Mighty Ducks Next Owner Will Keep Team in Anaheim

[McDonald19]

It would be ok if it was just Ducks. Just call them the Anaheim Ducks. Everyone calls the New York Knickerbockers the Knicks, and the Portland Trailblazers, the Blazers and the Oakland Athletics the A's. Just call them the Ducks and have everything say the Ducks and have everything be the Ducks and for the love of God change the color scheme, we don't like the pastel colors. Purple can work, but don't put it with Teal. It's almost worse than making a team wear pink.

Agreed.

Anaheim Ducks is an ok name.

The adjective was the stupid part, just remove the 'mighty'.

As for the color scheme, the black third jersey is the only jersey I'm willing to wear.

 

[GabbyDugan]

Disneyland is in Anaheim, right? I highly doubt that a company of that size would take the community hit of losing a team merely to get a relatively small amount more in a sale. And losing any team is a hit to a community.

On the other hand, the Disney Corporation has shareholders world wide and is in the process of undergoing a change in direction post-Michael Eisner. A corporation has to satisfy shareholder demands, and one way to do it is to rid itself of underperforming assets. The selling price of $ 60 million is a drop in the bucket for Disney, but they could probably take that $ 60 million and use it to buy (or increase their stake in) an ABC-affiliated TV station or open a few more retail stores that could churn a lot more cash flow and profitability than the NHL team does. I think Disney can satisfy it's Anaheim-base if they make the deal with guarantees the team won't go anywhere for a period of time. Apparently the arena is first class and Samueli has a lot of money and a very good reputation and strong power base in Southern California...looks like a business deal can be done here...

I have to agree with the people who posted that the roughly $ 60 million figure being tossed around is going to look like a fire sale price, though. The NHL Board of Governors won't want to approve that kind of deal. The last three NHL teams that sold - Buffalo, Atlanta, and Ottawa - had their valuations fudged because they included arenas and other assets getting tossed in to the deal. The last thing the NHL wants is for a team to be sold for about $ 20 million less than the expansion fees of five years ago.

Maybe Disney can find some other "under performing assets" to toss into the deal so that it looks like Samueli (or the other bidder) is paying at least $ 80 million for the team.

 

[McDonald19]

All the really big markets are taken, so what's left are towns that will support a team enthusiastically but are limited economically, or cities where economics are good but hockey support is uncertain.

Agreed. And no one is going to step up with a 100 million plus offer to buy the team and give Kansas City, Portland or Vegas a shot.

It simply makes more sense for Disney to get 60 million while they can and keep the team in the Pond with the new owners who already run the arena.

 

[mmbt]

As for the color scheme, the black third jersey is the only jersey I'm willing to wear.

Actually, I think they should just go with the green, and drop the purple entirely. The NHL needs more green ever since Hartford went away (as well as more brass bonanza), and the green would go well with the Pond's exterior color scheme.

 

[Ol' Dirty Chinaman*]

They said they'd keep the Grizzlies in Vancouver ...

 

[NYFAN]

As a Long Island hockey fan, I would love to see the Duck name remain in the league! We had the L.I ducks for years here before the Islanders and the NHL came along. Muckler and co were quite entertaining back then, both on and off the ice!

 

[nomorekids]

As a Long Island hockey fan, I would love to see the Duck name remain in the league! We had the L.I ducks for years here before the Islanders and the NHL came along. Muckler and co were quite entertaining back then, both on and off the ice!

I remember the LI Ducks as being a pretty fierce rival of my own Nashville Knights

 

[NYFAN]

I remember the LI Ducks as being a pretty fierce rival of my own Nashville Knights

Todays NHL players could learn alot from those teams. The players would think nothing of going down to the local bar and tossing down a few with fans back then. They were just guys who loved Hockey! They felt LUCKY to play the game as semi pro 's

 

[nomorekids]

Todays NHL players could learn alot from those teams. The players would think nothing of going down to the local bar and tossing down a few with fans back then. They were just guys who loved Hockey! They felt LUCKY to play the game as semi pro 's

That's my beef with people who turn their noses up at the thought of "replacement players." AS LONG AS a reasonable price was being charged...I would definitely pay to see games as intense as the ones that guys like Trevor Jobe gave me back in the early 90s. I personally would welcome Glen Metropolit back to Nashville anyday

 

[Jaded-Fan]

On the other hand, the Disney Corporation has shareholders world wide and is in the process of undergoing a change in direction post-Michael Eisner.

You misunderstand. I went to school in Florida, about 2.5 hours from Disney World, so know that something like half of their business is local. Disneyland I would think is even more so . . . who would fly to Disneyland over Disneyworld? So pissing off the locals would not be something Disney would want to do. Hence, they will care if the new owner will want to move the team or not.

 

[GabbyDugan]

You misunderstand. I went to school in Florida, about 2.5 hours from Disney World, so know that something like half of their business is local. Disneyland I would think is even more so . . . who would fly to Disneyland over Disneyworld? So pissing off the locals would not be something Disney would want to do. Hence, they will care if the new owner will want to move the team or not.

I see Disney as trying very, very hard to be benevolent towards the hockey fans of Anaheim in this case. I've lived in company towns, too, and rarely have I seen this much concern about"pissing off the locals" when an opportunity to enhance the corporate portfolio was at hand.

Disney has been very public in its efforts to sell the Mighty Ducks, and in this case seem to be going that extra mile to ensure that Anaheim will continue to be a part of the NHL. A transfer of the team to someone like Henry Samueli with a vested interest in keeping the team in the locality and keeping the Arrowhead as an arena with lots of events to keep it vibrant....sounds like a possible win/win for Disney AND the citizens of Anaheim....

 

[ColoradoHockeyFan]

Update:

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/shownews.jsp?content=h022504A

 

[futurcorerock]

I'll reluctantly embrace the selling. As long as they change their name strictly to the ducks, revise the logo and likewise... they just might be able to shed their Di$ney past.

I mean... if the PENGUINS (mind you, a bird that can't fly) can win a Stanley Cup, i dont have a problem if the Ducks win one as well. Just as long as they aren't mighty and their players dont make cameos in sequels of a Di$ney film.

 

[Gary Buttman]

I wonder if the eventual fate of the Mighty Ducks wouldve been different if they'd won that Game 7 in New Jersey...

 

[Injektilo]

I cheered for New Jersey in 2003 simply because I didn't like the thought of "Mighty Ducks of Anaheim" being written on the Cup.


Of course, "cheered" is probably the wrong word, seeing as I didn't really give a **** about either team and probably didn't watch more than 20 minutes of the whole series.

 

[Steve L*]

I cheered for New Jersey in 2003 simply because I didn't like the thought of "Mighty Ducks of Anaheim" being written on the Cup.

Of course, "cheered" is probably the wrong word, seeing as I didn't really give a **** about either team and probably didn't watch more than 20 minutes of the whole series.

Neither did anyone else

 

[mmbt]

Neither did anyone else

They missed some damn exciting games.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Game 7 was a dud...and it turned Michael frickin' Rupp into a household name.

The rest of the series was (surprisingly) entertaining. Of course, it helps to have the two captains embroiled in a massive one-upsmanship contest.

That series wasn't nearly as good as the 2004 final (Cgy-TB), but far better than the Det-Car final.