Realigned divisions for 2021 season seem to align the league better geographically. Starting with the North containing only Canadian teams, the West containing all western teams with the exception of STL, the East with 3 New York state teams, BOS, WAS and 2 Pennsylvania teams. The Central is a little wonky (yes, that is a technical term) with FLA, TBL and CAR who could be in the East.

My opinion...I like the new divisions. Detriot, Nashville and Chicago become rivals again and there is a built in rivalry with the Lightning because of the playoffs the last two seasons. The CBJ fans will always enjoy watching the match-ups against Bob too. Tampa and Dallas would be the obvious choice for the top two in the division, but then the rest is wide open, except for DET, not sure they are going to be much better this year.

While the NHL states that these are temporary, I believe these just might stick. Doing the math, Seattle could be placed in the North or the West. Being so close to the border, playing in the Canadian division could make the most sense. But, putting them in the West would mean moving STL to the Central (making more geographic sense) and putting Detroit into the Canadian division by close proximity to the border as well.

In 2021 the first two rounds of the playoffs with be inter-divisional as the top 4 teams in each division will make the playoffs. Each division will get a 'Final 4' team. This would guarantee a Canadian team in the semi-final round every year, but would allow for only one Canadian team as well. The same is true for any other division as well, but in particular this could be appealing for the Canadian market, or not if there are two great Canadian teams.

The Schedule was also recently released. I like that, for the most part, you play a team twice before moving on to the next team. They are not back-to-back games, but a kind of mini-series. The compression of the schedule also bodes well for the Jackets who have two goalies that will truly work as a tandem this season.

I'm pretty sure all these games will be played in empty stadiums as a COVID vaccine isn't going to be widespread until June. This takes away any real home-ice advantage that a team could gain from the crowd's energy. Not sure how much of a factor that will play in the season results, but will certainly be a change.

We are little over 2 weeks from the start of the season and PLD remains unsigned. Anyone else worried? He was pivotal for the offense in the playoffs. This late in the game he isn't replaceable. Starting the season with him unsigned would be detrimental to team cohesion and the CBJ playoff hopes. Maybe he is refusing to wear those red retro jerseys. I joke, but man, those things are bad...

Good Luck, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and GO JACKETS! (and stay safe)

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