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Yet another argument for the NHL to move at least one team to Canuckistan

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by JR, May 30, 2008.

  1. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    And the Sabres scream bloody fucking murder and hold them up for a larcenous territorial rights fee.
     
  2. hockeybeat

    hockeybeat Guest

    I think it has more to do with Bettman trying to create new hockey markets and failing miserably.
     
  3. forever_town

    forever_town Well-Known Member

    Can someone do us all a favor and put Gary Bettman out of the NHL's misery?
     
  4. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Lots. So what?

    Doesn't change the fact.

    And remember when the loonie was 65 Cents to the US dollars, Canadian teams were paying salaries in Yankee bucks.
     
  5. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Because I think most businesses make sure they've fully exploited their primary markets before they move into secondary markets.

    And in the hockey universe K-C is a secondary market after places like SW Ontario.
     
  6. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    No.

    Yes, I'm a serious fanboy looser ... no secret there.

    But the organization is quite healthy, arguably healthier than it ever was in Hartford. A lot of that is the talent pool, and most of the rest of it is Peter Karmanos' penny-pinching ways, which haven't exactly loosened but he seems to be getting a little better about it. Maybe I'm completely dreaming on the last point.

    It doesn't seem that anyone in Manitoba, much less Winnipeg, will pony up the cash for an arena and it doesn't sound like anyone is too eager to go back to the Jets' old place. I also don't know if Hartford will be very warm to another organization given the way Karmanos pulled the Whalers out of there.

    The others make sense - particularly the Pacific Northwest locales and Hamilton. Is there a centralized locale in the Dakotas that would work best?
     
  7. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    Foevertown, your list of cities/states that IMO could say they deserve NHL teams:

    Seattle -- lousy arena, needs a new one, which is why the Sonics are leaving for OKC
    Portland, Ore. -- an NBA town, simple as that
    Dakota (North and South Dakota) -- you think they're rich enough for Sioux and NHL tickets?
    Milwaukee -- an NBA town already
    Winnipeg -- too small, needs new arena
    Hartford -- needs new arena, though fan base would be there
    Hamilton -- no debate there

    To dump on KC (with the Sprint Center up and running already) and mention some of the locales you think are viable is laughable.
     
  8. MacDaddy

    MacDaddy Active Member

    Of the U.S. cities that could get a team, Portland is probably the best bet. There's already a great building (the Rose Garden) and they've historically supported the minor league team pretty well. There'd also be the potential for a rivalry with Vancouver.
     
  9. Oz

    Oz Well-Known Member

    I won't debate the last sentence, because I can't. But you ripped on Las Vegas/KC as a bad idea. Well, if you're throwing out two cities, what would your second one be? I know Ontario is your first option, but I threw out KC as a better option than Vegas.

    What's your second choice?
     
  10. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

  11. Boomer7

    Boomer7 Active Member

    Beyond the ticket revenue issue (as significant as it is), the NHL needs more Canadian teams simply to raise the level of passion in the arenas. I love watching televised games from Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal because the energy is so much higher than it is in virtually all U.S. rinks. It's 17,000-20,000 people saying, "This game matters, so you should keep watching."

    It's sort of like soccer. Watching the Red Bulls play in front of 9,000 people in an 80,000-seat stadium is a terrible advertisement for the sport. Watching Toronto FC play in front of a sold-out, 20,000-seat stadium with great atmosphere is better. And watching Man U-Chelsea at Old Trafford will hook you for life.

    The NHL's been trying to cram hockey down the throats of disinterested American cities for nearly two decades, while ignoring its Old Traffords. The sooner the league returns to its base, the better.
     
  12. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    In descending order.

    K-Waterloo is a better choice than K-C

    K-C is a better option than Las Vegas.

    Quebec City, Winnipeg and Halifax would be better choices than Las Vegas.
     
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