It seems that ever since the formations of The United States and Canada, the two nations have been divided. Divided between , and within each other as well. The formations of each country have been built on inner conflicts, whether it was the English versus the French colonies in Canada, or the Civil War between the Northern and the Southern States. When the railroads expanded across to the West Coast, it created a more natural divide in the two countries. Major cities on the two coast lines created two very distinct identities in two very large geographical countries. It's been like that for awhile now, only occasionally playing out in the form of battles like the Boston Celtics and L.A. Lakers rivalry, or the West Coast/East Coast rapper battles. The Nations are still divided, but it's a lot more complicated than just East versus West. The advent of the internet has formed allegiances that are more ideological rather than geographical.


The National Hockey League is the most geographically spread out of the major sports in North America. Gary Bettman's dream of a diverse league was fulfilled when teams were put in all corners of the map. There is now a real chance that there could be a reordering of the landscape of the NHL with both the Phoenix Coyotes and the Atlanta Thrashers both in financial trouble. Winnipeg and Quebec City are two former NHL cities that are potential destinations for either franchise to move to. Both cities have been preparing for awhile now, Winnipeg is upgrading their stadium, while Quebec City is securing funding for a new stadium in which they've already found a sponsor. If the NHL returns north, there will inevitably be a look at the structure of the divisions and conferences. If that does happen, the NHL should take a serious look at creating a Northern and Southern Conference.


A change from East and West, to North and South, may be as logical a move geographically as it is philosophically. There is a pretty big divide in the culture of Hockey between Canada and the U.S. It's time to divide them conference wise, so to not only align the Canadian teams, but to align the struggling Southern teams. By giving the Southern teams an identity, it may give them more of an ownership to the game of hockey that has and will always be Canada's game. A Southern Conference would also align many American teams, and may be able to attract a lucrative T.V. deal with ESPN the NHL so desperately seeks. Basically Canadian teams would play each other more which would benefit the already lucrative Canadian TV market.


Here's a breakdown of a potential scenario for the re-order of the NHL if the Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques replace the Phoenix Coyotes and Atlanta Thrashers:

NORTHERN CONFERENCE

Northwest Division
Vancouver Canucks, 
Calgary Flames, 
Edmonton Oilers, 
Winnipeg Jets
, Minnesota Wild

Northeast Division
Toronto Maple Leafs
, Ottawa Senators
, Montreal Canadiens
, Quebec Nordiques, 
Boston Bruins

Central Division
Detroit Red Wings, 
Chicago Blackhawks
, Columbus Blue Jackets, 
Buffalo Sabres
, Colorado Avalanche

 

SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division
Philadelphia Flyers
, Pittsburgh Penguins, 
New York Rangers, 
New Jersey Devils, 
New York Islanders

Southeast Division
Tampa Bay Lightning
, Washington Capitals
, Carolina Hurricanes, 
Florida Panthers
, Dallas Stars

Southwest Division
San Jose Sharks
, Los Angeles Kings, 
Anaheim Ducks
, St. Louis Blues
, Nashville Predators

At first glance, the re-order would basically just switch the Pacific and Northeast Divisions. Quebec would be back in the same division as Montreal, which would mean an exodus of Buffalo if they wanted to keep an Original Six rivalry with Boston and Toronto. Buffalo would then take Phoenix's spot in the Central division, while Winnipeg would move over with the other Canadian teams in the Northwest like the old Smythe Division. This would mean that Colorado would need to find a new home, which may have to be the Central Division, reuniting the rivalry they had with the Detroit Red Wings. The renaming of the Pacific Division to the Southwest would allow teams like Nashville and St. Louis to find homes in the new Southern Conference. That would open up a spot in the Central Division to keep Colorado in the Northern Conference, and a move of Dallas over to the Southeast Division. It might make sense to keep Dallas in the Southwest where they were, but it would be a toss up with Nashville. Dallas is actually geographically closer to Florida, if that was a consideration.


There would be some detractors of this alignment, Boston may not appreciate being the lone American team in a Canadian division, but if Quebec does return, that will be a serious possibility, although Buffalo is so close to Toronto anyway, they may be the better fit there. The Canucks would lose some games in their own time zone, but not many. They would lose three 'away' games in the Pacific Time zone with the three California teams moving Conferences, but the flights down there are still long enough that perhaps they won't be missed as much. Vancouver will always get the shaft when it comes to travel with their schedule; it's just something they'll always have to deal with. Winnipeg will want to move into a division with other Canadian teams, to capitalize on those rivalries, and keeping Minnesota with them makes sense geographically as well.


It may seem like a radical idea, but it's not as big of a deal as you may think, with the NHL's balanced schedule. Every team would still play each other; it would just mean that some teams would play each other more. The NHL loves branding and with the loss of two of Bettman's Southern Market teams; it will want to start a new era, so why not make it one that celebrates the game in the two distinct geographical areas in which there are teams: North and South.


*This article was originally featured at Betfair.net