The NEW National Hockey League

[TMC]

1. Reinstate the Campbell & Wales conferences (as opposed to the currently generic geographic set-up). The Wales conference would be made up of the older franchises (namely, the "Original Six"):
The "Classic Division":
1. Boston (Eastern Division) #1
2. Chicago (Western Division) #1
3. Detroit (Western Division) #2
4. Montreal (Eastern Division) #2
5. New York Rangers (Eastern Division) #3
6. Ottawa (Western Division) #3
7. Toronto (Eastern Division) #4

The other franchises in the Wales conference would be made up of clubs from the old World Hockey Association:
1. Carolina Hurricanes (Eastern Division) #5
2. Colorado Avalanche (Western Division) #4
3. Columbus Blue Jackets-Representing the defunct Cleveland Crusaders (Eastern Division) #6
4. Florida Panthers-Representing the Miami Screaming Eagles, who never played a game in the WHA (Eastern Division) #7
5. Edmonton Oilers (Western Division) #5
6. Minnesota Wild-Representing the defunct Minnesota Fighting Saints (Western Division) #6
7. New Jersey Devils-Representing the defunct New Jersey Knights (Eastern Division) #8
8. Phoenix Coyotes (Western Division) #7

The Campbell Conference would be made up of franchise from the Modern Expansion Era:
Division #1 (made up of the original "Expansion Six" to counter the Wales' "Original Six"):
1. Dallas Stars (Western Division) #1
2. Los Angeles Kings (Western Division) #2
3. Philadelphia Fylers (Eastern Division) #1
4. Pittsburgh Penguins (Eastern Division) #2
5. San Jose Sharks-Representing the defunct Oakland/California (Golden) Seals (Western Division) #3
6. St. Louis Blues (Western Division) #4
7. Vancouver Canucks (Western Division) #5

Division #2:
1. Anaheim Mighty Ducks (Western Division) #6
2. Atlanta Thrashers (Eastern Division) #3
3. Buffalo Sabres (Eastern Division) #4
4. Calgary Flames (Western Division) #7
5. New York Islanders (Eastern Division) #5
6. Nashville Predators (Eastern Division) #6
7. Tampa Bay Lightning (Eastern Division) #7
8. Washington Capitols (Eastern Division) #8

Just like in Major League Baseball pre-Interleague Play, the Campbell & Wales Conferences will not meet outside of the All-Star Game and Stanley Cup Finals.

2. Throw out the rule book. What I mean is the referees ought to stay out of the way as best as possible. If games took on a more freewheeling, anything goes approach then I strongly believe that the entertainment level of the games will increase.

3. Cut the regular season down from 82 games to 74. This way, the chances of a better quality of play will occur since the players are fresher.