"NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Thursday that he still believes the NHL will be realigned, and that fans and teams will be happy with the results.

Bettman was in Columbus on Thursday to meet with the media after announcing that the 2013 All-Star Game will take place here. Asked about the recent realignment proposal for the 2012-13 season that was approved by the Board of Governors but scuttled when the NHL Players Association had problems with it, Bettman said he's not frustrated.

"This league has had 13 different types of alignment and scheduling in the regular season since 1966. The playoffs, since the league took control of the Stanley Cup 80-some odd years ago, had 13 different formats," Bettman said.

"This is the first time that the union has weighed in. We're not looking for a confrontation right now. We'll deal with this at another time, but, ultimately, our hope and expectation is that we'll wind up where we want.""