Players May Again Reject N.H.L. Realignment Plan For the second time in 14 months, the N.H.L. has drawn up a plan to realign its clubs and devise a new playoff format. It is quite possible that, for a second time, questions raised by the Players" Association will prevent its implementation. The league had hoped a new realignment and playoff format would be a fait acompli by now. "We are making progress on realignment, and our objective is to present something for the Board to consider before the end of the month," Bill Daly, the league's deputy commissioner, said in mid-February via e-mail. But that hasn't happened. Details of the new proposal leaked out last Saturday, along with word that the league had been working on a new plan in concert with the union. The league officially informed the clubs of the new plan three days later. The first plan, disclosed in December 2011 and championed by Commissioner Gary Bettman, was developed by the league unilaterally and arrived after much internal discussion. The rationale was to improve travel and address related problems with the current setup of two conferences of three divisions while enhancing existing rivalries. The current alignment is perceived to be unfair to five clubs: Dallas, Minnesota, Columbus, Detroit and Winnipeg. Winnipeg, which prompted realignment efforts upon its relocation from Atlanta in June 2011, still plays a Southeast Division-oriented schedule against teams from Tampa Bay, Sunrise, Fla., Raleigh, N.C. and Washington. Columbus and Detroit are the lone Eastern time zone teams playing in the Western Conference. In addition to increased travel for them, the later start times for most of their road games depresses their television ratings and the value of that property. The Red Wings have long been promised a move to an Eastern grouping, and the Blue Jackets ownership believes a move is necessary for the survival of the franchise, which is farther east than Detroit. Dallas is the only Central time zone team in the Pacific Division. Similarly, Minnesota is the only Central time zone resident of the Northwest Division. But the league developed its first plan without participation of the union, which subsequently objected. The union insisted that under the collective bargaining agreement, its consent was needed to implement the plan because it affected the terms and conditions of their employment. First, they said that the four-conference setup, with two eight-team groupings and two seven-team groupings, rendered the chances of making the playoffs more difficult for players in the eight-team conferences. Second, although part of the rationale was to ease travel leaguewide, it appeared to the union that travel would actually increase for some teams in the proposed Pacific and Central Conferences. The two sides entered discussions and the union requested sample schedules and travel information from the league, but the league said it could not provide them. The union also wanted to propose changes to playoff qualifications, and it said the league would not cooperate. Instead, the league set a deadline of Jan. 6 for the union to give its consent, and when it didn't, the plan was withdrawn, with Daly charging that the union had "unreasonably refused to approve a plan that an overwhelming majority of our clubs voted to support, and that has received such widespread support from our fans and other members of the hockey community, including players." It was something of a harbinger for the collective bargaining talks that began six months later and led to the lockout that erased this season's first three and a half months. This time, the league had been in talks on the new plan for nearly a month. It has worked on a slightly different framework, this time with two conferences, each with two divisions. The Eastern divisions each have eight clubs, the Western divisions have seven. Detroit and Columbus would move to the East, creating the imbalance. The league has tried to address the disparity with a new playoff format, the top three teams in each division qualifying, as well as two wild-card teams from each conference. But the imbalance between the East's 16 clubs and the West's 14 still troubles the union and, as of now, it is believed it will not agree. The N.H.L. is not expected to favor keeping either Detroit or Columbus in the West. TSN's Darren Dreger, after speaking to representatives of both sides, predicted late last week, "This could turn ugly before there's any sense of final approval." An additional problem, which the new plan does not address, could occur in the future, should the league expand or a team relocates. Right now, the only cities that might be prepared to accept a new or moved club would be Seattle; Quebec; and Markham, Ontario, all of which have advanced plans for arenas. The continuing uncertainty with the Phoenix Coyotes, could make them a candidate to move as soon as next season. Quebec could be the best landing spot, with the old Colisée still in place and a new arena in the works. But that would move a club from the 14-team West to the 16-team East.