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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has a problem on his hands.

It's partly historic. It's partly geographic. But it's all political.

The Winnipeg Jets, back in the Great White North after a 15-year absence, are in the Eastern Conference — and in the Southeast Division, no less.

Bettman promises that will be for one year only. The simple solution, geographically speaking, would be to insert Winnipeg into the Central Division in 2012-13 and pop Nashville into Atlanta's vacated spot in the Southeast.

But it won't be that easy.

Both Detroit and Columbus want to come east. Winnipeg wants to be in the same division as Edmonton and Calgary. It's going to take some finagling on Bettman's part, but no matter what, the NHL is going to look very different in 2012-13.

Here are some ideas