NHL Realigns to Form a 4 Team Conference

The NHL has approved a league realignment that will drastically alter the way the NHL looks, and how the format of the playoffs will work.  The major change in the realignment means teams will now play a home-and-home series with every other NHL team.  It also means, that teams will cut down on their cross country trips come the post season.

Dan Rosen of NHL.com had the following to say about the realignment:
In the seven-team conferences, teams would play six times -- three home, three away. In the eight-team Conferences, teams would play either five or six times in a season on a rotating basis; three teams would play each other six times and four teams would play each other five times. This process would reverse each season: An eight-team Conference member that plays an opponent six times in one season would play it five times the following season.