Seattle Expansion Bid Impact On The Toronto Maple Leafs

Northern Conference

In the Northern Conference, my idea is to build four different divisions. These divisions include Northwest, Midwest, Northeast and North Central.

The Northwest Division would be comprised of the Vancouver Canucks, the Edmonton Oilers, the Calgary Flames and the Seattle Expansion team. I think it makes the most sense to pair Seattle with Vancouver as they are in close proximity to each other. Also, I wouldn’t be able to separate the Canucks from the Oilers or the Flames due to their strong rivalries.

The Minnesota Wild, the Winnipeg Jets, the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights would make up the Midwest Division. Based on geography, the Avalanche, the Jets and the Wild are the most northern teams in the West. So, it made the most sense to put them in the same division.

You might be pondering why the Vegas Golden Knights are in the division.

That was a tough call for me. I thought that Vegas made the most sense even though the San Jose Sharks are more northern than Las Vegas because Vegas doesn’t have many rivalries to date while the Sharks do. The Sharks have a strong rivalry with the Los Angeles Kings and it’d be extremely difficult to separate the two clubs.

North Central and Northeast

The North Central Division would be comprised of the Buffalo Sabres, the Detroit Red Wings, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Columbus Blue Jackets. This division would be great for the Chicago and Detroit rivalry, which has quieted down in the last few seasons since Detroit moved to the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately the North Central Division at the same time harms another rivalry between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. But, I had difficulty finding another “central team” to add to the division based on geography. However, the good news is that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Sabres will definitely see each other a few times throughout the regular season. The Blue Jackets are the last team in the division and it made the most sense for the Blue Jackets to join Chicago’s division as the two teams have been involved in major blockbuster trades in the past years.

I saved the best for last. The Northeast Division.

I couldn’t separate the Toronto Maple Leafs from current division foes, the Montreal Canadiens, the Ottawa Senators and the Boston Bruins. How could I? There is so much history between the Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Canadiens and the Bruins, the Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs and I could go on and on. If you separate some or all of these teams, then you end up ruining the sport itself.