An article by a Tampa Bay blogger on HockeyBuzz http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Michael-Stuart/The-South-Least-Just-Got-a-Whole-Lot-Better/173/47407 suggests the Canes are the most improved team in the Southeast conference. But will the southeast conference ever exist again?

Were the ongoing contract negotiations to be successful, what would a 70 game season look like? Is there any need to keep the current organizational alignment of 2 conferences of 3 divisions for the shortened season? We know the NHL wants realignment, and the NHLPA wants to be part of the process. Could that be part of the final steps of the current negotiations? Would another set of divisions or conferences be more suitable for the shortened season? Would the last minute rescheduling process become easier and have more parity with different alignments within conferences or different conferences all together? Would the elimination of coast to coast road trips be useful to more efficiently use the time left till April/May playoffs have to begin? Can the new conference alignments create some marketing buzz to re-exite fans? Daydreaming about hockey starting Dec. 1 is still pure fantasy, but the fantasy exists and filling that fantasy with games helps get through the waiting. The current situation seems to strongly suggest the new realignment comes sooner rather than later. Any thoughts on this?