By Jay Zawaski-

Late Monday night, the NHL’s Board of Directors voted in to action a brand new NHL alignment.  The 30 teams will be divided into four (yet unnamed) conferences.

Conference A : Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Jose, Vancouver

Conference B : Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, Winnipeg

Conference C : Boston, Buffalo, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Toronto

Conference D : Carolina, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington

The teams in Conferences A and B (the eight team conferences) will play either five or six times in a season on a rotating basis — for a total of 38 inter-conference games.

The teams in Conferences C and D (the seven team conferences) will play six times — three home, three away — for a total of 36 inter-conference games.

Perhaps the best news is the fact that every team will play every other team twice a season…once at home, once on the road.  That means, every year, every Original Six team will be in the United Center.

For the rest of Jay’s column from Red Light District, please click here.