NHL to realign divisions by 2012-2013

Things have really shaken up this off-season in the N.H.L. and free agency hasn’t even happened yet. The Atlanta Thrashers have moved to Winnipeg and the Jets have returned, the Philadelphia Flyers traded Jeff Carter AND Mike Richards, selecting Sean Courtourier, the one time best rated prospect in the draft. My beloved Chicago Blackhawks have traded the likes of Troy Brouwer, Brian Campbell and Tomas Kopecky to free up some cap space.

None though, may be as bigger as this one: the NHL is realigning their entire divisions at the start of next season, not this coming one but the year after. That’s right, new divisions. There will be four divisions: Pacific, Midwest, East and South.

The Pacific Division consists of the Vancouver Choke-Nuts, erm, Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and Phoenix Coyotes.

The Midwest division will have the Jets, Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars? Seriously? Detroit is out of our division? That doesn’t seem right.

The East Division has the Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, the Flyers and the Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins.

The South Division has the New York Islanders, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.

It will be harder to win the division for some. That’s not the issue. Perhaps it’s just me not liking change but this just seems really, really lame. Add to the fact that my team’s biggest rival is out of my division. Yeah, I’m upset.