While some coaches might be losing sleep over the NHL's realignment, the Detroit Red Wings are counting on more shut-eye because they're finally in a conference with teams in their time zone.
"I'm thrilled," Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard said. "We can actually sleep in our own beds."
The move of the Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference and the Winnipeg Jets from the East to the West was the primary component of the league's first major realignment since 1998.
The odd twist of the fresh NHL setup is that it features two eight-team divisions in the Eastern Conference and two seven-team divisions in the Western Conference. Eight teams will still qualify for the playoffs in each conference, meaning that, statistically, it is easier to qualify in the West.
"If you deserve to make the playoffs, you will make the playoffs," Philadelphia Flyers center Claude Giroux said. "That's how you have to look at it."
For added spice, the league is introducing a new schedule matrix that ensures every team will play every other team both at home and away. Plus, the league has gone back to a divisional playoff format with wild-card teams.
"In terms of how it will play out, I'm not sure," Nashville Predators general manager David Poile said. "It is going to be different. That's all we know for sure."
Realignment was necessary because the Atlanta Thrashers moved to Winnipeg in 2011-12. The Jets were playing in the Southeast Division with the two Florida teams plus the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals. The league simply could have done a one-for-one swap with Winnipeg and another team but chose the more-radical approach of going from six divisions to four.
The Red Wings, Blue Jackets and Jets now are playing more within their own time zones.
"I think everyone's excited about it first and foremost from a travel standpoint," Jets forward Blake Wheeler said. "(We are) staying a little more centrally located instead of having to take a three-hour plane ride to come out East. I think the travel wears on you a little bit."
The Red Wings had long lobbied for the move because of the travel issue. Plus, the team thought its fans were hurt because too many of its televised road games started at 10 p.m. ET or later.
"It's less than an hour flight to six or seven teams in our conference now," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "This is going to be less wear and tear on our players. It used to be we had travel days where you would lose three hours and then you would have a five-hour flight."
The Red Wings are in the Atlantic Division with fellow Original Six franchises the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs plus the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators.
Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher thinks Detroit's arrival, coupled with the change in the playoff format, will make it harder to reach the postseason.
"But the positive side is that it is probably going to make for a very exciting regular season," Gallagher said. "The divisional games are going to be very intense, and they will mean a lot."
Original Six reunion
Although the Original Six era ended in 1967, the idea of reuniting four of those teams is creating excitement among players and fans.
"I think you have to respect the reason you are here," Gallagher said. "And a lot of that reason are the guys who played before us, and that dates all the way back to the Original Six."
There seems to be a leaguewide curiosity about how the Red Wings will fare in the East.
Generally, the East has been viewed as a physical conference and the West has been considered a skating conference. The Red Wings have made the playoffs for 22 consecutive seasons, and they are viewed by some as the New York Yankees of the NHL.
"Detroit certainly represents what the West has been all about in terms of skill and speed and not physicality," Poile said. "We will have to see how they match up."
Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards isn't concerned about whether there is any difference between conferences because he expects different challenges no matter which team he is facing.
"I'm looking at our team and how we perfect our game. It's about being better at what we do," Richards said. "As I've told people, do you want to play the Boston Bruins or L.A. Kings? They both play a real tight-checking style. They are both big teams. Do you want to play the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Chicago Blackhawks? They are both offensively gifted and they both pose problems, and they are in different conferences."
Wheeler says he thinks the Jets will face adjustments playing in the West.
"I think our style of play is a little bit different than what's a prototypical Western team," Wheeler said. "We're going to have to adapt a little bit, and that's going to take a little bit of time.
"But overall it's going to be exciting."
Unbalanced conferences
Initially, the NHL Players' Association protested the realignment plan, primarily on the grounds that players in one conference had less of a chance to make the playoffs than those in the other conference.
NHL officials don't think the difference in the number of teams is significant because the eighth team in the conference is generally out of the race anyway.
"If you were doing a simple coin flip in between matchups, it would make a statistical difference," Commissioner Gary Bettman has said. "But as a practical matter, we don't think it does."
This is not the first time in league history there have been more teams in one division than in another. From 1982-83 to 1990-91, the old Patrick Division had six teams while the other three divisions had five.
"We managed to work our way through that," Bettman said. "It wasn't an issue."
After the lockout ended, the NHLPA dropped its objection to the unbalanced conferences.
One reason it might have given up the fight is that the league at some point is expected to expand to 32 teams and balance out the conferences.
TEAMS' RECORD VS. NEW CONFERENCES
However, the NHL has no formal expansion in the works.
The new setup also has the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks in the same division with the three California teams and the Phoenix Coyotes.
"My thoughts are that, when you play in Calgary, spending more time in California in the winter is a welcome," Flames winger Mike Cammalleri said. "I think this is going to be good. I think it's exciting for players to get around the league and exciting for fans. It makes sense."
Wild cards
An element of mystery has been added to the season, because no one quite knows how the wild card will work.
Under the current league rules, the top three teams from each division are guaranteed a spot, plus the teams with the next two best records.
That means five teams could make the postseason from the Metropolitan Division and only three from the Atlantic.
Initially, it could be confusing for fans to sort through the playoff permutations.
"But it's like baseball's wild card," Hurricanes center Eric Staal said. "If you think about it, you can figure it out. I think it will be similar in hockey."
Players don't think it will take long for fans to embrace the new rivalries, especially since the first two rounds of the postseason would be division play.
"Usually rivalries are born out of a playoff series," Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp said. "Minnesota-Chicago had been pretty tame in the regular season and then we played them five games in the playoffs and there is something there now."
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