How much do you hate the Southeast division?

[weepingminotaur]

NHL realignment can't come soon enough for me. Southeast division, YOU SUCK. Year after year. Your "division leader" would be in 8th place if playoff teams were only ranked according to points. Your division never sends more than one team to the playoffs. The Northeast right now has *four*. The only reason your division leader has any wins is because it gets to feed on the basement dwellers that comprise the rest of the division. Winning a division should only get you a playoff seed, not automatic top-three standing in the conference.

[Innis_Mor]

It gets worse, this year, Weep.

Leafs are lining themselves up to play the "winner" of that division, in the first round of the play-offs, and likely get themselves a free pass to round 2.

One of the reasons for the realignment, I thought; this SE division.

[hatethosebruins]

Weep correct me if I am wrong, but I get the idea that you do not like the Southeast Division?

[habs_93]

It's an absolute joke. Last year's "division champion" Panthers team was easily the worst playoff team of the last ten years. Massively huge negative goal differential. They won the division on shootout losses and a favourable schedule, not to mention the NHL's soft punishment against southern teams. This year's division isn't any better. I'd argue in fact that it's worse. At least in years prior there was a dominant team and four doormats. This year there's five doormats. Look at the combined record of Montreal and Boston against the Southeast this year. It's something like 18-0-1.

I tell you what, though, I can't wait to have the Florida teams in our new division. They're terrible, and have no easy ways to improve. They'll be bad for the next 2-3-4 years, which is convenient because that's a nice little window to start being dominant.

The Southleast is dead, long live the Southleast.

[weepingminotaur]

Weep correct me if I am wrong, but I get the idea that you do not like the Southeast Division?

What gave you that idea?

It's an absolute joke. Last year's "division champion" Panthers team was easily the worst playoff team of the last ten years. Massively huge negative goal differential. They won the division on shootout losses and a favourable schedule, not to mention the NHL's soft punishment against southern teams. This year's division isn't any better. I'd argue in fact that it's worse. At least in years prior there was a dominant team and four doormats. This year there's five doormats. Look at the combined record of Montreal and Boston against the Southeast this year. It's something like 18-0-1.

I tell you what, though, I can't wait to have the Florida teams in our new division. They're terrible, and have no easy ways to improve. They'll be bad for the next 2-3-4 years, which is convenient because that's a nice little window to start being dominant.

The Southleast is dead, long live the Southleast.

Yeah, really. Can't wait to have a perennial loser like Florida to pad our record. Heck, with the number of Quebecers living in Florida, it's like we added home games to our schedule!

[HabsRuleForever]

This division sucks. The "winner" of this division will be third & get home ice advantage in the first round. which is nonsense.

[kinot-1]

I don't hate them,,,,,,,,,,,,to me,,they are just there,,of no consquence.

[THEBIGGESTHABSFAN123]

We wouldn't be saying this if we were 6th.

[powerplay2009]

I hate the southeast division, but the worst is the division 1-2-3 rule is terrible. But I think this problem is made to be a bigger problem than it actually is, especially in relation to the Southeast. Just look at every season since the 04-05 lockout:

2006: Atlantic winner Devils get the 3 seed. Would have retained home ice with the 4 seed otherwise.

2007: Southeast winner Atlanta gets the 3 seed, would have been the 5 seed.

2008: Southeast winner Washington gets 3 seed. Would have been 6 seed. They are the only team from the Southeast in the playoffs.

2009: The rule didn't even come into play.

2010: Northeast winner Buffalo gets the 3 seed. Would have had home ice with the 4 seed anyway. Washington is the only team from the Southeast in the playoffs.

2011: Northeast winner Boston gets 3 seed, would have had the 5 seed.

2012: Florida gets 3 seed when they should have the 6 seed.

2013: You all know whats going on.

So the rule has disrupted seeding all but 1 year. If they even changed it so as to even just guarantee division winners home ice, only 3 years would see different matchups than without the rule, just having home ice switched in 2 of those years.

As for the southeast? They have been the problem 4 out of the 7 years, and there will have been 3 years after this year, barring some kind of insanity at the end of this season, where only 1 team makes it from that division, bolstered largely by having 24 games guaranteed to be against the basement of the league. What a disgrace.

[MergenTatara]

It's ok to retain the Southeast Division. But in non-core hockey markets, one has to question whether it's necessary for 1 state to have 2 or more franchises.

For example, is it necessary for Florida to support 2 teams? I'd rather they consolidate. Scrap the Panthers who are struggling financially and keep Lightning as the only team.