A few things to note....
First, the Hawks don't care about the attendance of their affiliates as they don't get a piece of that gate pie. Don't get me wrong, they don't want to have their prospects playing in front of flies, and very much want to use their farm system to bolster their brand, but if a team is drawing fairly well then they're happy.
Second, with all due respect to a Courtney, Rockford is a boring town where there's not a lot of distractions and basically as there is to do is to train and get good. That with the proximity makes them a perfect developmental team. Plus, I've never heard of rumblings that the relationship between the two ownerships is at all rocky. We have a good thing going in Rockford.
Third, the Chicago-Chicago affiliation pipe dream is essentially just something that out of towners suggest without really knowing the history of the squads. The animosity has calmed down, but the Wolves formed as a rebellion from the old regime to give hockey fans an outlet and established itself as a very profitable brand not connected with the Hawks and focusing on winning. That with the fact that they have long been rumored as a poor developmental partner by demanding more input on coaching and roster decisions to the possible detriment of big club prospects does not make me think they'd be a good fit for us.
Finally, fourth.... if the rumors are true, that the Hawks do want out of Rockford, it is almost assuredly because they'd want to expand their market footprint with said team. More likely than not, they'd view Rockford as established Hawks territory and look either downstate or Indiana to place an AHL team rather than partnering up with another squad in Chicago. So, if the allegation is true, I'd infinitely more expect the team to buy the Hogs and move them directly to another market like Indianapolis, Peoria, or the Quad Cities.
All being said, I highly doubt that Rockford is in any kind of risk, and if it is I doubt it's for a move to Vegas.
