There are so many reasons why it's a bad idea... and to the extent it is suddenly being discussed again, I wouldn't be surprised if it's an intense overreaction to Saturday night's (avoidable) debacle.
As noted, several NHL teams are clustered around Central New York (and once Laval is in the league, it's not horrendously far either) – the travel is far better there than anywhere in California (and certainly a lone team in BC), not to mention there is the nice history of hockey throughout New York State to go along with it, and a good fanbase in Utica. That's more a nice-to-have than anything, but it's still nice.
Secondly, I don't believe the "call a guy up on a dime" rationale should take precedence at all for how infrequently this is actually an issue. Development should be a way higher priority. But even if you're buying the call-up reasoning, the total distance from Vancouver (where the Canucks only play half their games anyway) probably matters less than how accessible flights are. Like, a team in Toronto could very well be an easier site to service Vancouver than a team in the rural Southwest US, even if the latter closer.
Admittedly, Utica is not the very best for this, as you first have to get to Syracuse and then it's not a major airport to begin with. (You guys talking about a direct 6-hour flight are confusing me – they don't fly out of New York City, and even if they did there are only a couple of direct flights – you'd be just as well driving up to Ottawa and flying from here, frankly). But it's not horrible either, as Syracuse connects directly to a number of larger hubs. And frankly if the team is based in Abbotsford and the Canucks are on the road, a player might very well have to fight through Lower Mainland traffic at rush hour to get to YVR. Don't kid yourself, stuff like ground traffic matters immensely when you're talking about flying.
Thirdly, I hate, hate the idea of minor league teams in major urban centers that already have top-level teams. The beauty of sticking an AHL (or junior) team in a smaller or underserved city is that it becomes an important part of the community and actually helps the guys feel like a hockey team (rather than simply the cuts from the major league team). Like, what is the Toronto Marlies' identity other than the guys who aren't good enough to be on the Maple Leafs? No one in Toronto cares about the Marlies as such. Moreover, by going outside the city, the parent club gets to spread their brand around in other regions, even if it's elsewhere in the same state/province.
Finally, oh lord, putting Canuck prospects anywhere near Vancouver could be just awful for their confidence and the pressure they'd feel. Can you imagine restless Canuck fans booing an unproductive Jake Virtanen or the press following Olli Juolevi around? Just bad news.
If they really have to move the team west, for the final two reasons, I'd way prefer it be somewhere like the Okanagan or Washington State.
