According to Friedman, this current proposal - one of about four possibilities in the works - is believed to be nearly "50/50" toward its approval, making it the favorite at the moment.
The NHL is expected to vote on realignment at its annual board of governors meeting in December, where any scenario would require a two-thirds (20 votes) majority to be put into place for next season.
Realignment is necessary, of course, with the reincarnated Winnipeg Jets temporarily skating in the East's Southeast Division after their abrupt move from Atlanta last summer.
Under this proposed plan, the NHL would move to four, unbalanced divisions - including seven- and eight-team divisions in each conference. It was commissioner Gary Bettman who first endorsed the idea of four divisions instead of the current six setup.
In the regular season, that would break down to a home-and-home series with every opponent outside the division and either 36 or 38 games within the division, depending on the team.
In the playoffs, this proposal has two rounds of intra-division matchups, followed by the division "winners" squaring off for the right to skate in the Stanley Cup finals.
To say that the realignment process - where seemingly every team roots for its own self-interests - will be a heated one is an understatement. It's nearly impossible to please everyone.
Until now, the biggest bone of contention has been with teams in the Western Conference - such as Detroit, Columbus and Dallas - that play the majority of their games outside their home time zone, making it difficult for fans to stay in touch with the team when they're on the road.
Dallas (Central time) plays in the Pacific Division with opponents Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix and San Jose. The best moments of almost every road game come after 11:30 p.m. in Texas. Much the same goes for Detroit and Columbus in the Central Division.
