AHL franchises on the move.

The American Hockey League announced a couple of team moves Thursday (March 12) and while Midwest based teams are not directly affected, there is no doubt it will change the landscape of at least the Central Division next season.

The Hamilton Bulldogs franchise has been the home for the Montreal Canadiens for several years. Thursday the team took over ownership of the team and announced it will move the club to St. Johns’ NFLD in time for the 2015-16 season.

Currently, True North, owners of the Winnipeg Jets have a team in St. Johns but the team announced at the same time it will be bringing its franchise to Winnipeg. The Manitoba capital was at one time home to the Manitoba Moose, but that team, then a farm team for the Vancouver Canucks was moved to Chicago when the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers were moved to Winnipeg in the summer of 2011.

The Bulldogs are currently in the AHL’s West Conference, North Division and while that division contains no Midwest area teams, the Conference’s other two divisions do. Meanwhile, the move of the St. Johns’ team to Winnipeg could see them aligned with either the Midwest Division which currently contains Chicago, Rockford, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids and Lake Erie (Cleveland).

Of course there are major Conference changes coming already with five current franchises already scheduled to move to California next season.

At this point its anybody’s guess who ends up where and with a number of traditional East Coast markets suddenly without a franchise, there is no guarantee this latest round of franchise musical chairs is over yet.

Note – As a sidebar to this move it appears the group that was in Hamilton has stepped into the OHL with the announced purchase and move of the Belleville Bulls. Its doubtful that will have an affect on Erie, Plymouth or Saginaw, but who knows if more changes are coming there as well?