The realignment rumour doesn't really make any sense.
Phoenix and SLC are basically equally as far west as each other. SLC and Denver are both still east of Edmonton and Calgary, so this move doesn't really change the status quo.
If anything, Arizona being in the Pacific made more sense than Utah would. Phoenix is much closer to the SoCal teams and are on the same time as the Pacific for the first and last months of the season (plus all the playoffs -- although, that hasn't been an issue in recent years).
From the perspective of the rest of the league:
It shouldn't make any difference to the Eastern Conference teams since they'll still play every Western team once at home and once on the road.
I'd think Vancouver and Winnipeg would both prefer the Canadian teams in their Division for slightly easier travel and as a better draw for ticket sales when those teams are in town.
The other US teams in each Division would likely prefer SLC and Colorado in their Division for the easier travel for one less cross-border trip during the season. Although, even then, it likely isn't any fewer border crossings.
For the California teams, instead of doing two trips each season where they play Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary on the same trip, they'll have one trip where they play all three teams, and then another trip where they just play Vancouver. With the current schedule, they'll play two road games in Alberta every other season anyway.