Around Hockey XXIV (All Non-Jackets Hockey talk in here)

[Cowumbus]

Calgary gets some magic beans and Vancouver gets a solid player while saving a bit on the cap. If Kuz rebounds a bit he could be traded at next year's deadline for more assets.

It's similar to what we gave up for Duchesne and those beans didn't work out for Ottawa.

Hunter Brzustewicz is a solid prospect.

 

[NotCommitted]

Oh pretty late to this, but let me just express my outrage. That Gallagher hit / elbow was one of the nastiest plays I've seen in a long time, just zero excuses for "accidental" and IMO 5 games is not nearly enough.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Might be the worst trade deadline ever

 

[DarkandStormy]

Might be the worst trade deadline ever

Makes even more sense to trade Jenner now.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

Kings fire McLellan. So much for respecting the all star weekend lol

 

[Jovavic]

Must be wild to be a fan of a team where a lack of success has consequences

 

[Crede777]

Must be wild to be a fan of a team where a lack of success has consequences

We fired the coach over the summer.

Or do you mean GM? Because Rob Blake is still there...

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Not seeing this anywhere here:



I guaran-damn-tee that if Cincinnati got a team they'd be competitive earlier than Columbus and that is bad for the city of Columbus.

 

[DarkandStormy]

We fired the coach over the summer.

Or do you mean GM? Because Rob Blake is still there...

Larsen was fired because he let the "standards" slip or whatever.

 

[koteka]

I guaran-damn-tee that if Cincinnati got a team they'd be competitive earlier than Columbus and that is bad for the city of Columbus.

Just trying to jack up the price for Salt Lake City and Atlanta. I’d say Indianapolis would be ahead of Cincinnati for an NHL franchise.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Just trying to jack up the price for Salt Lake City and Atlanta. I’d say Indianapolis would be ahead of Cincinnati for an NHL franchise.

I don’t think Indianapolis is on the radar. Cincinnati and Ft Wayne outdraw the Indy ECHL team.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Move over Jackets, you're going to be the second best NHL team in Ohio.

Could the NHL expand to Cincinnati? Commissioner says discussions are 'very preliminary'

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman appeared to mention Cincinnati as a possible expansion city for the first time during a media Q&A Friday.

www.wcpo.com

I'd view this possibility as a long shot, but there are a few things that suggest that there are some well-heeled individuals/groups who might throw their weight behind a Cincinnati NHL expansion bid.

Do the CBJ have any territorial rights-say 100 mile radius from Columbus or the like-that could make this rumor moot?

**I didn't see the original post on this**

 

[Cyclones Rock]

I don’t think Indianapolis is on the radar. Cincinnati and Ft Wayne outdraw the Indy ECHL team.

Indy's building capacity is around 6500 compared to Cincinnati (16k) and FTW (10k).

Indy has been selling out its weekend games this season and is moving to a larger facility (8k) next season. Fort Wayne is way too small for an NHL team-although they did have an NBA team once.

Can anyone name that NBA team and where that franchise is now? Without an internet search. LOL

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Indy's building capacity is around 6500 compared to Cincinnati (16k) and FTW (10k).

Indy has been selling out its weekend games this season and is moving to a larger facility (8k) next season. Fort Wayne is way too small for an NHL team-although they did have an NBA team once.

Can anyone name that NBA team and where that franchise is now? Without an internet search. LOL

Fair enough. I spent quite a bit of time in Indianapolis over the last several years. Its a great city with a great downtown but I've never once thought of Indianapolis as a "Hockey Town"

FWIW I don't see Cincinnati as hockey town either. It's a football and baseball town bordering on a basketball state. They would have supportive ownership in the Lindner family that brought FC Cincinnati to town. (even though they are not the Crew)

I love everything about Cincinnati as a Reds and Bengals fan (F*ck Kentucky FC however) and I think it is also a great city. I just think there is so much competition for sports dollars there when you also bring in UC and Xavier basketball.

 

[NotWendell]

Not seeing this anywhere here:



I guaran-damn-tee that if Cincinnati got a team they'd be competitive earlier than Columbus and that is bad for the city of Columbus.

Notice they did not refer to Salt Lake City as an "expansion" candidate.

 

[CBJWerenski8]

The NHL isn’t going to Cincinnati anytime soon/ever, too many hurdles.

It’ll be Atlanta and Utah. After that it’ll be a bit before it expands again.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Notice they did not refer to Salt Lake City as an "expansion" candidate.

The question was asked about SLC to begin with.

 

[DarkandStormy]

The NHL isn’t going to Cincinnati anytime soon/ever, too many hurdles.

It’ll be Atlanta and Utah. After that it’ll be a bit before it expands again.

Well, they're not going to go from 32 to 34 and then stop. 36 is more logical.

There's also the Coyotes - send them to Houston or SLC, please.

A lot of smoke around Atlanta for...reasons.

Kansas City? Portland? Hartford? San Diego? Austin? Indianapolis?

 

[Cowumbus]

Do you think if you put McDavid on the ice for an Olympic speed skating event he would look noticeably out of place, for instance in the 500m? I think the world record is like 33ish second.

 

[majormajor]

Do you think if you put McDavid on the ice for an Olympic speed skating event he would look noticeably out of place, for instance in the 500m? I think the world record is like 33ish second.

Crazy group of facts - Usain Bolt's top speed, about two thirds through the 100m, has been measured at 27 mph. 27 miles is the world record distance in an hour of speed skating, by a Dutch guy named Erik Jan Kooiman. Kooiman went Bolt's speed for an hour.

McDavid has been measured at 25.5 mph, not nearly as fast as a 500m speed skater, who would go over 30 mph. But the primary constraint there might be that a hockey rink is too small, a player has to stop before he gets close to top speed.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

The NHL isn’t going to Cincinnati anytime soon/ever, too many hurdles.

It’ll be Atlanta and Utah. After that it’ll be a bit before it expands again.

Atlanta is a two time NHL loser. I've heard every excuse in the book as to why, but the fact remains that the league has failed twice there. The third time wouldn't necessarily be a charm.

In 1978, the WHA came within one vote of being merged with the NHL. The Cincinnati Stingers would have joined the NHL. The next year, the NHL voted to take the WHA but the Stingers opted out and took a payment to fold. Point is that Cincinnati was considered an NHL city 40 years ago. The Stingers probably would have met the same fate as the Harford Whalers-relocation after a decade or so-had they ended up in the NHL.

A new arena with some well-heeled ownership and it could work out. I agree that it's a long shot, but the ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones are regularly drawing 8,000 or more on weekend dates with virtually no media coverage. The Cyclones only report how many people are actually in the building compared to the nebulous "tickets distributed" method of attendance reporting that most teams (including the CBJ) use. The television market is about the same size as Columbus and Salt Lake City. Cincinnati comes into play when the NHL goes to 36 teams and/or Arizona, Winnipeg and Florida start looking for new locations.

Jacksonville FL could be a darkhorse candidate for NHL expansion at some point. It's a growing market and if reported attendance figures are to be believed, the ECHL Icemen draw quite well.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Fair enough. I spent quite a bit of time in Indianapolis over the last several years. Its a great city with a great downtown but I've never once thought of Indianapolis as a "Hockey Town"

FWIW I don't see Cincinnati as hockey town either. It's a football and baseball town bordering on a basketball state. They would have supportive ownership in the Lindner family that brought FC Cincinnati to town. (even though they are not the Crew)

I love everything about Cincinnati as a Reds and Bengals fan (F*ck Kentucky FC however) and I think it is also a great city. I just think there is so much competition for sports dollars there when you also bring in UC and Xavier basketball.

I think that your overall analysis of Cincinnati is quite accurate.

I would point out that the ECHL Cyclones draw very well. Who would have thought that Columbus was a hockey town. Or Nashville. Or Carolina. Or Dallas. Only Gary Bettman still believes that Phoenix is a hockey town. Some believe that Ft. Lauderdale is still a hockey town. What probably is the dagger for Cincinnati as an NHL city is that it is likely a city/area on a secular downtrend (my view) and all the competition for the sports dollar as you pointed out. But a new arena and a wealthy ownership group could overcome these factors.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

I think that your overall analysis of Cincinnati is quite accurate.

I would point out that the ECHL Cyclones draw very well. Who would have thought that Columbus was a hockey town. Or Nashville. Or Carolina. Or Dallas. Only Gary Bettman still believes that Phoenix is a hockey town. Some believe that Ft. Lauderdale is still a hockey town. What probably is the dagger for Cincinnati as an NHL city is that it is likely a city/area on a secular downtrend (my view) and all the competition for the sports dollar as you pointed out. But a new arena and a wealthy ownership group could overcome these factors.

True, they do draw pretty well for an ECHL team, just as the Chill did playing in the fairgrounds even if it did smell like farm animals. Columbus didn't really have the competition for sports dollars at the time. The Crew was new and everything still revolves around OSU football.

I'm not sure where they could put an arena. the site of the existing one would be ideal but then you'd have to tear it down and have no big arena for a couple of years. It cold thrive there but I just don't see Cincinnati as a market that can handle virtually every major league sport. I think the NBA would do better based on proximity to Kentucky.

 

[EspenK]

Forget expansion, move Coyotes to SLC. Talent isn't diluted,conferences and divisions stay balanced.

 

[DarkandStormy]

Forget expansion, move Coyotes to SLC. Talent isn't diluted,conferences and divisions stay balanced.

But that doesn't bring in new money.

They're going to go to 36 eventually. I'd venture to guess at least three of the new markets will be in the U.S., if not all four.

May be 8-10 years before we get there, though, imo.

It also gives you a chance to go back to three divisions in each conference, six teams a division. Or two nine-team divisions.