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Seattle Expansion Bid Impact On The Toronto Maple Leafs

By Josh Tessler

MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 17: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman addresses the media at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal Luncheon during the NHL Centennial 100 Celebration at Hotel Bonaventure on November 17, 2017 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/NHLI via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - NOVEMBER 17: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman addresses the media at the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal Luncheon during the NHL Centennial 100 Celebration at Hotel Bonaventure on November 17, 2017 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Impact On The Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs
CHICAGO, IL – JUNE 24: General manager Lou Lamoriello of the Toronto Maple Leafs looks on during the 2017 NHL Draft at United Center on June 24, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /

The biggest impact for the Toronto Maple Leafs would a re-alignment.

If you look at the current Western Conference, there are eight teams in the Pacific Division and seven teams in the Central Division.

Yes, you could technically just add the Seattle team to the Pacific. But  it would be challenging to move one team from the Pacific to the Central Division due to geographical reasons.

With the addition of a new team, bringing the league to 32, I think it would be a great time to consider a realignment. I would like to replace the Eastern and Western Conferences with  Northern and Southern Conferences.

The Maple Leafs are no strangers to realignment, having switched from the Western Conference to the Eastern Conference in 1998.  It never really made any sense to have the Leafs in the West and it’s crazy to think they played there for so long.

Though the current make up is better than it was, the Leafs still have to play in Florida a lot, which is a pretty long road trip.  A change to a North South setup would vastly improve the Leafs travel schedule.

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