The Player: Why NHL players rejected realignment, and why the backlash was worth it

(The Player is an active member of a National Hockey League team. Anonymous by choice, he will provide insights about life in hockey on occasion throughout the season.) "It is unfortunate that the NHLPA has unreasonably refused to support 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." That was Bill Daly, Gary Bettman's right hand man at the NHL and the "Plan" to which the Deputy Commissioner referred was, of course, realignment. The League had given the Players Association a deadline of Jan. 3 to either consent to the Plan or to reject it. As everyone now knows, the PA shot it down. In December, the League's Board of Governors approved a realignment proposal that would create four new "conferences." The two eastern-based conferences would each consist of 7 teams while the western and central-based c...