Three teams that will benefit and three teams that will suffer from NHL realignment
Potential realignment in the NHL will be both a blessing and a curse.
While we await news on when the 2020-21 NHL season will start, it appears almost certain that we will get some kind of realignment due to the ongoing complications caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic.
It also looks like that we will get an all-Canadian Division for the year due to the current border issues, and that has the potential to be a lot of fun given that the likes of the Montreal Canadiens and the Calgary Flames seriously retooled during the offseason.
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There are multiple incarnations out there on what realignment could look like, but we’ll stick with Greg Wyshynski of ESPN, who did some digging and came up with this:
Canada: Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets.
East: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals.
Central: Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning.
West: Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights.
Those new-look divisions are designed to reduce travel as much as possible in 2020-21 while allowing teams to play in their own buildings, with the NHL hoping that fans will be able to return at some point next year.
While it does has its downsides, as we explained here with the great Penguins – Flyers rivalry split up, realignment should give us some tasty matchups if it shapes out how Greg Wyshynski has envisioned it.
However, as is the case with most things, it will work out better for some than it will for others, and we have decided to take a look at the three teams that will benefit the most from Division realignment, and the three teams that will suffer the most.
Let’s delve right in…
Teams that will benefit
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
It is the hope that kills you.
If any fanbase in the National Hockey League can truly relate to that statement, then it is the Toronto Maple Leafs who enter every season with the Stanley Cup firmly on their mind, only to be bitterly disappointed.
Despite having assembled enough firepower to sink a small fleet of battleships, the Leafs just can’t seem to get out of their own way, or out of the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
However, having retooled somewhat during the offseason by adding some much-needed grit to their lineup, 2020-21 could be different for the Maple Leafs and, if it is, then it could have a lot to do with the new-look division they will be in.
As mentioned above, it looks almost certain that we will have an all-Canadian Division for the 2020-21 NHL season and, if that is indeed the case, then it should benefit Toronto more than most.
After all, they boast a roster laden with offensive talent and star power with the likes of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and John Tavares all elite players.
Throw in Morgan Rielly on the backend coupled with the fact that Wayne Simmonds, T.J. Brodie and Zach Bogosian will give them a bit more of a sandpaper finish, then this team is good enough to make a deep run.
And, in an all-Canadian Division, they have the opportunity to really run the table against teams like the Ottawa Senators who are in rebuild mode. Granted, they still have to go up against Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, not to mention Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames teams that have both improved, but the Maple Leafs won’t have to go up against the likes of the Tampa Bay Lightning or rivals the Boston Bruins, and they should use that as motivation to claim the crown as Kings of Canada and secure a top seed for the Playoffs.
Teams that will benefit.
2. Edmonton Oilers
We’re sticking in the all-Canadian Division for now.
While I think that the Toronto Maple Leafs have all the firepower and all the weapons needed to separate themselves in such a division, the Edmonton Oilers won’t be too far behind.
First and foremost, they will be taken away from a Pacific Division that boasts the powerhouse Vegas Golden Knights, who only got better this offseason after signing elite defenseman Alex Pietrangelo in Free Agency.
Granted, the Maple Leafs are loaded and the Montreal Canadiens also significantly improved this offseason, getting vastly tougher following the additions of players in the ilk of Josh Anderson, while they also added a scoring punch in winger Tyler Toffoli.
However, the Oilers have one of the best players in the game in Connor McDavid, and arguably another one who belongs in the top five in Leon Draisaitl, who is coming off his second consecutive 100+ point season.
Also, McDavid is no doubt going to be playing with a chip on his shoulder in 2020-21 after suffering yet more Playoff disappointment this past year, so expect a highly-motivated Edmonton Oilers team to make the most of being in an all-Canadian Division.
3. Boston Bruins
Is the window closing for this current Boston Bruins vintage?
With Torey Krug gone, the future of Captain Zdeno Chara still unclear and Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci both aging, you can make the argument that their Stanley Cup window is shrinking by the day.
However, they have one of the most explosive offensive threats in the NHL in winger David Pastrnak, who tallied a career-high 48 goals during the 2019-20 regular season, while there is enough depth and talent on this roster to ensure that the B’s will be contenders once again.
Plus, if realignment proves true and these proposed Divisions happen, then the Bruins won’t have to worry about having the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Montreal Canadiens in the same Division.
That is three huge opponents just gone and, while Boston would have to pit their wits against the Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders, not to mention a vastly improved New York Rangers team, they would still have one of the best rosters in the proposed East Division and should have enough talent and firepower to finish atop the East and pave the way for another deep postseason run.
Teams that will suffer
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins are a strange team and, in truth, the only reason they still garner any attention is because of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
As long as those two are still on the team and are still doing what they do best, then the Pittsburgh Penguins will always be considered contenders.
However, they have been a fading force for a couple of years now since their last Stanley Cup win in 2017 and, after finishing third in the Metro in 2019-20, they suffered a bitterly disappointing exit at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Playoffs Play-In Round.
And, after not really improving their roster during the offseason, the Pittsburgh Penguins now face the daunting prospect of being stuck in the same Division with heavyweights such as the St. Louis Blues and reigning Stanley Cup Champions the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Nashville Predators may have underperformed over the last couple of years but their roster is stacked, the Florida Panthers should be a much tougher out in 2020-21 and the Columbus Blue Jackets are no pushovers either.
While I will never, ever bet against or write off Sid The Kid, I can see the Penguins struggling to make the postseason if they end up in such a tough and loaded Central Division.
2. New York Rangers
There is no doubt that the New York Rangers are a team on a very rapid rise, especially after drafting generational talent Alexis Lafreniere with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
Adding Lafreniere to an already stupidly loaded and explosive group that includes Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Kaapo Kakko is a scary proposition for the rest of the NHL, while Adam Fox on the backend looks to be a very legitimate high-end offensive defenseman.
Igor Shesterkin looks to be the future in goal after the Rangers made the tough decision to move on from franchise icon Henrik Lundqvist during the offseason, who subsequently signed for the Washington Capitals.
However, as exciting as the Rangers are as a team and no matter how high their ceiling, they still have a couple of fatal flaws and are still probably a year or two away from being truly competitive.
Therefore, being put into the proposed East Division with the Washington Capitals, the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders is bad enough, without even considering the fact that they will now be joined by the Boston Bruins, who are still a true powerhouse when it comes to being Stanley Cup contenders.
The Buffalo Sabres, following the blockbuster offseason addition of winger Taylor Hall, should be a much better team in 2020-21 and the Carolina Hurricanes proved during the best-of-five Play-In series with the Rangers in the 2019-20 Stanley Cup Playoffs that toughness and experience still rules the day in the NHL.
The future is bright for the New York Rangers, but they might have to be prepared for a tough ride in the 2020-21 season.
3. New Jersey Devils
It was a tough ride for New Jersey Devils fans in 2019-20, who felt that the glory days might be on the cusp of a return after the franchise drafted stud center Jack Hughes with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
However, Hughes went through some growing pains during his rookie year, while Mackenzie Blackwood was the only real bright spot on a team that seriously punched below their weight after making some splashy offseason additions, including trading for defenseman P.K. Subban.
Throw in some good old-fashioned franchise disfunction, with Head Coach John Hynes and General Manager Ray Shero both losing their jobs, then it was a year to forget for the Devils.
But things don’t look like they are about to improve anytime soon.
While new General Manager Tom Fitzgerald did have a very good offseason by signing two-time Stanley Cup Champion goalie Corey Crawford and trading for defenseman Ryan Murray, the Devils could be stuck in a formidable East Division in 2020-21.
As we mapped out with the New York Rangers, the Boston Bruins will be added to a Division already featuring the Washington Capitals, the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders, while the Buffalo Sabres now have Taylor Hall to join forces with Jack Eichel.
Grading the Mikhail Sergachev deal. dark. Next
Therefore, the New Jersey Devils could well end up being the worst team in what is shaping up to be the toughest Division in all of hockey should the NHL go ahead with this proposed Realignment plan.
Sorry, Devils fans.