NHL Modifies Realignment Proposal

CBC's Elliotte Friedman reports new plan being considered

Over the weekend, Elliotte Freidman reported a new NHL realignment proposal is on the table. He talked about modifications made to last year's proposal on Hockey Night in Canada's Hoststove Tonight segment.

For those of us who are more visual, I've put together the map above to show you what the new proposal would look like. The big takeaways from this report:

• Detroit and Columbus would now get to play more road games in the eastern time zone.
• Should the Coyotes end up moving to Seattle, there'd be no need for realignment.
• However, there's no room in the east for any expansion to Quebec or Toronto.
• The majority of the Original 6 is reunited in Conference 2 with Detroit, Toronto, Montreal and Boston all grouped  together.
• Of course, Tampa Bay and Florida are still lumped into the Canadian conference for some reason.
• Poor Columbus. From a division with Chicago and Detroit to one with the Penguins, Flyers and Rangers. These guys can't win. I mean, literally, they cannot win hockey games. Why?

Friedman also said the league is exploring a wild card format for the 8-team divisions. This is because teams in the larger conferences are at a slight disadvantage when it comes to making the playoffs. So we might see a situation where the No. 4 and 5 seeds in Conferences 1 and 2 square off for that fourth playoff spot.

I'm curious to see everyone's take on the new proposal. Here's a question, though. How should the conferences be named? Certainly not by names or letters. Should the league stick with its geographical names or go back to naming them after key people in NHL history?

The Charitable Side of the NHL

The effects of the NHL lockout are not just being felt by the players and owners who are quabbling over their share of billions of dollars. Every team has its own charitable organization that keeps the money flowing to those in need over the course of the season. And without full arenas, things like 50/50 drawings aren't happening.

The good news is that these organizations are still finding ways to help their communities. And in an effort to give them some attention and fulfill the purpose of this blog (logos!), here's a little something for you to enjoy this weekend.

So how about that? All 30 charitable organizations tied to NHL franchises. You probably noticed that while most are team specific, a few are not. For example, the Colorado Avalanche work with Kroenke Sports Charities as both are owned by the same parent company. Similar situation with the Maple Leafs and MLSE Team Up Foundation as well as the Rangers and Garden of Dreams.

Now go and be charitable!

NHL Realigned for 2012-13 Season

I went on vacation for a few days only to return to find an NHL nothing like the state in which I left it. Apparently, the NHL's Board of Governors decided yesterday to radically realign the league from six divisions into four conferences.

And based on the emails I'm getting, a lot of you want to see Icethetics host a contest to name new conferences and create its trophies. Sadly, I have too much going on here already to conduct another contest, but I'm more than happy to at least offer this blog post so we can all share our opinions.

Here are how the new conferences break down:

Conference A

Conference B

Conference C

Conference D

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If you're curious about my take on the new setup, here it is. It's annoying because I'm a Tampa Bay Lightning fan. If I weren't a Lightning fan, I'd have to call it perfect. Dallas, Columbus and Detroit should be beside themselves over not having to play so many games in the Pacific Time Zone. Most of the great rivalries are intact. It's fantastic.

But why do Tampa and Sunrise have to get lumped into the "Northeast Division" basically? And even as I ask the question, I know the answer. You can't break up Philly and Pittsburgh nor any of the New York area teams. You can't separate the eastern Canadian teams nor break up rivalries like Sabres/Leafs, Habs/Bruins or Penguins/Capitals (especially now that HBO just released the first 24/7 Winter Classic on DVD!).

I know everyone has there two cents on how to improve things for their own teams. And that nobody cares what anybody else things. But here's mine anyway. Move the Pennsylvania teams to Conference C and put Tampa Bay and Florida in Conference D. I know, it simply can't be done that way.

The way it is now is just sort of a geographical necessity. So like Boucher says, let's start building the new practice rink in Vermont. We'll be spending a lot of time up there next year. And we'll only play the Hurricanes as many times as we play the Canucks.

Though I suppose the good news out of all this for me personally is that now I'm guaranteed that the Lightning will visit my neck of the woods (Vancouver) at least once a season. This year, they're not making that trip at all thanks to the current setup. (Interestingly, however, I will still be seeing a Bolts-Canucks game this season.)

That's all. Your turn, now. How do you fix the new alignment? Or do you? And what do you name the new conferences? What about the trophies? And how should the third round of playoffs work?

Update on Saturday · Jan 7 · 2012 | 7:02 AM PST by Chris

Nevermind. The realignment plan is off, at least for 2012-13. The NHL didn't get consent from the NHLPA. The idea was kind of nice while it lasted though, wasn't it?

NHL Requires More Helmet Digits

Helmet numbers add to front / Tony Da CostaThis is one of those things that's going to annoy the crap out of everyone until we all eventually get used to it.

Yes, you're looking at the front of those Dany Heatley helmets. And yes, they have new number decals on them. Oh boy.

For most of the 1950s, the only way to identify an NHL player — apart from looking at his, you know, face — was the giant number sewn to the back of his sweater. It was during that decade that teams also started adding what we now know as TV numbers to their sleeves. I'm not sure when exactly it became a league mandate.

Over the years since then, surnames were added to the back above the number, and as helmets became a requirement, numbers were added there too. More recently, some teams have even started adding them to the front of their jerseys, some subtly (like San Jose) and others not-so-subtly (like Dallas).

Tony Da Costa, Wild equipment managerThrough a series of tweets on Wednesday, we learned from the Minnesota Wild's head equipment manager Tony Da Costa that number decals are being added to the front of every NHL skater's helmet. And because of how the helmets are designed, they're really going on the top.

The reason we haven't seen these new head digits yet during the preseason is that the league isn't requiring the change until the start of the regular season. But obviously Da Costa and other equipment managers around the league are already preparing gear for opening night — which is now just a week away.

By the way, if you're a Wild fan, an Icethetics reader and on Twitter, you really should be following Da Costa (@Styleswild) just for his behind-the-scenes photos alone.

The NHL's senior manager of communications, Schuyler Baehman, went into a little more detail Wednesday with some tweets of his own. First, he confirmed that player numbers will be added to players' foreheads. Great. Then Baehman explained that they won't be required for goalie masks. Good because I'm pretty sure those are the most recognizable guys on the ice at any given time.

Next, the real nerdy stuff. He told us the numbers must measure between 1.25 and 2 inches in height. And finally, he answered the big question: Why? For that, I'll toss to a blockquote.

The new number placement is designed to aid on-ice officials, broadcasters, et al. by providing an additional point of player identification.

A few Twitter-enabled radio and TV play-by-play guys chimed in with their support for this change. Not sure how they're seeing those numbers that far away. But without my glasses I can't see what's right in front of me, so what do I know?

Right, so I understand the reason for adding the numbers. If it'll help with player IDs, then that's great. But I have to say, from a strictly aesthetic perspective, I'm concerned. Granted, I haven't seen how it will look on the ice, but I'm not sure how it can look good. Maybe I'll change my tune next week, but for now... yikes.

I think I already know the answer, but what do you guys think of this uniform change? Do the practical benefits outweigh the visual drawbacks? Or will it even look that bad at all?