? I think this is a small thing big picture. The more pressing concerns are overall scheduling, tv exposure, and regional rivalries which make sense.

Please don't hijack this thread, I really want to know what people think of this idea, good and bad.

I just started a thread about an idea I have for realignment, check it out.... http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=43397

Matt, I'm sorry, I couldn't read the above post due to being doubled over by laughter caused by your avatar. Damn, that is one of the funnier things I have seen in a looong time. Do you have a large copy of that I could show to a friend of mine who is infatuated with Chuck Norris?