NHL approves realignment for next season

• There will be four divisions and Detroit and Columbus will move east
• Winnipeg Jets will move to the Western Conference
• Plan will be re-examined after the 2015-16 season

The NHL's new realignment plan isn't perfect as much as the best way to address the league's most urgent scheduling problems.

"Realignment is a difficult emotional process," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "It's one of the most difficult things that any sports league has to resolve."

The NHL is shifting from a six-division format to a four-division format next season, with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings moving to the Eastern Conference and the Winnipeg Jets shifting to the Western Conference.

The Manitoba-located Jets are playing their second season in the Eastern Conference because they moved from Atlanta. The absurdity of Winnipeg being in a division with two Florida teams forced the NHL to explore realignment.

"But for the relocation, this isn't something we would have undertaken," Bettman said.

The NHL did not reveal the final result of the board of governors' email vote but said it was not unanimous.

"It was well in excess of the three-quarters (majority) that was required," he said.

The NHL Players' Association signed off on realignment last week. The sides will re-evaluate the plan after the 2015-16 season.

The plan puts 14 teams in the Western Conference and 16 in the Eastern Conference, a disparity that still bothers the NHLPA.

"If you were doing a simple coin flip, in between matchups, then it would make a statistical difference," Bettman said. "But as a practical matter, we don't think it does."

In the Eastern Conference, Detroit will join the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators in one division.

"From a business standpoint, this is probably really good for both Florida teams," Bettman said. "But where Florida is from a geographic standpoint whatever we did wasn't going to be perfect."

Columbus will join the Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers and New York Islanders in the other.

In the Western Conference, Winnipeg will join the Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues in one division.

That leaves the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks in the other.

"This makes a lot of common sense," Blue Jackets President John Davidson said.

The NHL has also instituted a wild-card playoff setup. The first three places in each division qualify, plus the remaining two teams with the best records in each conference. In other words, it's possible for five teams from one division to make the playoffs.

There has been speculation that this setup won't stay in place for long because the NHL might at some point want to go to 32 teams. Quebec City officials have expressed interest, plus there is talk of putting a second team in the Toronto area.

But the NHL has no formal plans to expand.

"We did this plan with the 30 clubs that we have now where they are located and we didn't do it with any expectation of what may happen next because this is a complicated enough process as it is," Bettman said.

Bettman said Columbus and Detroit are going to the East with the idea they will stay there.

"We understand that in life, things change," Detroit general manager Ken Holland said. "But (we) don't foresee change."

Columbus and Detroit were the only Eastern time zone teams in the Western Conference. They considered their travel difficult and believe fans were significantly inconvenienced by the fact that many road games were televised too late.

The Red Wings also like the idea that they are back in a division with Original Six rivals Toronto, Montreal and Boston.

When the scheduling is completed, travel is projected to be up a little less than 3%.

"Travel does go up a little, but that is a function of every team playing in every building at least once," Bettman said.

The divisions haven't been given names yet, just A, B, C and D.

"No one is a bigger beneficiary of this than the Dallas Stars," said Stars president Jim Lites.

He said that since the Stars moved out of the old Central Division and into the Pacific Division, the team's television ratings have dipped 60% overall. Whenever the Stars played a team in their time zone, they would be four to five times higher.

In addition, he said the Stars lose seven to 10 practice days per season because of increased travel.

"People don't realize the geography," Lites said. "It's closer to Winnipeg for Dallas than it is from Dallas to Phoenix."