Hockey Trade Rumors

Preseason I made the bold prediction that the Eastern Conference playoffs would be represented by 4 teams from the Atlantic. Granted I had figured Philly would be there in lieu of the Islanders. But thanks to last night’s insanity in NJ (I can just imagine all those Leafs fans jumping for joy when Madden tied it with 1 second left… only to lose and force the Leafs out of the playoffs… again (as I also predicted back-to-back years)), the NYI have made the post-season, resulting in 4 teams from the Atlantic making the playoffs. Compare this to only 2 teams from both the weaker Northeast and Southeast divisions in the Eastern Conference.In the Western Conference, the strongest division, despite Edmonton’s play, is arguably the Northwest. Midseason it had 5 teams within 1-2 points of each other in a purely insane battle of hockey. However, the strength of the Pacific should not be overlooked either, but they do have the two worst teams in the West. The Central division has been a joke amongst the League for years, leading Detroit (and recently Nashville) to exuberant numbers.

To recap:
The East is represented by:
4 teams from the Atlantic. (NJ, Pittsburgh, NYR, NYI)
2 teams from the Southeast. (Atlanta, TB)
2 teams from the Northeast. (Buffalo, Ottawa)

The West is represented by:
3 teams from the Northwest. (Vancouver, Minnesota, Calgary)
3 teams from the Pacific. (Anaheim, SJ, Dallas)
2 teams from the Central. (Detroit, Nashville)

Last season, it was 3 from Atlantic, 3 from SE, and again 2 from NE.
And the same from the West.

Clearly the SE and Central divisions need reshaping to bring some sort of parity to the League, or else this inter-divisional madness must be retooled to make for a fairer League.