NHL’s realignment plan on hold after players’ union rejects changes
Posted January 6, 2012 9:46 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A dramatic re-imagining of the NHL has been blocked by the players’ union.
The league’s planned realignment to change from six divisions to four conferences for next season had been approved by the board of governors in December pending input from the NHL Players’ Association.
But in a statement Friday the league said the union would not allow the change to be made and that the NHL will maintain its current alignment and playoff format for the 2012-13 season.
Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league was unable to address the union’s unspecified concerns with the change.
“It is unfortunate that the NHLPA has unreasonably refused to approve a plan that an overwhelming majority of our clubs voted to support, and that has received such widespread support from our fans and other members of the hockey community, including players,” Daly said in the statement.
“We believe the union acted unreasonably in violation of the league’s rights. We intend to evaluate all of our available legal options and to pursue adequate remedies, as appropriate.”
The off-season relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg in June forced the NHL to reconsider its divisional structure.
The new plan tried to address teams’ travel concerns, as well as guarantee home-and-home series for every team and change the league’s playoff format.
Shortly after the plan was approved, commissioner Gary Bettman said the NHLPA had expressed concerns but that the league didn’t need the union to sign off on the changes.
The plan was to have two conferences with seven teams all based in the Eastern time zone: New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Washington and Carolina in one and Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Florida and Tampa Bay in the other.
The third conference consisted of eight teams in the Eastern and Central time zones: Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota, Dallas and Winnipeg.
The fourth conference had eight teams in the Mountain and Pacific time zones: Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Colorado.
Players reacted warmly to the changes in December, but some expressed concern with the increased travel during the regular season.
The uneven conferences, which featured two made up of eight teams and seven teams in the other two, was also contested since the number of teams qualifying for the playoffs would have been four in each conference.
“Personally, I’d like to have the same shot at making the playoffs as everybody else,” Flames winger Alex Tanguay said at the time. “If you’re in one of those conference that has eight teams, it’s definitely going to be much tougher than (those with) seven teams to make the playoffs.
“I don’t know how they can make that work. I’m sure there’s a solution.”
The union’s move to block the plan won’t be welcomed in Winnipeg, with the Jets facing another travel-heavy year in the Southeast Division.
The team had no comment on the delayed realignment when contacted by The Canadian Press on Friday, but Jets co-owner Mark Chipman planned to address the delay at a news conference Saturday.
The lost plan also sets an uneasy tone to the start of labour talks, which were expected to begin after the all-star weekend later this month but are essentially underway now.
The collective bargaining agreement is set to expire Sept. 15.
