NHLPA approves NHL realignment – Welcome the Winnipeg Jets to the Midwest Division

The news of the day is that the NHLPA has approved the NHL realignment proposal.  This will still have to be approved by the NHL Board of Governors.

For those who have forgotten, this is what the new divisions will looks like;

So say goodbye to Del Boca Vista as the Jets will no longer be residing in the Southeast Division and won’t be traveling to sunny Florida for games against current rivals Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Of course the above still does not address what would happen if you need to move a franchise in the 14 team Western Conference over to an Eastern city.  Would they pull a Winnipeg and continue to play teams in the West?  Will be interesting to see where this goes and is probably why the NHLPA said that it can “be re-evaluated following the 2014-15 season”.

The playoff format would be as follows according to CBC:

With the new re-alignment comes a fresh playoff format. The top three teams in each division earn postseason berths. The remaining four spots go to wild cards, the top two records in each conference. That means there’s a possibility five teams make it from one division and only three from another.

The new plan also calls for divisional playoffs, not within the conference as in the past. The division winner with the most regular-season points will play the lowest-seeded wild-card team in the first round, with the other division winner playing the other wild-card team. The second and third place teams will square off in each division in the first round.

So how does that grab you?  Do you like the division the Jets will now be playing in?  Based on the proposed playoff format, do you think this puts the Jets further behind or ahead of the teams  currently in the division?  Sound off.

News Articles:

CBC:  NHL players approve realignment for next season.

TSN:  NHLPA gives approval to NHL’s proposed re-alignment.

ESPN:  NHLPA OK with realignment plan.

NHL.com:  Board of Governors vote next for realignment plan.