4 replies to this topic

[RideTheRedWave]

Would the Wings be re aligned to the eastern conference if Thrashers are moved into the western conference?

[YzerFan19]

Well, the Thrashers being sold isn't entirely official yet, and given how things have gone in Glendale, I'm not counting on anything until it's official.

That said, there's not a chance the Wings are in the Eastern Conference next year. If there's realignment at all (and there might not be, there are rumors that the relocated Thrashers would play in the Southeast for a year, which is stupid as hell but this is the NHL so I wouldn't put it past them), it's going to be Nashville that heads east.

For the Wings to head east, it'd blow apart the current Eastern Conference alignment. Detroit fits in either the Northeast or Atlantic. Putting them in either of those spots requires an Atlantic team to move to the Southeast, which would either break up the Pittsburgh/Philadelphia rivalry or the NYC-area one.

If the Preds move east, they slide nicely into the Southeast Division. Dallas moves back to the Central, Colorado shifts to the Pacific, and Winnipeg goes to the Northwest.

If there's no alignment change this year it gets interesting next summer, as the Coyotes will be in the mix again. Quebec would seem to be the major play there, so maybe that's why the NHL would hold off on realignment for this year. Thrashers move to Winnipeg and a Western team moves east, then the Coyotes move to Quebec, that Western team has to move back.

All conjecture at this point.

[RideTheRedWave]

"If the Preds move east, they slide nicely into the Southeast Division. Dallas moves back to the Central, Colorado shifts to the Pacific, and Winnipeg goes to the Northwest."

Makes the most sense, good call. I don't know if I would like wings in the east anyways, although schedule is preferable. Eastern teams just beat the hell out of each other. Theres alot of rivalries.

[YzerFan19]

The sale is expected to be announced as official in about 40 minutes. Barring some virtually-impossible circumstances, the Atlanta Thrashers are headed to Winnipeg for next season.

I saw the Wings in Atlanta a couple seasons ago. The Thrashers had fan support. Better than I saw for the Panthers this year. It sucks for those fans, no doubt about that, but what other option is there? As Gary Bettman pointed out (I hate agreeing with him), no one wants to own the team in Atlanta. As we saw in Minnesota and Quebec and Winnipeg and Hartford in the 90s, fans aren't enough. There has to be a willing owner; corporate support in addition to a strong fanbase.

I don't know why the league has fought so hard to save the Phoenix Coyotes but not put in the same effort to save the Thrashers. Keep in mind that I'm not sure the Coyotes should be saved, I just think the discrepancy is a disrespect to the fans in Atlanta.

All that said, I don't believe in using the NHL to "grow the game" and never have. If Phoenix and Atlanta aren't markets that can currently support NHL hockey, they shouldn't be dragging down the rest of the league. I realize that the Red Wings were once a horrible team and losing buckets of money but the difference was that there was an owner who was willing to turn things around. In Atlanta (and probably in Glendale) that's not the case.

It's also not the case in Portland or Seattle or any number of markets that casual observers say "should" work for the NHL. Sometimes not all of the pieces fit and that's what happened in Atlanta.

Is Winnipeg any better? Right now, it looks like it. Long term we'll have to wait and see. The arena is small and the city is small. The owner has deep pockets. The fanbase has been waiting for years. Sounds like it should be enough but will those passionate fans be willing to pay NHL prices after getting AHL-priced hockey for 15 years?

I'll comment more on the move after it's been made official. I'm interested in seeing how this press conference goes.

[-Al-]

The major problem with the Thrashers seemed to be ASG. They've been trying to sell the team since they purchased it in 2004. They only bought the Thrashers because they were part of the package that included the arena and the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. They completely mismanaged the Thrashers through their negligence and neglect, resulting in one factor for a lack of potential buyers - the financial losses. The second factor was an arranged "exclusive offer" by ASG to sell the Hawks with the arena, but without the Thrashers. This meant that there would be a huge question mark regarding arena rights for any potential buyer of the Thrashers. ASG essentially created a lack of interest through their own incompetence. Frankly, you know you're doing something wrong when Bettman is telling you to get your act together, as he did with ASG.

Personally, I would say the Panthers should have been the team to move with Phoenix off the board, as having 2 teams in Florida makes no sense, especially when both the Panthers and Lightning have mediocre attendance numbers.