jordo212000;774924 wrote:The NHL really shot themselves in the foot by expanding into the SE. Nobody cares about hockey down there. Very few kids/adults in south have probably ever had the opportunity to play hockey.
USA Hockey has reported enormous growth in the southeast region over the last 20 years, vastly outstripping population trends, shifting demographics, and a host of other things. The ECHL has been predominantly Southern teams, and most of them have been extremely well received in the smaller cities and have contributed to the growth of the game.
ts1227;775012 wrote:And they keep shooting at the same foot until they blow it clean off in terms of their stubbornness to let these failed southern expansion teams move (see the Coyotes). Hopefully Bettman swallows his pride and just lets the thrashers move.
Phoenix was a relocation, not an expansion.
stlouiedipalma;775020 wrote:Good point. The Coyotes were the subject of much speculation in Winnipeg all last year as everyone watched that soap opera unfold in Arizona. If I lived in Glendale I would be highly pissed at the amount of money that community has given to the NHL. They got a nice arena in a bad location (access, etc.) and they all get the luxury of paying on all of this for years with no owner in place. They just voted to give the NHL more money to run the franchise until a buyer can be found. I guess Florida isn't the only place where hockey hasn't caught on.
I'd be more pissed at the assclowns who built America West Arena. Before the plans for it were even finalized, let alone before ground was broken, it was made known that the NHL would be expanding or relocating there in the near future. They basically gave hockey the finger and built an arena where nearly 25% of the seating capacity was in an overhang that physically obstructed the view of one-third of the rink. A brand-new arena that literally could not sustain a hockey team....total crap.
Little Danny;775210 wrote:How much longer until the CBJ moves? Reports are they lost $25M last year and $14M the year before. Let's be honest, there are some devout hockey fans in town, but it is not as if hockey is #1, 2, or 3 on most people's priority list in Central Ohio either. NHL Hockey teams should be in places that actually care about hockey.
Go sit on a pine cone.
jordo212000;775247 wrote:Common Man and the Torg say that they think as long as the current group owns the Blue Jackets, the team will remain in Columbus. Apparently they are central Ohio businessmen and they think moving the Blue Jackets would murder their other businesses (fan backlash/protest)
That's the most accurate thing that those two buffoons have ever said. Don't forget that COLHOC and their partners didn't charge rent to any of the Arena District businesses during the lockout year of 2004-05, thus ensuring both their survival and the survival of the entire area going forward.
gerb131;775272 wrote:Thats the name of the minor league team I heard it too and thought it was beyond stupid.
Say Columbus gets a pro baseball team....Columbus Clippers uhhh nooo.
jordo212000;775366 wrote:The people who own the Moose are the guys buying the Trashers, so the fact that tthe AHL team has that name is moot. If they want the Thrashers to be the Moose, they'll be the Moose
The NHL holds the trademarks and copyrights for the name "Winnipeg Jets", and the only way that they were going to release that is if Phoenix ended up back there. Since TNSE already holds everything for the name "Manitoba Moose", it's highly likely that that's what they'll go with.