A proposal that seems to be gaining traction is the idea that the Red Wings would indeed move to the Eastern Conference come next season, but instead of landing in the Atlantic or Northeast divisions, they would go to the Southeast division.
Bob McKenzie of TSN originally started discussing this possibility via his twitter page.
More and more NHL governors convinced DET will be moving to SE Div in Eastern Conference when realignment done in early December.
The idea here would be Detroit and Winnipeg would swap spots straight up. Winnipeg would move into the Central division while Detroit would take Winnipeg’s spot in the Southeast.
Obviously this is something very new to most Red Wings and NHL fans. What we’ve been hearing most in terms of realignment up until this point is the Wings/Columbus/Nashville being the candidates most likely to move to the east and a radical realignment plan consisting of four divisions.
The rumor of the Wings possibly going to the Southeast now becomes the most surprising.
What the NHL could be doing in all of this though is trying to kill two birds with one stone.
Moving the Wings to the Southeast means Gary Bettman fulfills his promise to Detroit in bringing them to the Eastern Conference but it also gives the NHL a chance to help generate revenue for Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina and Washington.
Sure a consistent matchup with Alexander Ovechkin will be a sight to see but other than that facing Florida, Tampa Bay and Carolina on a regular basis may have Wings fans screaming to keep the Wings in the West.
I really don’t see this happening but the more you think about it, the more it makes sense for the NHL.
Ref: Twitter, TSN, NBC Sports
