NEW YORK, NY – The Blue Jackets will become part of the NHL’s Eastern Conference, now that the league’s Board of Governors has approved a realignment plan proposed last month.
The NHL Players Association gave it the green light last week and the Board’s favorable nod will put the plan into effect for the 2013-14 season.
The plan calls for four divisions, grouped primarily on geographic proximity, while retaining the names for both the Eastern and Western Conferences.
The Blue Jackets – currently the easternmost team in the Western Conference – moves to the East and joins Carolina, New Jersey, both New York franchises, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington in the Atlantic Division.
The East’s other division will feature Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Florida and Tampa Bay.
One division in the Western Conference will include Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis and Winnipeg, while the other will consist of Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, San Jose, Los Angeles and Phoenix.
The Stanley Cup playoffs will still feature eight teams from each conference, but the top three teams from each division will qualify, along with two wild cards — the teams with the two highest point totals, regardless of division.