New Affiliations Needed

With the move to Winnipeg, things will get shuffled in the AHL and possibly the ECHL with regards to the affilations.

The AHL is the first step down from the NHL. There are currently 30 teams and each is exclusively partnered with one NHL team. Presently, the Atlanta Thrashers affiliates are the Chicago Wolves and the Gwinnett Gladiators of the ECHL, the step below the AHL. The ECHL, along with the AHL, are the only minor leagues recognized by the collective bargaining agreement between the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players' Association, meaning any player signed to an entry-level NHL contract and designated for assignment must report to a club either in the AHL or the ECHL.

The team in Winnipeg is the AHL Manitoba Moose. It was announced that as part of the deal with an NHL franchise coming to town, the Moose would move to St. John's and would be affiliated with the Winnipeg NHL franchise negotiated with former Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador Danny Williams.

So that means the Chicago Wolves will likely not be affiliated with the Winnipeg team nor the Moose with their current NHL partner, the Vancouver Canucks. The most obvious solution is to match the two up and the Wolves become the minor league affiliate of the Canucks.

But what about the Gladiators? Or the Canucks current ECHL team, the Victoria Salmon Kings?

My guess is the Salmon Kings will remain the ECHL affiliate of the Canucks because of the proximity to Vancouver and the Glads are with Winnipeg.

But that might noot necessarily happen because affiliations don't have to match up in nice little rows. Many ECHL teams are affiliated with multiple NHL and AHL franchises. Eight team in fact are affiliated with two NHL franchises, so it would not be odd if Winnipeg kept Gwinnett as an affiliate but added the new Chicago or Colorado one, or kept the Salmon Kings because of the ties to the relocated Moose. If they ditch them, that means that over half of the NHL is essentially open for easy business for the Gladiators. By easy business, I mean that most of the NHL teams are paired with an ECHL team that has another NHL affiliate would be a logical choice to move to an open ECHL team, like the Gwinnett Gladiators or the two new teams in the league that begin play in 2011, the Colorado Eagles and the Chicago Express. For example, the Cincinnati Cyclones are the affiliates of the NHL Florida Panthers and the Nashville Prediators.

On top of that, two NHL teams are not affiliated with any ECHL team, just AHL teams. The Sabres are only affiliated with the Portland Pirates while the Avalanche have a CHL affiliate, the Tulsa Oilers.

Really, it's easier to list the 11 teams not likely to be affiliated with the Gladiators.

NJ Devils, NY Islanders, LA Kings, CLB Blue Jackets, WSH Capitals, CGY Flames, FLA Panthers, MIN Wild, STL Blues, PHX Coyotes, & DAL Stars are all "out" as possible Gwinnett parents. At least, it doesn't seem as likely since they have one ECHL team and that ECHL team only answers back to one NHL team.

Now, Columbus is interesting. On August 25, 2009, Gwinnett signed an agreement to be an affiliate with Columbus. Many places on the web still show this to be true; however, it is not. Neither the Gladiators nor the Blue Jackets list the other as an affiliate, nor does the ECHL website list Columbus as being affiliated with Gwinnett. Gwinnett was briefly affiliated with the Blackhawks as well.

Buffalo might need to be added to the "not likely" list because they have never had an ECHL affiliation.

All of this is speculation, and needless since it changes year after year. Bottom line, it doesn't really matter. I never saw too much of a direct correlation between the Gladiators and the Thrashers over the years. Except for a rehab assignment for Mike Dunham. Only 10 Gladiators have played in any NHL game in the team's eight year history, so it's not like watching guys grow up through the ranks and you could go to a Thrashers' game and say "I used to watch these guys play at Gwinnett". It's just interesting to look at where the connections are regarding future affiliations.



I will address some speculation about the Gladiators moving to Philips Arena in Atlanta. It's not going to happen until at least 2014 because the Glads signed a new contract with the Arena at Gwinnett Center to remain there for the next three years.

Does an AHL team come in? I don't know. I need to do some more research to see if anyone is struggling enough to relocate AND if there is an interested buyer in Atlanta. There wasn't for NHL hockey, but maybe there will be for AHL with a cheaper price tag.

TTFN