Eventually, the NHL will expand to 33 teams, then 34. It will force the American Hockey League to expand as well. The first question is where? Which cities make sense for the AHL? For more on that, check out the link below. 

The other question is whether the AHL realigns the divisions, especially with an uneven number of teams in all four divisions. The Atlantic and Central have seven teams, while the Pacific has 10. 

When the Bridgeport Islanders relocated and became the Hamilton Hammers, they moved from the Atlantic to the North. So, it’s certainly something the league will consider in the upcoming years, even before the inevitable expansion. 

One option that was pitched was moving the Grand Rapids Griffins into the Eastern Conference. This would create an instant rivalry with the Cleveland Monsters while also adding the Detroit Red Wings AHL affiliate to a division with their NHL rivals, notably the Toronto Maple Leafs (Marlies), Montreal Canadiens (Laval Rocket), and Buffalo Sabres (Rochester Americans). 

Moving the Monsters into the Central Division makes more sense. It takes a team that’s already in the Midwest and puts them in the division with the rest of the Midwestern teams, including the Griffins, Chicago Wolves, Milwaukee Admirals, and Rockford IceHogs. 

Cleveland is already on an island from a travel standpoint. The closest team in their division is over 250 miles away in the Rochester Americans, while everyone else is over 300 miles away. So, this groups them with the rest of the Central Division teams while also balancing out the divisions (the conferences, not so much). 

With seven teams in the Atlantic and eight in the North, moving the Utica Comets would balance things out. This is something the AHL can keep in mind in case a 33rd team is located in the North Division. It breaks up the Upstate New York trio but Utica is close enough to Hartford and Springfield to make it work. 

Taking things a step further, the Laval Rocket can also move to the Atlantic Division, considering their location. The Rocket, like a few teams in the AHL, are on an island where every road game is a road trip. 

Both options are more relevant if the AHL expands to 34 teams. With that in mind, it’s worth noting other ideas if the league expands, especially if the markets considered are in the South or Southwest. 

Two NHL markets that many anticipate joining the NHL are another Texas city (whether it’s Austin or Houston) and Atlanta. Both cities would prefer to have their AHL teams nearby. So, let’s say the Texas team adds an AHL affiliate in San Antonio while the Atlanta team has an affiliate in Orlando; the South Division might look like this. 

Now, the Iowa Wild being in the South doesn’t make sense, and they are the odd team out here. Putting them in this division makes it look a lot like the AFC South in the NHL or the Atlanta Braves in the West Division back in the day or the Vancouver Canucks in the East Division (yes, that happened in the 1970s). 

That said, this is as close as it gets. Plus, it’s not out of the ordinary for an Iowa team to play Southern teams; it happens in college sports with the Iowa State Cyclones in the Big 12 conference. It also works with the rest of the AHL, where every division will have five or six teams in a 34-team league. 

The alternative is to keep the divisions intact. However, if the AHL adds two teams, then it can split one division in half. 

The Pacific has 10 teams, making it ideal to cut in half in a 34-team league, especially if one of the expansion teams is out west. It will allow the league to have four six-team divisions and two five-team divisions (or they can be bold and have eight, eight, nine, and nine). Say Portland is added to the mix, the Pacific will look like this. 

Pacific South

Pacific North

By doing this, the AHL can open things up in the Central Division. Or, add another team in the Atlantic while moving teams over. Or, still make an attempt at a South Division by adding one team in the region while forcing another one to travel. 

In the end, no matter how things are diced or sliced, there will always be at least one, if not more, team on an island. Realignment can help but a few teams must travel the extra miles or take the further flights to fit in with the rest of the AHL. 

How do you think the divisions should be realigned? If the league expands to 34 teams, how many divisions make sense, and what do they look like? Let us know in the comments section below!