Although I don't mind Bettman's realignment plan (minus expansion), here's my take on ditching conferences altogther and picking 4 divisions. Top 16 teams by points, wins, h2h, etc make it into the playoffs. 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15, etc. Home & home vs everyone, 2 x h&h for division, split up the rest of the games.
Here's my idea of the 4 divisions...
Great Lakes
BUF
CHI
CLB
DET
MIN
MTL
OTT
TOR
Western
ANA
CAL
EDM
LA
PHX
SJ
VAN
WIN
Atlantic
BOS
NJ
NYI
NYR
PHI
PIT
WAS
Southern
CAR
COL
DAL
FLA
NSH
STL
TB
Take a look at this fan-map. It's where I derived my divisions from. Note, Winnipeg is still listed as ATL and please forgive the stupid title, I didn't create it.
