OK, I’ve GOT IT!!!…here’s my new realignment scheme. Key features:

• Each Conference net-gains a team for a total of 32 teams.
• New teams would be Quebec in the East and either Seattle or Salt Lake City for the West  (Ha! Foiled you again, Balsillie!).
• NSH moves east to balance WPG going west.
• Each Conference made up of four (4) divisions of four (4) teams each.
• Each team plays the other 3 teams in their division 4 times.
• Each team plays each of the teams in the other conference twice.

• Each team plays each of the remaining teams in their own Conference three (3) times
• …plus two extra games played against a randomly selected out-of-division (out-of-conference?) opponent…
• …for a total of 82 regular season games.
• Playoff seeds 1-4 in each Conference go to the holder of the best record in each division, with seeds 5-8 going to the teams with the 5ht through 8th most standings points.
• Points also could be re-assessed, as follows:
  • REGULATION: Win = 3 Points; Loss = 0 Points
  • OVERTIME: Win = 2 Points; Loss = 1 Point; Tie = Both teams get 1 point.
    
  • Shootout is abolished and the OT period is 5-on-5 for 20 Minutes.

The Conferences and divisions would be aligned thus (The Division names are of course tentative):

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Gretzky Division

VAN
CGY
EDM
WPG

Niedermeyer Division

SEA/PHO
LAK
SJS
ANA

Sakic Division

COL
DAL
MIN
PHO/SLC

Howe Division

CHI
CBJ
DET
STL

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Richard Division

TOR
OTT
MTL
QUE

Orr Division

BOS
BUF
NYI
NYR

Clarke Division (Seriously, I thought Langway Division was a bit pretentious, and no ^&% way was I going to name it the “Lemieux Division”!

WAS
NJD
PHI
PIT

Yzerman Division (sorry, I was kind of at a loss)

TBL
FLA
CAR
NSH

Please discuss