Divisional Divisions

Some Canadian newspaper takes the above wild guess at how the NHL will redraw its divisional map next summer, now that the Atlanta Thrashers (seriously, why didn't they just call them the Crackers? It's a little less awful.) have moved slightly north of Minnesota to become the second Winnipeg Jets.

While this theory has some advantages, it doesn't totally leverage them, from a Capitals perspective. Basically, this map puts all the league's eggs in the basket of the "East Division," with every team in that division a consistent competitor and frequent contender except for Toronto, who have won enough in the past that they still get plenty of attention whatever they do.

The obnoxiously mis-named "South Division," which includes both New York teams, is basically the Southeast division again, in that it is the sole and automatic property of the Washington Capitals. With the Capitals poised to contend for the Stanley Cup for the next several years, it seems somewhat foolish not to leverage the marketing power of Ovechkin in any hockey markets besides New York and Washington.

On top of that, in the United States, "The South" refers to a part of the country that went to war with the rest of the country because it thought it was okay for people to buy, sell and abuse (or, thrash) other people. Washington was actually the capital of "The North" and New York was the biggest industrial city in "The North." So, suggesting that these two cities anchor "The South" shows that the author of this picture has never actually heard of the United States.

On the other hand, under a different name, this divisional could be great for the Caps. With the implied return to a divisional playoff format, the Caps would only have to beat the Rangers and Tampa Bay each year to make it to the third round, while all but one of the Flyers, Penguins and Red Wings would take care of each other. Ovechkin and co. could basically idle until the last eight to fourteen games of each season.