The NHL is all about division rivalries. That’s why each team plays six games a season against division opponents, 24 total. That familiarity helps foster some serious hatred.
But since the NHL adopted this format in the late 1990s it’s never really worked well for the Capitals. Instead of games against traditional Patrick Division rivals like the Flyers, Penguins and Rangers, Washington was banished to the Southeast Division in 1999 with four southern teams with whom it had no connection (Tampa Bay, Carolina, Atlanta, Florida).
Rivalries eventually blossomed over the years. But games against those teams still lack the buzz the Penguins, Flyers or Rangers generate.
Well, we’re about to take things to a new level. The Atlanta Thrashers, according to multiple reports, are on the verge of moving to Winnipeg. That’s in Manitoba, Canada. Who cares? The Caps might because — given uncertainties about the teams in Phoenix and Long Island — the league is leaning toward holding off on realignment for a year. That would leave Washington with three road games against a division rival 1,560 miles away.
