[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

This is an interesting development:

http://mayorsmanor.com/2014/04/major...ects-to-socal/

At one point, as many as eight teams were involved in the discussions, including Anaheim, Los Angeles, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Phoenix, San Jose, and Vancouver.

Regular conference calls and meetings have been taking place regarding this idea for a few years now and after vetting several different proposals – including the possibility of those teams starting their own league – it is now believed the AHL is on board with the idea.

From what we’ve learned recently, the new division will begin play in October 2015, as part of the AHL’s 2015-16 season.
The Coyotes, Ducks, Kings, and Sharks, are on board. As for the other one or two teams still in the mix, it is believed one of the Western Canadian teams’ interest in the project may have cooled.

This is only speculation, but we would assume that team is the Vancouver Canucks. Their current AHL affiliate is located in Utica, N.Y. and Canucks Sports Entertainment owns the team. Although a move West would seem preferable, they just began play there this year, so perhaps there are some contractual agreements in place for the next few seasons. Edmonton purchased their ECHL affiliate in Bakersfield last year and Calgary owns their AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat (who are said to be moving next season anyway). Thus, they would most likely be part of the initial group of teams in 2015-16.