Rumour: Another NHL realignment coming next season?

The National Hockey League’s all-Canadian North Division is off to a roaring start and people have noticed. Because of restrictions at the United States-Canada border caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the NHL realigned its divisions for this season. The North Division features the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Jets and Vancouver Canucks. 

And fans and people across the league are loving it! 

“I can’t say I’m at all surprised,” Winnipeg Jets executive chairman Mark Chipman said Sunday to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. “Part of the reason I’m not surprised is that our teams have fans not just in our own markets. Like there’s a lot of Winnipeg Jets fans in Toronto, there’s a lot of Jets fans in Alberta and in British Columbia. And the Leafs and Habs have fans all across the country, right? I’m not overly surprised that the interest is very high.”

What might be surprising is that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has noticed. And is even considering keeping the all-Canadian division in the future. 

“We recognize that, under the circumstances, this season’s divisional alignment has generated a great deal of interest and excitement,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said via email over the weekend. “We will evaluate the experience and try to determine what we might apply going forward.”

While Bettman might have mentioned in the past in was a temporary change, it sounds like its popularity and the money it is making the league could have changed the commissioner’s mind. However, he will need to consider the impact such a change could have on the rest of the alignment. 

“It can’t be a good thing when not a single U.S. TV market gets Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews locally this year. I know there are no fans in the stands for the most part, but I mean on their local TV broadcast even.”

The NHL will have to consider the addition of the Seattle Kraken in the realignment next season nonetheless, but Bettman, for the first time, did not shut down the all-Canadian angle. 

We will keep a close eye on this…