Maybe it's just that I'm a fan of the the wrong teams, but post-Jagr, I don't really consider Ted to be all that intrusive of an owner. Granted, we don't know what happens inside the front office, but when compared to Dan Snyder and Peter Angelos, Ted is miles ahead. Obviously, if Ted had something to do with Oates being hired instead of Cooper, it would be worrisome. But I suspect that most owners have a degree of involvement and input on major decisions in their franchise. It's not like Ted pulled the trigger to trade away the faces of the franchise, like Ed Snider did with Richards and Carter. Given his faith in his previous GM, his willingness to spend to the salary cap, and his allowance to spend on ameteur scouting, I think Ted would probably be a pretty attractive boss for a GM to work for.
With regards to the division, I agree that it probably wouldn't be a huge factor. The one concrete factor about it is that the Metro has 8 team and the Pacific only has 7. By structure, it's more difficult to reach the playoffs in the eastern conference with the two extra teams. That may push someone towards Vancouver. But otherwise the two divisions are both saddled with multiple teams that are willing to spend to the limit and established stars.