Nashville Predators moving to Canada? NOPE! Sorry, Canucks (and KC!)...

Re: Nashville Predators moving to Canada? Sure seems like it...

C'mon you Canadians. You know it's going to be the Waterloo Blackberries.

 

Re: Nashville Predators moving to Canada? Sure seems like it...

Balsillie's company is called Research In Motion, or RIM for short. So there should be no problem in naming the team the RIMmers.

It would also be a tip of the hat of sorts to Gary Bettman - the team name perfectly describes his negotiating tactic with the U.S. television networks.

 

Re: Nashville Predators moving to Canada? Sure seems like it...

No way Bettman lets another team into the toronto-Buffalo market... 50 miles or not... They ain't goin to Berlin no how...

 

Re: Nashville Predators moving to Canada? Sure seems like it...

I'd go with the Waterloo Sunset, myself.

I have no idea what the arena situation is in Quebec City but I'd love to see a team return there. At least they supported the Nordiques.

That's one reason why Winnipeg would be rock bottom on my list. They didn't support the Jets, so I'd be in no rush to bring another team there.

I have a hard time seeing the gain for the league in moving a team from Nashville to Kansas City.

As for Portland and Seattle, I don't see either team supporting an NHL team. Last I saw, the support for the WHL team in Seattle was fairly weak -- and the city's about to lose its NBA team. And Portland just isn't a sports town. They loved the Blazers when they had a good team and played in a shoe box, but those days are gone. I've been to plenty of Portland Winterhawks games and they were pretty well supported, but those were easily the least knowledgeable fans I've ever been around. There's no way that crowd pays NHL prices for a game. (It's the only time I've seen a crowd boo icing calls; if the opposing team cleared the puck on a penalty kill they would scream for an icing call and yell "call it both ways, ref!")

 

Re: Nashville Predators moving to Canada? Sure seems like it...

Only reason Seattle is going to lose the Sonics (if they do) is because the taxpayers don't feel the need to pay for a new arena when the Sonics owner owns every Starbucks on the planet. But the people there have almost always supported the Sonics.

 

Re: Nashville Predators moving to Canada? Sure seems like it...

I have to say this but all this talk of NHL franchises is making me wonder. Why the heck is no one thinking about expansion in the Maritimes? Only Ron MacLean mentioned it on HNIC one time during the satellite hotstove. For example the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) team win or lose, has fantastic attendance numbers. There is proof that there is a hunger for hockey here - evidence of the world junior hockey championships, Memorial Cup and world women's hockey tournaments success. Also, last year preseason games were well attended, especially the Leafs/Sens game here. That game was on the same weekend as the Stones concert at the Commons and still it got sold out. The market is fantastic here.

 

Re: Nashville Predators moving to Canada? Sure seems like it...

How big is the Metro Centre?

 

Re: Nashville Predators moving to Canada? Sure seems like it...

Well at the moment, capacity is 10,000; however, Fred MacGillvray (head of Trade Centre-Metro Centre) has plans to make the World Trade Centre/Convention Centre on the waterfront, and word is that the capacity will be much higher than 10,000

 

Re: Nashville Predators moving to Canada? Sure seems like it...

Le Colisee would still be at-best a temporary home in the current NHL with about 15,000 seats and not nearly enough luxury boxes. I don't think Quebec City is on the map.

Are you sure? I seem to recall the Jets being much better supported than the Nordiques, just Winnipeg had an equally small rink with no revenue streams, and a tiny business community. They supported that team with all they had. The new MTS Centre isn't an NHL venue either, however, it's built for AHL.

 

Re: Nashville Predators moving to Canada? Sure seems like it...

But does a traditional junior market make a good NHL market? There are much different economics at play, even with a proper arena. Also, you look at all the failed and recycled AHL markets in that part of Canada, you have to wonder about the legitimacy of bringing something in there. Further, expansion is the last thing the NHL needs.

 

Re: Nashville Predators moving to Canada? Sure seems like it...

Actually, from the indications here in Halifax, it is an excellent NHL market. A suggestion for Halifax would be to use the funds they had set aside for the 2014 Commonwealth Games towards getting an NHL franchise. NHL expansion in the States has been shaky so I think the league should stop and relook at the situation in Canada. AHL failure was years ago and AHL is different from NHL. As I said, there is hunger for hockey and the NHL would thrive in the Maritimes.

 

Re: Nashville Predators moving to Canada? Sure seems like it...

OK, in doing some quick research for a column I'm not sure I'm going to get clearance to write, I have concluded moving the Predators to K-W is a no-brainer. Even though the population is relatively small for the immediate metro area, the strong corporate base (I see the Toronto Star recently did a story talking about it being the biggest economic juggernaut in Ontario) and the close proximity to suburban Toronto and Hamilton will give it a pretty strong and interested fan base. I mean, with Toronto's size and love of hockey, it could conceivably support three NHL teams all by itself.

Also, recall that the moves out of Canada in the 1990s were as much about the lousy state of the Canadian dollar as anything. Now that it's back up, Canada is more viable. Also, economically speaking, the ahem, welfare payments to small Canadian-market teams and the salary cap have put those teams on more equal ground.

Finally, the NHL might be better for the long-term to retrench with its hard-core fans before blowing out in the U.S. again. Clearly, the 2004-05 lockout killed what little momentum hockey had in areas outside its base (with the lousy ownership in Boston and Chicago responsible for killing hockey there).

However, it's possible the same problems that cropped up the first time in Winnipeg and Quebec -- markets too small to support a major-league franchise -- could crop up again. Plus, Kansas City is desperate to get somebody in that new arena. Still, the might be better off being smaller and more Canadian in its geographic reach, selling to fans who want it instead of fans who don't.