WORCESTER � Counting the upcoming weekend, the Sharks probably have 78 games left to play. That's all-time, not just for 2013-14. Predictions of a seismic shift in the geography of the American Hockey League from east to west have been like warnings that the stock market is about to crash � annual and imprecise.

This time, they may be accurate.

Multiple league sources say that the "West Coast Solution" to the distance between the National Hockey League's teams out there and their AHL affiliates back here could be implemented as early as 2015-16. Worcester would be one of the cities involved, with San Jose moving the franchise closer to Silicon Valley, perhaps to Sacramento or Fresno.

"Most NHL teams would like to have their minor league affiliates close to their home base," Sharks vice president Jon Gustafson said, "and there has been lots of discussion about it. There are ongoing discussions, but nothing is imminent."

The move west may not be imminent, but the topic is hot enough so that, according to multiple sources, the AHL Board of Governors met recently in Boston to discuss it.

Other possible moves aside from the Sharks going to California are the Anaheim Ducks putting an affiliate in San Diego, the Los Angeles Kings going to Ontario, Calif., where there is a very successful ECHL franchise, and the Phoenix Coyotes having an AHL affiliate near them in Arizona.

Currently, the Kings are in Manchester, the Coyotes in Portland, and the Ducks in Norfolk. Neither Phoenix nor Anaheim owns its AHL affiliate, however.

The Sharks' current lease with the DCU Center has provisions that would allow San Jose to opt out after next season if certain economic benchmarks are not achieved. It is possible, even likely, that they will not be.

Worcester Sharks Booster Club president Rich Lundin, who was instrumental in combining forces with the city to bring the Sharks here from Cleveland in 2006-07, is aware that Worcester may be close to losing an AHL team for a second time.

"It sounds like it could happen, with all the talk that's been going on," he said. "It's on everybody's radar and it's something we've got to stay on top of. We don't want it to be like when the IceCats left. That came out of the blue. One day they were here and the next day they were on their way out of town."

Two years ago, the eight westernmost NHL teams � Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Jose, Phoenix, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Colorado � pooled resources and commissioned a study about the feasibility of setting up a separate AHL division, or divisions, in the west.

That was the first indication that things had gone beyond the talking stage.

The season that ends this weekend was the Sharks' eighth in Worcester. The IceCats were here for 11 seasons, so next year will make it 20 for the AHL in the city. Before this season, San Jose eliminated Mike Mudd's position as the Sharks' team president, opting to run the team from California with Gustafson handling many of Mudd's former duties.

San Jose has been diligent in managing things in Worcester and has not cut corners financially, but the scenario looks uncannily like what happened with the IceCats. After John Ferguson left as Worcester's general manager for the same job with the Toronto Maple Leafs after the 2002-03 season, the Blues decided to run things from St. Louis.

The IceCats departed for Peoria two years later.

A shift west by the AHL seems to make economic as well as geographic sense. There are currently seven franchises in New England and five of them are in the bottom half of the 30-team league in attendance.

Providence is third, Manchester 13th, Bridgeport 19th, Hartford 22nd, Worcester 23rd, Springfield 24th and Portland � forced to play in Lewiston this season � is 30th. Plus, there are two teams barely outside of New England in Albany and Adirondack.

If San Jose is going to leave Worcester after next season, it would help if the city knew. That would give it some lead time in attracting a new team. The odds of that team being at the AHL level are not high.

Lundin thinks an ECHL team would work in the city, especially if it were the Bruins' ECHL affiliate. The long-time, serious fans would miss the AHL, but the school groups, youth hockey leagues and Cub Scouts would love a Bruins connection, Lundin said.

"After the IceCats left," he added, "I even drew up a 'Spoked W' logo."

Lundin may be rummaging through his filing cabinet to find it sooner rather than later.

Contact Bill Ballouat wballou@telegram.com.