When I originally thought about writing this it was believed that Atlanta would be losing the Thrashers to Winnipeg but nothing was set in stone at that time. However now that I'm actually getting around to writing it much more is known and finalized. The Thrashers are indeed finished and will be playing in Winnipeg starting this upcoming season. The following season divisions will likely be re-arranged to make more sense given that Winnipeg being in the Southeast doesn't quite work. Even though the deal is done to move the team there are still some uncertainties that exist, and I've got a couple of thoughts as well to add about the entire situation.
First off, I want to give my condolences to the fans in Atlanta. I can't imagine having the Avalanche sold and moved away, and I don't wish that upon any sports fanbase. Having a team you cheer on and are passionate about no longer there where you can support them and cheer them on would be horrible. Do you still follow the team from afar? Do you have a new team to follow? Does it jade you so much you just don't follow the sport on that level any longer? I honestly don't know what I would do, though I'm sure I would remain a hockey fan.
The second thing that bothers me about the whole thing however is how it compares to the Phoenix saga. While the way Phoenix's previous owner went about trying to get rid of the team was a horrible way and the NHL had to step in, where is the league in trying to save the Atlanta market as they have with the Phoenix market. I can accept that perhaps it was a bit more behind the scenes and perhaps has gone on longer than fans know, however the NHL has taken ownership in Arizona and done everything to keep the team there. However in Atlanta it just seems that the NHL hasn't concerned itself and has just accepted the move of the Thrashers. Why? I certainly believe that hockey in Atlanta was possible. They were selling 13000+ tickets per game, just 1500 tickets less than Winnipeg will if they sell out every game. They are also a much larger market, much larger, with greater possibilities. They never got a good team on ice though, losing all 4 playoff games they ever made it to, in their entire history. Not many cities will continue to support a losing team, but having that many ticket holders on average per game for a losing team should be proof enough that if the owners would have built a winning team Atlanta was definitely a town that would have worked for the NHL.
No matter though, the Atlanta Thrashers will now become the Winnipeg somethings. We don't know if they will take the Jets name back, or if that actually belongs to the Phoenix franchise (who came from Winnipeg originally actually). Winnipeg will become the smallest NHL market in a city that lost a city before because of financial issues, however they have already sold over 13,000 season tickets to next season in just 72 hours. The fan base is still there, and the Canadian dollar compares more favorably to the US dollar than it did when they failed and moved the first time, so it should do well there but only time will tell if once the thrill of getting a team back wears off if the fans continue to come if the product on the ice doesn't improve from its days in Atlanta. Perhaps another post later on will be about better options than Winnipeg, but congrats to the fans in Winnipeg for getting a team back, and I am sorry again to those in Atlanta.
On a bigger note though, what does this mean for the NHL and the other teams however? We know that this upcoming season the divisions will remain the same and the Eastern conference, especially the Southeast, are going to have many miles added to their season totals for miles traveled. I don't feel sorry for them however as the West travels far, far more than the East each year anyway. Next year the conferences will change however as Winnipeg becomes part of the West. What does that mean for the rest of the league though. No one knows yet but here are a few possibilities.
First and perhaps the easiest is that Nashville takes the now empty spot in the Southeast and Winnipeg takes that spot in the Central. It makes a lot of sense travel wise and also takes the least adjustment. However many say that "Detroit has been promised to be moved to the East" which may or may not be true but I don't see how that can be unless the NHL planned relocation at some point. Others also argue that it makes no sense to have Nashville in the Central time zone over Detroit in the Eastern time zone move conferences. To me that is a horrible idea and one that hasn't been thought out. Why do they have to be in that time zone to make sense? Look at the Northwest Division. They have teams from 3 times zones in just that division, so why does the team moving to the East have to be in the Eastern time zone.
The next thought is to do things more geographically. Take the West cost teams and move Vancouver into the Pacific. Winnipeg and Dallas go into the Northwest, and Minnesota moves into the Central. Detroit then moves into the Northeast, and the Islanders into the Southeast. It would probably make more sense to do this but leave Detroit and put Nashville into the Southeast, leaving the other two Eastern conference divisions alone however (but I took into account Detroit moving). A couple things I don't like though is splitting the NY teams apart, but the only other way that made sense would split Pittsburgh and Philly with the Flyers taking the Islanders spot. It also leaves Vancouver without a Canadian rival in their division which could be an issue. Overall this one isn't that great.
The last one that I'll propose makes some sense as well, however it still isn't as simple as the first one and as an Avalanche fan I'm not sure I like moving into a division that saw every team make the playoffs this past year. That change would have Winnipeg join the Northwest and Colorado move to the Pacific. Detroit could then find their place in the Eastern conference however they would fit (see the issues above about splitting certain teams and their existing rivalries) or Nashville joining the Southeast (still makes the most sense). This one could actually be the best overall fit for all teams despite how difficult the schedule for Avs fans might become.
In the end I guess we really won't know until it is announced, and there will be speculation until then. It is unfortunate that it came to this and I feel bad for the Atlanta fans, but I hope that it works out in Winnipeg in the long run. I also hope that things get solved in Phoenix (and other areas that aren't as bad off such as Dallas) soon so that we don't see this happen again in the near future.
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