tht depends if they allow Dallas to change, it seems to be the concensus tht if VAN is the team tht replaces the Stars in that division, I'll bet 2/3 will vote for DET to the East if at minimum WPG goes West, why deny DET wht they were promised when we went to the 3 division format and when TML went East? You wouldn't change the NE/Atlantic, all we want/are asking for is 2 equal conferences of 15, not 14/16, or 16/14. DAL can replace DET in the Central, can't it? It solves what the Stars are asking for, and DET gets wht they are asking for, you might ignite a rivalry between the Stars & Wild....
Whichever team gets put in the East, I don't think it effects at all the decision about which team would take that Central Division vacancy.
- As some are saying, it could be as simple as Winnipeg being left in the Central.
- It could be the next simplest thing, putting Minnesota in the Central.
- Or it could be with Dallas ending up in the Central.
Whichever is the case, it has zero to do with which team ends up going East.
to address some of that:
- detroit to the east = 14 western teams pissed off. With the current requirement of 2/3 approval, detroit to the east is just impossible.
- vancouver to the pacific can be approved as long as enough other teams get what they want, mainly detroit staying in the west and the NE+ATL staying the same. As moreorr pointed out above, calgary and edmonton actually gain canadian matchups with winnipeg coming west.
- dallas, colorado, winnipeg, calgary ,and edmonton as a scrub division: have you seen the southeast for the past 15 years? This "scrub division" would probably pull out just as many stanley cups as the southeast has.
This all relates in one form or another, so continuing from above...
First off, with respect to Vancouver, I don't think any of us really know what the vote will be. I think it's a real toss up regarding whether the League will be more likely to put Vancouver in the Pacific, thus reducing the Northwest to only 2 Time Zones and not having Minnesota as the lone Canadian team; or putting Colorado in the Pacific and thus keeping Vancouver with the Alberta teams.
The vote could go either way. Personally. I believe Vancouver to the Pacific is the better option because I think it slightly solves more problems than it creates.
As you see though, the option of Minnesota leaving that Northwest Division I believe is the least likely, because it creates a lone US scenario for Colorado and does nothing to aid Dallas. Minnesota is the only winner in that situation.
Now, regarding Dallas... If there is any team in the League that could challenge Detroit and Columbus for having the worst alignment situation, it has to be Dallas. The League must recognize that, and I'd be surprised if they don't use this realignment opportunity to try to address Dallas' situation. That is also why I don't think Minnesota will get the Central Division spot. Just having Winnipeg in that Northwest Division automatically improves Minnesota's situation in that Division... and even more so if Vancouver is taken out of the Division.
Now onto Detroit...
This to me is a similar scenario to Vancouver in that who knows how the vote will go.
You're missing the point. 2/3 of the teams in the league need to vote in favour of a realignment. Moving Detroit to the eastern conference is opposed by a lot of teams in the west. Most if not all of the Central & Pacific teams would be near-certain "No" votes (Dallas could be 'bought off' by giving them the open spot in the Central), which gives you 8 or 9 "No" votes right away. It only takes 1 or 2 more to defeat the proposal, and we don't know how many teams in the east actually want Detroit to join them.
There's going to be those in the League who feel that Detroit is deserving of getting put in the East, and especially since there was that promise made at one time that it would happen. While on the other hand there are all the practical business reasons for why it shouldn't happen. It's all been stated before... Detroit is a key player in the West, and a fan-draw that simply the East doesn't need in comparison to the West because there are numerous such teams in the East. And putting Detroit in the East forces a convoluted alignment with Detroit in the Southeast, because neither of the other two Divisions want their groupings changed.
One possible deciding point here might be: What is stronger? The feeling that Detroit deserves the East, or the unwillingness for those two northeastern Divisions to allow any changes to their Divisions? And will most of those Western teams feel the same sympathy to Detroit?
On the other hand, putting Columbus in the East could perhaps be the more controversial move. Why Columbus over Detroit?
Putting Nashville in the Southeast, might ultimately be the least controversial because Nashville is the most logical fit in that Division.
But again, it all depends on which sentiment is stronger regarding where Detroit should be.
OH, and then there's this... Detroit offering a compromise solution regarding scheduling, which essentially gives the League an out. As I said back in Post #18, certainly it's possible to have a scheduling matrix that could lesson Detroit's and Columbus' alignment woes in the West.