The National Lacrosse League, which has expanded to 13 teams with the addition of franchises in New York and Rochester and the relocation of the Knighthawks to Halifax, is moving to a three-division format starting with the 2019-2020 season. The league announced its realignment Monday morning.
The West Division will remain the same, with Calgary, Colorado, San Diego, Saskatchewan and Vancouver.
The East Division will consist of Georgia, New England, New York and Philadelphia.
A new North Division — comprised of Buffalo, Halifax, Rochester and Toronto — has been created in part to help facilitate further expansion.
“The league has had unprecedented expansion over the last three years,” NLL commissioner Nick Sakiewicz said in a press release issued by the league. “With two more teams coming in this year along with a new market in Halifax, we felt the need to reexamine conference alignments, schedule and playoff formats to prepare for future expansion. We also wanted to create exciting rivalries for the fans, the best travel scenarios for teams and players and competitive match-ups for our 13 franchises.”