According to the Columbus Post Dispatch, the Columbus Blue Jackets recently expressed to the NHL a desire to move to the Eastern Conference. The reasons behind their desire revolve around travel costs, road game times, player fatigue and the chance to create natural rivalries with teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres.
The report goes on to say however that there are two hurdles preventing the Blue Jackets from jumping over to the Eastern Conference. The first hurdle is the Jackets would need a team from the East (such as Florida or Atlanta) to relocate to a Western City. This means that Phoenix potentially moving back to Winnipeg does not help Columbus’ situation. The next hurdle is a little more appealing to Red Wings fans and that is it has been whispered around the league that Detroit would be the first team to switch conferences if the opportunity were to ever-present itself.
