It's all in the name of increased competition.
Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League president Bill Chow says the ultimate goal of the league's realignment plan, approved during its mid-season meetings in Melfort earlier this month, is to make every game mean something.
The key to the new format, which splits the league's 12 teams into three divisions, is the playoff setup.
The league's playoff teams will be seeded one through 10 league-wide, rather than having them begin the post-season inside their division.
Although that hypothetically could result in a nightmare scenario like the Estevan Bruins facing the Flin Flon Bombers or the La Ronge Ice Wolves in the first round, Chow said the hoped-for benefits are worth it.
"When you take a look at how the playoffs will line up, games out of your division will mean as much as playing within your division," said Chow. "That in itself would create more interest for the fans as well. That's where (league governors) were coming from. It wasn't like anything was wrong, but wanting to make things better."
Chow added that the teams are willing to take their chances with the potential travel ramifications of the new playoff format.
"We actually ran the scenarios using last year's points and there could've been the travel thing, but everybody agreed that that's the playoffs and that's the price you have to pay for being in the playoffs. Some years it's going to work out that way and other years it's going to work out so you don't have much travel. That's just the way you roll the dice."
The new alignment will see the Bruins in the same division as Weyburn, Melville and Yorkton. Another will consist of Kindersley, Battlefords, Humboldt and Notre Dame. The northern division will include the Ice Wolves, Bombers, Nipawin Hawks and Melfort Mustangs.
The biggest loser travel-wise in the new setup is the Hounds, who are separated from Weyburn and Estevan, who are much closer than their three divisional opponents.
That being said, each team has six "rivalry" games that can be played against anyone. That is designed to help soften the blow of separating some teams from their closest opponents. Another example of that is Humboldt not being in the same division as Melfort and Nipawin.
Chow said the one part of the proposal that gave the governors pause was the so-called central division, the one including Notre Dame.
"That one had to be given some thought. Right now (the Hounds) go up to play Kindersley three times, and now under this format I think they have to go up one more. It means a little bit more travel for them, but I think at the end of the day I think it's going to end up being $2,000-3,000 more in busing expenses."
The biggest beneficiaries of the change are the Klippers, who are currently at least four hours away from every division rival.
"They've been asking at every meeting for this as long as I've been around; whether they've been asking before that, I don't know, but I would imagine they probably have been," said Chow.
