Like the NFL, there's a clear point in which implementing it would've made sense. That's the 1967-68 expansion which saw the size of the league double, from the long-standing six teams to twelve. The league even put all six teams in a different division, and most were much weaker for many years.
Details after the jump.
I tried to use the same number of playoff teams one conference would have. And, I tried to have three teams going up and down each season, though it wasn't possible for the earliest years.
As with the NFL previous post, I picked the playoff teams via the best records (tiebreakers: head to head, then goal differential). Then, of the playoff teams, the ones who went the furthest in real life were recorded as champions and runners up. If two teams went to the same round, then the same tiebreakers were applied.
STANLEY CUP CHANGES
Only four champions ended up being different. They are 1991 Pittsburgh, 1994 NY Rangers, 2006 Carolina, and 2007 Anaheim. Respectively, they were replaced by Boston, New Jersey, Ottawa, and Ottawa.
Here's the full list of different finalists. With pro/rel is on the left, and real life is on the right:
| 1968 | Montreal | vs | Boston | Montreal | vs | Saint Louis | |
| 1970 | Boston | vs | Chicago | Boston | vs | Saint Louis | |
| 1991 | Boston | vs | Edmonton | Pittsburgh | vs | Minnesota | |
| 1994 | New Jersey | vs | Toronto | NY Rangers | vs | Vancouver | |
| 1996 | Colorado | vs | Detroit | Colorado | vs | Florida | |
| 1998 | Detroit | vs | Dallas | Detroit | vs | Washington | |
| 2002 | Detroit | vs | Toronto | Detroit | vs | Carolina | |
| 2003 | New Jersey | vs | Ottawa | New Jersey | vs | Anaheim | |
| 2004 | Tampa Bay | vs | Philadelphia | Tampa Bay | vs | Calgary | |
| 2006 | Ottawa | vs | New Jersey | Carolina | vs | Edmonton | |
| 2007 | Ottawa | vs | Buffalo | Anaheim | vs | Ottawa |
Why did each finalist miss out?
In second division:
1968 Saint Louis
1991 Pittsburgh
1991 Minnesota
1994 New York Rangers
1996 Florida
1998 Washington
2002 Carolina
2003 Anaheim
2004 Calgary
2006 Carolina
2006 Edmonton
2007 Anaheim
Didn't qualify for playoffs:
1970 Saint Louis (relegated)
1994 Vancouver (relegated)
YEARS IN EACH DIVISON
| PCT | 1st | 2nd | Playoffs | ||
| 1 | Boston Bruins | 86.05% | 37 | 6 | 31 |
| 2 | Montreal Canadiens | 83.72% | 36 | 7 | 26 |
| 3 | Buffalo Sabres | 72.50% | 29 | 11 | 19 |
| 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | 72.09% | 31 | 12 | 26 |
| 5 | Colorado Avalanche | 64.52% | 20 | 11 | 15 |
| 6 | Calgary Flames | 60.53% | 23 | 15 | 13 |
| 7 | Detroit Red Wings | 60.47% | 26 | 17 | 20 |
| 7 | New York Rangers | 60.47% | 26 | 17 | 13 |
| 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | 55.81% | 24 | 19 | 11 |
| 10 | New Jersey Devils | 55.56% | 20 | 16 | 16 |
| 11 | Saint Louis Blues | 53.49% | 23 | 20 | 11 |
| 12 | Washington Capitals | 52.78% | 19 | 17 | 13 |
| 13 | Ottawa Senators | 50.00% | 9 | 9 | 6 |
| 14 | Dallas Stars | 48.84% | 21 | 22 | 13 |
| 14 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 48.84% | 21 | 22 | 11 |
| 16 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 46.51% | 20 | 23 | 5 |
| 17 | Edmonton Oilers | 45.16% | 14 | 17 | 9 |
| 18 | New York Islanders | 44.74% | 17 | 21 | 13 |
| 19 | San Jose Sharks | 42.11% | 8 | 11 | 6 |
| 20 | Nashville Predators | 41.67% | 5 | 7 | 2 |
| 21 | Minnesota Wild | 40.00% | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| 22 | Los Angeles Kings | 37.21% | 16 | 27 | 7 |
| 23 | Anaheim Ducks | 35.29% | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| 24 | Vancouver Canucks | 35.00% | 14 | 26 | 5 |
| 25 | Phoenix Coyotes | 25.81% | 8 | 23 | 1 |
| 26 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 22.22% | 4 | 14 | 1 |
| 27 | Carolina Hurricanes | 19.35% | 6 | 25 | 2 |
| 28 | Florida Panthers | 17.65% | 3 | 14 | 1 |
| 29 | Cleveland Barons | 8.33% | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| 30 | Atlanta Thrashers | 0.00% | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 30 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 0.00% | 0 | 10 | 0 |
The Cleveland Barons were one of the 1967 expansion teams, which folded in 1978 - the last team in the "big four" leagues to do so.
Interesting to see a team like Toronto with 20 ears in the first division, but only 5 playoff appearances. As somebody who doesn't follow hockey too closely, I'm surprised to see Buffalo so high. I guess they're like the Phoenix Suns of the NBA; almost always good but never great (I've done the other leagues already).
MOST CONSECUTIVE YEARS IN D1/D2
The longest lengths of time spent in division one (bold means a current streak):
| Years | First | Last | |
| Boston Bruins | 30 | 1968 | 1997 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 18 | 1993 | 2011 |
| New Jersey Devils | 18 | 1993 | 2011 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 17 | 1968 | 1984 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 16 | 1974 | 1989 |
| Saint Louis Blues | 14 | 1992 | 2006 |
| Washington Capitals | 14 | 1984 | 1997 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 13 | 1974 | 1986 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 13 | 1996 | 2009 |
| Dallas Stars | 11 | 1998 | 2009 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 11 | 1983 | 1993 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 11 | 1996 | 2007 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 11 | 1992 | 2002 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 10 | 1986 | 1995 |
Boston had that really long playoff streak, and they easily top this category.
The longest lengths of time spent in division two:
| Years | First | Last | |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 14 | 1992 | 2006 |
| New Jersey Devils | 14 | 1975 | 1988 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 13 | 1975 | 1987 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 13 | 1981 | 1993 |
| Atlanta Thrashers | 11 | 2000 | 2011 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 11 | 1993 | 2003 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 10 | 2001 | 2011 |
| San Jose Sharks | 10 | 1992 | 2001 |
Some expansion pains here.
2011 DIVISION ALIGNMENTS
Here's how two divisions would look for the current, almost finished 2010-11 season. The number represents the current consecutive number of years in the division.
NHL-1
| Anaheim Ducks | 4 |
| Boston Bruins | 2 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 5 |
| Calgary Flames | 6 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 2 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 18 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 1 |
| Nashville Predators | 5 |
| New Jersey Devils | 18 |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 3 |
| Phoenix Coyotes | 1 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 4 |
| San Jose Sharks | 6 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 1 |
| Washington Capitals | 2 |
NHL-1
| Atlanta Thrashers | 11 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 4 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 2 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 10 |
| Dallas Stars | 2 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 6 |
| Florida Panthers | 9 |
| Minnesota Wild | 1 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 1 |
| New York Islanders | 5 |
| New York Rangers | 1 |
| Ottawa Senators | 2 |
| Saint Louis Blues | 5 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 3 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 3 |
For the current season, it looks as though New Jersey, Buffalo, and Calgary will likely be relegated. The three promoted teams would come out of these four: Tampa Bay, Montreal, NY Rangers, and Dallas.
YEAR BY YEAR CHART
Orange = promoted
Blue = relegated
Green = playoffs
This should be a better reflection of reality than the NFL, who didn't play many inter-conference games. But one interesting thing is, for most teams until the more recent expansions, either you made the playoffs or were relegated.
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