WingNut722

The NHL announced yesterday that for the 2012-2013 season, the teams would be shuffled into a four-conference league. This is a huge win for the Detroit Red Wings organization and for their fans. For years, Mike Ilitch and Company has been yearning for a ticket into the Eastern Conference, and they thought they might have their chance when Atlanta moved north. They now find themselves in the midst of a brand new 8-team conference which includes all of the current Central Division, with the addition of the Dallas Stars, Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild.

Living in New Jersey, I was hoping the Wings would get reshuffled into possibly the Atlantic Division, which would get me into a lot more games, but I would have been heartbroken to have to say goodbye to Chicago. I love the Blackhawks, and I love the storied rivalry between the two clubs. I loved the Winter Classic in ’09 and I love the traditional home-and-home series to close out the season. So honestly, I would say this is a better deal.

In fact, most of the League’s best rivalries have been preserved. Boston/Montreal, Buffalo/Toronto, Rangers/Devils, Flyers/Everyone else. The interesting shift has been with the Florida teams being moved into the so-called “Northeast” conference, which doesn’t make sense geographically, but it’s still the same time zone. Plus, with so many Canadian retirees who’ve moved to Florida, this is a big chance for them to see their old favorites again on multiple occasions.

The other fun fact is that the Pacific and Central conferences are composed of eight teams, and the Northeast and Atlantic Conferences are composed of seven teams, making it “easier” for these teams to make the playoffs. Rumors are spreading that the NHL is allowing room for expansion, particularly in the markets of eastern Canada. Quebec City has been dying for a return of the Nordiques. There’s talk of Toronto getting itself a second team, and cities like Hamilton and Kitchener have been speculated for an expansion team as well. I would love to see more hockey teams in Canada (it’s their sport, after all) so I hope this is what the NHL has in mind.

A lot of time and effort has gone into this, yet there is still come question about the future of the Phoenix Coyotes and possibly the Columbus Blue Jackets. Both markets are not doing well financially, and their movement might result in another realignment. Kansas City has demonstrated a desire for a hockey team, so Columbus could move their easy enough.

The Coyotes could either move up to Quebec or even Las Vegas if the horrifying scuttlebutt is true. Las Vegas should not have a hockey team…. That’s just absurd, but it would be an easy move to preserve this new 4-Conference setup.

Overall, I’m excited for this new shift. It should be a lot of fun!

The floor is now open. What say you?

@flyercanuck...Just tossing it out there for discussion, that's all.

@radoran...With the new coach, I'm sure the Caps will wait and see what happens. Same is true for the Ducks and 'Canes, for that matter. Any player movement would likey be before the All-Star game, though

Nope. Don't want Semin at all. I'd rather have Zach Parise. He's UFA after this season.

There has been a lot of talk about a possible move of Alexander Semin the last few days with the Detroit Red Wings being one of the top contenders. A few thoughts…

Semin hasn’t been in his top form since 2009-2010 where he posted 28 goals and 26 assists. He’s been decent enough this season, with 5 and 5. I haven’t been paying too close attention to the Capitals but obviously, they have been expecting more from him. I don’t know if he’s unhappy in Washington or if he’s dealing with some nagging injury, but either way, the Caps seem to want to move some potentially dead weight and free up a LOT of cap space doing it.

The first thing I think of is the Caps will want a decent, scoring forward in return to replace the Top Six winger, but who could/would the Wings part with? I’ve grown to like just about all the current Detroit roster (which is why I could never be a GM) but the two names I can think of are Jiri Hudler and Valtteri Filppula. Now I highly doubt that Filppula would be moved since he’s got the hot hand in Detroit right now, and he’s carved himself a niche. Hudler would be a better choice. He’s in the exact same situation right now, coming off a very poor season last year, and he’s just not producing as much as he should (although the improved effort has been there this season). Hudler’s in a contract year and Ken Holland is going to have to decide to keep him or let him go anyway. Another possibility is Patrick Eaves, who is currently out 2 months with a broken jaw, and has only been replaced by the unproven Fabian Brunnstrom. I also have had a particular dislike of Jonathan Ericsson lately, but the Caps don’t need defensemen, and Detroit does.

The other problem is his salary. I doubt very much that Semin would garner his current salary of $6.7 million in Detroit, which would put him equal with Pavel Datsyuk, but above both Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg. If he were, moving Hudler would open up the cap space this season, and also probably send Brunnstrom down to Grand Rapids for good (unless he were moved too, to sweeten the deal. Hell, let ‘em have Mike Commodore too!).

The drawback to that is, what if Semin ends up being a lemon in Detroit too? We end up trading a least one forward who’s not scoring for a more expensive forward who’s not scoring. And if he didn’t score in Washington, and didn’t score in Detroit, it might be tough to unload him come the trade deadline. He may only be traded for a few second- or third-liners and draft considerations.

Do the Wings even need him at all? They’re near the top of the standings on a six-game win streak. The best benefit that Semin could bring is to further increase the depth of Detroit’s forwards, and also give Datsyuk someone to talk to. Personally, I agree that the Wings should invest in another top six forward, but I don’t think it should be Semin.

What say you?