NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly gave the NHL world some ground-breaking insight on expansion back into Atlanta when he said, "It's definitely not 'shovels in the ground.' It is having a fully baked plan to propose. I think both groups are aspirational in what they want to achieve and how they intend to get there, but we haven't gotten more than that. We need a plan that's a little more actionable than where we currently are."
That's big, considering they don't need anything but a step-by-step process of how expansion back into Atlanta will work, and there's a good chance we could see the NHL show signs of moving forward. And for the Detroit Red Wings, this one may have a bigger impact than you think.
While adding a 33rd team in Atlanta could cause realignment and maybe even move the Wings back to the West, which would give them the keys to reignite their rivalry with the Chicago Blackhawks, another likely scenario is this: the Atlanta (presumably Thrashers) NHL team needs to land somewhere, right?
If it kept the Red Wings in the East, which, as I've said before, makes logistical sense, there's a good chance the Thrashers end up in the Atlantic Division. And yes, it goes beyond their city name.
Detroit Red Wings could get a new division rival if NHL moved forward with expansion
Right now, it's all talk and, as Daly implied in what I quoted earlier: we won't get an announcement any time soon unless an ownership group can sell a foolproof plan to the league. But if we saw the Thrashers return - I'll just call them the Thrashers for the sake of this piece - the Wings could be traveling down to Georgia twice a year.
And it would make sense, since geographically, the Thrashers are close to the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning. You can also make a case that they'd end up in the Metro Division, since they'd also be close to the Carolina Hurricanes, but let's assume expansion occurs by the end of the decade and the Thrashers are in the Atlantic Division.
What would it mean for the Red Wings future? For one, you'd be looking at roughly four games a year, at least early on, that the Wings can't get caught sleeping in. Expansion teams aren't often the most competitive (unless they're the Vegas Golden Knights), and that should mean some near-guaranteed wins early if the Wings don't get caught on a bad night.
It would also mean a new, heated rivalry if the team took off like the Golden Knights, especially if the Red Wings were still finding a way to consistently make the playoffs.
The takeaway
Right now, this isn't something you need to take too seriously, since there's been no indication the NHL's looking to move forward until there's a plan the league can take and run with. But it doesn't mean it's not worth keeping an eye on, especially as expansion talks like to heat up about twice a year.
As the year wanes, we'll see if there's any more talk on that front, and that could mean a couple of different things for the Red Wings if the league adds a 33rd team in Atlanta. Maybe a move back out West, or maybe even a new division rival.