Globe and Mail reports that NHL may be loaning money to Phoenix Coyotes

Winnipeg Sun quoting one source, but trumpeting that the deal is done:
http://www.winnipegsun.com/2011/05/20/thrashers-coming-to-winnipeg

 

Moving to a Southeast Division with no Atlanta would suck for the Preds. They would have no natural rivals (Detroit and Chicago are huge draws with all the transplants) and would be the only Eastern team in the Central time zone.

 

Then the Preds would fit in the Southeast. Consider that the organization with the most "tradition" when it was formed was the Washington Capitals.

It's part of what can make attendance a major challenge in the division. When the Whalercanes finally moved to Raleigh after the two-year disaster Peter Karmanos put the organization through in Greensboro, most of the laundry in the building was of the team the transplants supported (many, I suspect, still do). Only in the last few years has the place become a little more concentrated in red and black.

 

That's the problem. Nashville's transplants come from the Midwest and not up the I-95 corridor. And while it is no longer totally make or break, those are the teams people in that market want to see.

 

Christ, if you're hanging your hat on that you're in trouble. Shouldn't matter what division you're playing in.

 

Meanwhile, the Thrashers are going forward today with a pick your seat event. What are they going to do--show pictures/layout of the Winnepeg arena?

 

Dan Kamal to emcee?

 

Eventually, the fans - more than a handful, anyway - who are going to the arena on at least a semi-regular basis will either go to see the Preds or stop going.

And while I'm in no position to question where the transplants originate, aren't they likely arriving from other areas, too? As in some other markets that would be better served if the Preds end up in another division? Given country music's popularity in the South, don't you think some people would trip up to Nashville to potentially catch a hockey game and go see some other attractions in the city?

 

Moving Columbus to the Southeast would be stupid, because you lose games with Detroit and Chicago, both drivable. Moving Columbus or Detroit to the Northeast means you'd break up Bruins/Canadiens, which I'm thinking would be a non-starter, and it also means Philly would get bumped to the Southeast, a really bad fit. Nashville going east is the only reasonable option.

One person threw it out there that Pittsburgh should move to the Central. Um, how about no?

 

Is that really that big of a factor though? Who's driving to hockey games? Is there some traveling throng of Blue Jackets fans I don't know about?

 

No, but your divisions should make at least a bit of sense.

 

If you want your divisions to make sense, you find a way to get Detroit out of the friggin' Western Conference. But that won't happen. Columbus to the Southeast would be fine. Washington's not exactly in the Southeast, either.