While the 2013 NHL season can all but be written off the for the Buffalo Sabres, the 2013-14 season will most likely have a new look. With the Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg a few years ago, it was time for the NHL to reshuffle the divisions and move some teams around to accommodate travel concerns.
Elliotte Friedman of CBC Sports had debuted the new proposal from the NHLPA and the NHL, and it doesn’t bode well for the Buffalo Sabres:
| Conference 1 | Conference 2 | Conference 3 | Conference 4 |
| Boston | Carolina | Chicago | Anaheim |
| Buffalo | Columbus | Colorado | Calgary |
| Detroit | New Jersey | Dallas | Edmonton |
| Florida | New York Rangers | Minnesota | Los Angeles |
| Montreal | New York Islanders | Nashville | Phoenix |
| Ottawa | Philadelphia | St. Louis | San Jose |
| Tampa Bay | Pittsburgh | Winnipeg | Vancouver |
| Toronto | Washington |
With the new conference standings, to make it to the playoffs the top four teams in each conference to face off against each other. There is a chance that a wild card playoff would be introduced in the eight team conferences to balance out the chances of making the playoffs.
For the Sabres, this doesn’t bode well for now as Detroit comes into the conference. With an 82 game schedule, it makes sense, but not confirmed, that each team would play each other six times in the conference and then a home and home with every team in the other conferences.
What do you think about the new realignment?