The Red Wings I find are a team where players go at the end of their careers. Detroit is a solid team, they always have been. They also always had a great line up, since Chelios, Yzerman I mean since I can remember Detroit has always made good playoff runs.
I think the teams that move up north are just financial solutions. Hockey will always be big in Canada, but look at the number of teams in the States and the number of teams in Canada. Culturally hockey is all over Canada, so it's probably a *if all else fails* move lol.