Proposed NHL divisions and how it impacts the Rangers

The latest version of the NHL Division alignment came out and it doesn’t help the New York Rangers’ playoff hopes

There has been no doubt that there will be four divisions in the NHL in the 2021 season and one will be made up solely of teams from Canada.  Now, a new version of the alignment has been released with some tweaks to an earlier one.

This alignment is not final, but it was officially provided to the NHL owners.  The news was first revealed in a tweet from TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.

Blue Line Station had reported on the NHL alignment on November 21 when the first version of the proposed divisions had been released.

The big difference is that the Penguins are back in the East with Carolina moving to the Central  where Minnesota and St. Louis swapped places with the Blues now in the West.  Here is the new proposed alignment:

USA East Division:

• New York Rangers
• Boston Bruins
• Buffalo Sabres
• New Jersey Devils
• New York Islanders
• Philadelphia Flyers
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• Washington Capitals

Canadian Division

• Calgary Flames
• Edmonton Oilers
• Montreal Canadiens
• Ottawa Senators
• Toronto Maple Leafs
• Vancouver Canucks
• Winnipeg Jets

USA Central Division:

• Carolina Hurricanes
• Chicago Blackhawks
• Columbus Blue Jackets
• Detroit Red Wing
• Florida Panthers
• Minnesota Wild
• Nashville Predators,
• Tampa Bay Lightning

USA West Division

• Anaheim Duck
• Arizona Coyotes
• Colorado Avalanche
• Dallas Stars
• Los Angeles Kings
• St. Louis Blues
• San Jose Sharks,
• Vegas Golden Knights

How it affects the Rangers

The difference in quality between these division is radical with the Rangers’ division the strongest in the new NHL by points percentage from last season:

USA East Division:    .596
USA Central Division:  .553
Canada Division:  .541
USA West Division:  .537

Four of the eight teams in the NHL with a points percentage over .600 will be in the same division as the Rangers. Three will be in the West and one in the Central with none in the Canadian division.

Here are the points percentages for the teams in the Rangers’ division and where they stood overall in the NHL:

1. Boston Bruins      .714
5.  Washington Capitals .652
6. Philadelphia Flyers  .645
7. Pittsburgh Penguins  .623
11. New York Islanders   .588
18. New York Rangers   .564
25. New Jersey Devils  .493
26. Buffalo Sabres   .493

That’s a loaded division with Buffalo arguably the most improved team in the NHL this off-season.   If the NHL doesn’t go with an expanded playoff or wild card scenario, even the Islanders wouldn’t make the playoffs based on last year’s finishes.

The other divisions are much clearer with Tampa getting a free pass to the playoffs in the Central and the top four teams in the West seemingly set as Colorado, Dallas, St.Louis and Vegas.

More complications

The level of competition is not the only problem, it’s also the schedule.  The league is looking at playing as many as 60 games, beginning on January 13.   Most important, the teams will only be playing teams in their own division.  

That means the Rangers will have a diet of the top teams in the NHL with only a brief respite when they play the Devils.  Even those games aren’t easy considering the heightened competitiveness that comes from the cross river rivalry.

Some good news

It’s not all bad news.  The Rangers actually played pretty well last seasons against teams in the USA East.  Although they did the best against the teams in the new USA Central, their second best record was against the teams they might be facing this season.

Here’s how the Rangers did against the teams in this new alignment:

USA East         15-11-1   .574
USA Central       8-3-1    .708
USA West           7-5-3    .566
Canada                7-9-0    .437

If the Rangers can play the same way and the NHL opens up the playoffs to either an expanded lineup and continues with a wild card format of some kind, the Blueshirts have a shot at the postseason.

The simple fact is that the teams in the East will be beating each other up all season and it’s unlikely that any team will be able to get that much over the .500 mark, unlike the other divisions with much weaker teams.

Perhaps the best news for Ranger fans is that with this alignment we will see a season full of bitter rivalry games with every match up presenting its own reason for significance.

Every team in the new USA East has their own set of challenges and it should make for a highly competitive and entertaining season.  In the eyes of many, it’s better to have to beat the best to be the best and that will certainly be the case for the teams that make it out of the USA East division.

One suggestion.  The names of these divisions are pretty lame and in some cases make no sense.  Why not a throwback to the old names and call them the Patrick, Adams, Norris and Smythe Divisions with the conferences called Campbell and Wales?  It would be retro and fun and give younger fans a taste of NHL history.

This new alignment was presented on a call with the NHL Board of Governors on Wednesday.   A vote on the new season should be sometime next week.   Please note that this alignment is not final and could be subject to change based on feedback from the owners.   Stay tuned.