I don't post much on HF anymore and it has been a long while since I lasted posted here on BoH. I remember the days of Jimmy Ball-Silly and Jerry Moyes, the Ice Edge clowns and perpetual fortnights, the weird lawsuits from random Bahamas-based companies and Glendale City Council meetings. It has been a strange ride.
I first got into these discussions because I wanted to see the team move to Southern Ontario. I still think the NHL has missed an opportunity in refusing to push aside the Leafs' objections and force a second team into this market. This is the largest hockey market in the world, but it is also a dramatically growing and changing city, and the NHL is ignoring those changes to the detriment to its market share, its revenues, and most importantly, to the sport itself.
At the same time, my views on the NHL's Southern expansion have shifted over the years. I would not describe myself as a convert, but I do now get it. I understand the importance of having teams in places like Phoenix, Atlanta, and Houston. I'm not convinced, mind you, that Salt Lake City is a place where the NHL should have ended up. It may be a growing market, but it still only has a population around 2 million, with no hockey pedigree, and an established NBA club. I do wonder if the league got a bit starry-eyed over this Ryan Smith fellow.
As for the Coyotes themselves, I came to dual conclusions a few years ago about the team: The first was that keeping the NHL in Phoenix was personal for Gary Bettman and the second was that Bettman's crusade to do it was half-assed and produced bad outcomes for all involved. In the case of the former, I think you still see that commitment in the league agreeing to declare the Coyotes an "inactive franchise," and the general concensus among insiders that the NHL wants to come back. In the case of the latter, I think you see it in Meruelo and his botched bid for the Tempe. It was Bettman and co. who approved Mereulo as an owner, it was Bettman and co. who brought in Daryl Jones before that, it was Bettman and co. who went to war with Glendale over a pittance of arena rent. If the NHL was really committed to this market, they could have put their money where their mouth was and probably would have made money in the end (Meurelo did!), but they didn't. Instead we got a parade of ass clowns as owners, arena uncertainties, and other sideshows that hurt fans and embarassed the league.
Anyways, I suppose this my sign-off on the Coyotes threads (and my thoughts on the relocation in general), even if I checked out long ago. I want to express my sympathies towards Coyotes fans and my hope that the NHL really does return in short-order. I also want to thank everyone for their insightful commentary and debates over the years, both to those still around, to those no longer posting, and of course to those who are no longer with us. Cheers, everyone.
