That means the Nashville Predators only have another 22 games remaining as member of the NHL Central Division. The name of their new division hasn’t been determined yet, but their new rivals have. The Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues remain with Nashville. They’ll all be joined by new additions in the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Winnipeg Jets.

Along with the realignment comes a new division-based playoff format. From the Nashville Predators’ press release:

Playoff qualification will be primarily Division-based, with the top three finishers in each Division qualifying for the first 12 spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (and the first three “seeds” in each Division).

The two additional playoff spots in each Conference, designated as “Wild Cards,” will be awarded to the next two highest-placed finishers in each Conference, ranked on the basis of regular-season points and regardless of Division.

“Seeding” of the Wild Card teams within each Divisional Playoff will be determined on the basis of regular-season points. The first-place finisher with the highest number of regular-season points in the Conference will be matched against the Wild Card team with the lowest number of regular-season points, and the first-place finisher with the second-highest number of regular-season points in the Conference matched against the Wild Card team with the second-lowest number of regular-season points.

Just to get an idea of how things would look if the new system were in place this year, here’s how the Western Conference would shake out:

If this season were being played under the new NHL realignment plan and ended right now, Chicago would face San Jose; St. Louis would face Minnesota; Anaheim would face Phoenix; and Los Angeles would face Vancouver. So even under the new system, Nashville would have to play better than they have been in order to make the playoffs. Being guaranteed not to have to face the Ducks in the first round would be a plus, though, and reaching third place so as to avoid the Blackhawks in the first round would be within reach.

“After discussions with Executive Board, NHLPA has given consent to realignment, to be re-evaluated following 2014-15 season.” – Fehr

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) March 7, 2013

The proposed plan had the teams divided up like so:

The approval of the NHL realignment plan marks the end of an era for the Nashville Predators, who have played in the NHL Central Division since their inception. The team’s rivalry with the Detroit Red Wings will be reduced to an annual home-and-home series, which will disappoint a lot of fans. The Columbus Blue Jackets will also move east, taking away four games annually against what has historically been the easiest team in the league for the Nashville Predators to defeat.

As of the 2013-14 season, the Preds will be members of the NHL Midwest Division. The Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues will join them in the new division. The new blood will come in the form of the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, and Winnipeg Jets. The benefit seems obvious in that Nashville projects to be better than most, if not all, of the new divisional opponents.

The downside of this NHL realignment is the travel. All four of those cities are at least 664 miles away from Nashville, with Winnipeg leading at a distance of 1,338 miles. Overall, though, the NHL realignment will only have Nashville traveling an extra 2,000 miles over the course of the season.