Another NHL franchise in Toronto?

Are there enough corporate sponsors in the Kitchner/Waterloo to make the area a viable contender for a NHL franchise?

 

Why won't this work? See Clippers, Los Angeles.

 

The problem with the Clippers goes beyond fan support, it has more to do with truley shitty management, scouting, and player development -- and in hockey the Maple Leafs have are the leaders in those departments, so really a new franchise there can't help but be successful.

 

I'm against putting second franchises in cities period.

Knowing Bettman, I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to put a team in Jackson, Miss.

 

JR isn't sure what to do and he doesn't know why

 

Why the problem? Statistically, Toronto has more of a population to support a second team than a lot of cities have to support one team. And it's not like the Maple Leafs are the Yankees. I would bet there are plenty of fans who would be ready to support another team just because they either can never get into a game, or because the Leafs suck so hard year after year they're ready to give up.

Statistically speaking, you would have enough of a thriving market to put another team in Toronto AND one in southern Ontario. Perhaps the Canuckastanis can disavow me of this, but on paper it seems to work. If nothing else, the Leafs would have to stop being stupid with so much nearby comp.

 

I would think they would do one or the other not both, if they do anything at all. This being the Bettman led NHL they will say screw conventional wisdom and put a franchise in New Mexico.

If a second team lands in Toronto they will build a complex similar to that of the White Sox -- where their fans believe they are the better hockey educated but much mailgned.

 

From what I saw on Mirtle's blog, the two ideas out there are that they either take over Maple Leaf Gardens, or share the ACC with the Leafs and Raptors.

I guess if this is going to happen, I'd rather see a new team, or relocated team, have its own home to foster its own identity. I think that the Clippers also play in the Staples Center makes it feel like they rent from the Lakers, if that makes sense.

 

Donald Sterling doesn't own an NHL franchise.

 

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor with a metropolitan area population of 457,720; the city proper had a population of 352,395 in the 2006 Canadian census.

London is the seat of Middlesex County, at the forks of the non-navigable Thames River, approximately halfway between Toronto, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan. London and the surrounding area (roughly, the territory between Kitchener-Waterloo and Windsor) is collectively known as Southwestern Ontario.

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And I wouldn't put a franchise in London either...even tho it's the same size...

 

And Damien Cox says why the whole idea is ridiculous;

http://thestar.blogs.com/thespin/2008/10/what-to-do.html

First, monopolies don't voluntarily break themselves up. The Leafs have a monopoly in this incredible hockey market and they have no intention of sharing it or allowing any competition in the market. That's why, don't forget, they wouldn't sell Maple Leaf Gardens to Eugene Melnyk.

Second, a second NHL team in Toronto is of no help whatsoever to the 24 teams based in the U.S. other than it might create another team to contribute to the revenue sharing pool rather than take from that pool.


And so on.

Won't ever happen

 

I don't understand why this is such a bad idea. If there can be three teams in the greater NYC market and two in SoCal, why can't there be a second team in southern Ontario. I don't understand why this is impossible, but maybe I'm missing something because I don't live there.

The NHL doesn't need any more emerging markets than they already have. The idea of going somewhere where the product is going to sell itself -- like was the case when the league went back to Minnesota -- seems very natural. After all, where else are they going to go in the US? Or maybe I should say where is one the struggling sun belt teams going to end up? Vegas? Portland? Seattle? Houston? Kansas City? Southern Ontario or GTO seems to make more sense.

And not to sound like a dick, but do you think Damien Cox thinks the idea is ridiculous? Or is it ridiculous only because the story was in the Globe and not the Star? Just askin'