NHL Hockey thread

[katmai]

Seattle Coyotes! Doesn't have great ring to it.

[PRC]

Seattle Coyotes! Doesn't have great ring to it.

Seattle Salmon Run
Seattle Rain
Seattle Sasquatch
Seattle Eruptions (Mt. St. Helens reference!)

[katmai]

I wonder when they get a team if will take the minorleague moniker of Thunderbirds.

[Jacob]

Seattle Barristas
Seattle Foggers
Seattle Rockers

[Grey Fox]

Seattle Mets, because history matters.

[viper37]

The thing is it's ridiculously late in the day to move a team, but I'm not sure what happens if Jamison can't close the deal.

The NHL will manage the team one more year and try their best to find another owner to keep the team in Glendale.  Ridiculous?  Well, they've been doing that for 3 years now.

[Valmy]

Why are they so desperate to keep the team there?  If nobody showed up this year what is it going to take?  Four consecutive Stanley Cups?

[Josephus]

Guess which team sold the most merchandise in the NHL this past season?

That's right. 

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/jets-merchandise-scores-top-dollar-in-league-sales-157729825.html

It sort of makes sense, though. They were a new team.

[viper37]

Why are they so desperate to keep the team there? 

It was Betman's decision to move the team from Winnipeg.  A market where a new team now works.  Betman's strategy was to expand in big US markets to get television contracts that would benefit the league.  American networks probably pay more than Canadian networks, due to potential market size.

Betman would look like a fool if another team was again to move out of its new market about a decade later, without evern turning a profit.  He was so happy when Winnipeg got its team back... I suspect it became personal to him, a question of ego.

Also, it's entirely possible other club owners don't want Péladeau to get a hockey team and join their club, and to that, they are willing to lose money so long as they have a glimmer of hope.  Besides, the NHL hasn't lost much money with that team so far.  Glendale gave 25millions for the last 2 years, so the NHL's losses were around 5-10 million$ no more.

If nobody showed up this year what is it going to take?  Four consecutive Stanley Cups?

I don't know.  Had the NHL done as much efforts for Quebec city and Winnipeg as they did for Glendale/Pheonix, we might have never lost our teams.

[Barrister]

Why are they so desperate to keep the team there? 

It was Betman's decision to move the team from Winnipeg.  A market where a new team now works.  Betman's strategy was to expand in big US markets to get television contracts that would benefit the league.  American networks probably pay more than Canadian networks, due to potential market size.

Betman would look like a fool if another team was again to move out of its new market about a decade later, without evern turning a profit.  He was so happy when Winnipeg got its team back... I suspect it became personal to him, a question of ego.

Also, it's entirely possible other club owners don't want Péladeau to get a hockey team and join their club, and to that, they are willing to lose money so long as they have a glimmer of hope.  Besides, the NHL hasn't lost much money with that team so far.  Glendale gave 25millions for the last 2 years, so the NHL's losses were around 5-10 million$ no more.

If nobody showed up this year what is it going to take?  Four consecutive Stanley Cups?

I don't know.  Had the NHL done as much efforts for Quebec city and Winnipeg as they did for Glendale/Pheonix, we might have never lost our teams.

Could Bettman have done more to try and help the Jets stay?  Sure.  But in the end it came down to the fact that the City had dithered for years and years on building a new arena and it just never happened.  So when local owner Barry Shenkarow said "that's it - I can't afford to own this team any longer" there was nobody who had the means to buy the team and sustain those losses.

Bettman wants the Coyotes to stay because Glendale purpose-built the arena for the NHL.  It would look terrible to all those other cities the league is trying to convince to build them arenas if they up and left.  This is what makes the situation different from Atlanta - there the arena owners wanted nothing to do with the Thrashers any more.

I doubt the league is opposed to PKP.  If they were surely he wouldn't be at the forefront of getting a new NHL-ready arena built in Quebec City...

[viper37]

Could Bettman have done more to try and help the Jets stay?  Sure.  But in the end it came down to the fact that the City had dithered for years and years on building a new arena and it just never happened.  So when local owner Barry Shenkarow said "that's it - I can't afford to own this team any longer" there was nobody who had the means to buy the team and sustain those losses.

But there was no one to keep the team in Pheonix/Glendale.  In fact, he forced the bankruptcy of the franchise to buy it and keep it in place.  I agree that Balsilie made a dick move, but still.  The NHL bought and manage the team itself, went active on lobbying the city for funds, tried itself desperately to find a buyer or a group of buyers and even though Jamison still doesn't have all the money, they're willing to wait a little more.

True, there's an arena.  Something Winnipeg and Quebec city did not have.

Also, the CAD$ was very low at the time, meaning Canadian teams had an hard time turning a profit.

Still, the NHL did not move a finger to keep the teams there.  They did not try all possible avenues to find another owner group in Quebec city of Winnipeg.

I doubt the league is opposed to PKP.  If they were surely he wouldn't be at the forefront of getting a new NHL-ready arena built in Quebec City...

Bell owns parts of two teams: the Canadians, and the Maple Leafs.  Bell also owns TSN and its French equivalent, RDS.  Right now, people are tuning in to RDS because there's hockey.  Hockey attracts other viewers who may stay for other shows.  Having one more hockey team in Quebec means Quebecor's new sports channel will get the coverage, not RDS.  That means a bit less viewers for RDS.  Not much, but enough to make them sit and wait.

On a personal level, apparently PKP is not really best friends with David Thompson too.  There is intense rivalry between Bell and Quebecor, Quebecor and CBC, Quebecor and just about any media group in the country

I don't know how much it plays, but it might be one of the many reasons why the NHL really wants to Coyotes to stay put.

[Neil]

It's so over.  Kings have won it all.

[Josephus]

About time.

[Neil]

Dustin Brown:  "That's why we fuckin' play."  Live on the air on NBC.

Prepare for the FCC to come down on NBC like a ton of bricks.

[Barrister]

Dustin Brown:  "That's why we fuckin' play."  Live on the air on NBC.

Prepare for the FCC to come down on NBC like a ton of bricks.

As if the FCC watches Stanley Cup games.