Why does Toronto only have one team ?

[habs9]

There should be 2 TO teams

It is obvious that TO could be similar to NY with multiple teams. Buffalo may suffer but so what. Why should they survive off the TO market and it is not.. could it support it ? but how much money would it make. I think it would be one of the most solid franchises and that would be a big benefit to the NHL. If the Leafs sellout why wouldn't some owner and the NHL want to exploit this market further and double the sellouts and revenue by adding another team.

Would it make money. The question is how much would it cost to invade the Leaf market. Although I accept their right in principle to compensation I would like to know what mechanism and legal agreement gives the Leafs the right and how would compensation be valued.

If the NHL can collectively impose a salary cap on a team like the Leafs that were not necessarily accepting of it why can't the NHL increase its revenue by adding or moving a team without requiring overly prohibitive territorial rights having to be paid.

The Leafs need the competition and the TO hockey fans deserve it.

 

[GameFace247SON]

To answer the question of the thread starter, it's very simple:

To limit the number of stupid trade proposals.

 

[Coburnfan05]

Toronto is not a great hockey market...It is a great Leaf market. It would make more sense to put the team in Hamilton or even London...Still close to the Toronto market but yet distintive because it is not another Toronto team.

 

[HockeyCritter]

Um,, just to be technical, the Devils are in New Jersey, not New York?

They (Devils) are considered part of the metro-tri-state area …. However, last time I looked, Buffalo was in New York.

 

[StorminZ]

New York has three teams, two struggling at the gate.
Los Angeles has two teams, one struggling at the gate

Why does Toronto only have one team ? There are tonnes of Leaf fans who are unable to get even one ticket to a game, what gives ? An area almost unanimously considered as the greatest hockey market on earth, perhaps it's lack of corporate support that only nashville and carolina can give.

Do Bettman and the NHL Board of Governors hate Canada when it's obvious Canada loves the NHL ?

It has nothing to do with Bettman hating Canada (let's get beyond the paranoia, eh?)

Frankly, I doubt the Maple Leafs have any interest in sharing the TO market. When there was talk of a Hamilton franchise many years ago, it was widely reported there would have been major monetary concessions to both the TML and Sabres for market reasons.

And as for the comment, An area almost unanimously considered as the greatest hockey market on earth ... won't deny TO is a strong hockey market, but saying it is "unanimously considered" ... far from it ... I think you'd get challenges from Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Detroit, New York, and on and on ... must be a Leaf fan!

 

[McDraekke]

Wow, stop complaining about not having another team in Ontario. Having the Sens and Leafs is good enough.
You are comparing Toronto to NYC, but they have almost DOUBLE your population...
Come on...and I mean, they aren't even on the same peice of land...
Get over yourselves, and go suck your thumbs, and watch the leafs get beat by the sens

 

[Ogopogo*]

Toronto has only one team because Canadians only have so much hate to give. Multiply Leafs hatred by 2 and yikes!!!

 

[arrbez]

Wow, stop complaining about not having another team in Ontario. Having the Sens and Leafs is good enough.
You are comparing Toronto to NYC, but they have almost DOUBLE your population...
Come on...and I mean, they aren't even on the same peice of land...
Get over yourselves, and go suck your thumbs, and watch the leafs get beat by the sens

A well informed, insightful post. Not indicative of any pre-concieved bias at all. A+




For the record, do you think there's more hockey fans in New York than Ontario? If you need an extra 5-10 million people for each new team, then Alberta shouldn't have one at all

Secondly, and for the last time, nobody in Toronto wants another team. This "complaining" is coming from outside observers...

But good effort

 

[Leaf Lander]

put 2 teams in montreal then move one to quebec


toronto could do same and move one to winnipeg

 

[Kardi]

if there was another team in toronto they couldnt jack up the ticket prices for no reason since ppl would just go to the other teams games

 

[boredmale]

i think the logical idea would be to put a team in Hamilton, but Buffalo would never allow it. Personally i feel Buffalo should play 5 games a year at Copps Colesium, those 5 games would be sell outs(especially if you put habs and sens games there) while increasing Buffalo support in that area.

 

[IdiotsPickedMyName*]

Shouldn't they worry about getting one NHL level team first?

 

[joshjull]

i think the logical idea would be to put a team in Hamilton, but Buffalo would never allow it. Personally i feel Buffalo should play 5 games a year at Copps Colesium, those 5 games would be sell outs(especially if you put habs and sens games there) while increasing Buffalo support in that area.

Won't happen, not when our tax dollars (State and local) paid for the arena. Local bars/resturants took a beating during the lockout. Also the city lost out on parking revenue since they get revenue from many of the lots near the arena. Some folks aren't happy with the one game they play in Rochester. That happens because Golisano is from Rochester and the Amerks connection. The sabres are getting a good amount of fans right now from S.Ontario especially with the canadian at par night promotion for tickets.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain*]

After reading this thread it makes me wonder on what Hunter was thinking when he was trying to bring the Blues to Saskatoon. Our population is under 200,000 and the Blues would have been gone before I was even born probably! Very puzzling?!?!?!?!

 

[Balej20*]

You mention that there are a ton of Leafs fans who can't get tickets for a game. They wanna go to the game because their LEAFS fans, therefore a second team in the city wouldn't feed their appetites. I'm a Rangers fan who lives on Long Island, I can't always get Rangers tickets, but I would never even think about going to an Islanders game to take the place of going to see the Rangers, even though Nassau Coliseum is about an hour less of a ride for me. Leafs fans wanna support the Leafs, not whatever other team you put in there. The team holds more weight than the fact that its an NHL game.

 

[boredmale]

Won't happen, not when our tax dollars (State and local) paid for the arena. Local bars/resturants took a beating during the lockout. Also the city lost out on parking revenue since they get revenue from many of the lots near the arena. Some folks aren't happy with the one game they play in Rochester. That happens because Golisano is from Rochester and the Amerks connection. The sabres are getting a good amount of fans right now from S.Ontario especially with the canadian at par night promotion for tickets.

i fully understand what you are saying and never see it happening, but that's a short term way of looking at it. Long term says if they play 37 games at home instead of 42, those games will sell more tickets on average. Beyond that with playing 4-5 games in hamilton, you give that whole area more of a feel they part of the team and will get more Canadians going there to watch a game.

Short term it basically sucks for the area, long term i think they can make more profits and revnue for both the team and city by doing it that way. I would also pick teams that are considered bad sellers to do the hamilton games(ie all canadian teams besides Toronto)

You mention that there are a ton of Leafs fans who can't get tickets for a game. They wanna go to the game because their LEAFS fans, therefore a second team in the city wouldn't feed their appetites. I'm a Rangers fan who lives on Long Island, I can't always get Rangers tickets, but I would never even think about going to an Islanders game to take the place of going to see the Rangers, even though Nassau Coliseum is about an hour less of a ride for me. Leafs fans wanna support the Leafs, not whatever other team you put in there. The team holds more weight than the fact that its an NHL game.

I would think there is a good number of people in the toronto area who hate the leafs who might cheer for them(the new team) out of spite.

 

[Puckclektr]

I would think there is a good number of people in the toronto area who hate the leafs who might cheer for them(the new team) out of spite.

I concur.

 

[Metallian*]

I would think there is a good number of people in the toronto area who hate the leafs who might cheer for them(the new team) out of spite.

Yeah, and that team's called the Senators last time I checked

 

[Hockeycanada*]

Yeah, and that team's called the Senators last time I checked

How far away is Ottawa from Toronto? Isn't Ottawa closer to Montreal than Toronto?

I'm sure many Toronto hockey fans would like to cheer for a hometown team that is not the Maple Leafs and I'm sure there are many hockey fans that would like to actually see a game live in Toronto.

 

[Puckclektr]

Yeah, and that team's called the Senators last time I checked

Have you ever looked at a map before?

 

[Bruins4Ever]

How far away is Ottawa from Toronto? Isn't Ottawa closer to Montreal than Toronto?

I'm sure many Toronto hockey fans would like to cheer for a hometown team that is not the Maple Leafs and I'm sure there are many hockey fans that would like to actually see a game live in Toronto.

Montreal and Ottawa are only about a 2 hour drive at most, Ottawa to Toronto is a good 7 or 8 hour drive in good traffic. The rivalry between Ottawa and Toronto has nothing to do with how close they are, it's the fact that they are two Ontario teams, much like Edmonton/Calgary, which is a pretty long drive as well. You could put a team in Windsor or Thunder Bay and they'd be rivals with Toronto without a doubt.

 

[ish]

the meadowlands is what, maybe 10 miles from madison square garden ?

the nassau coliseum is further from manhattan, fyi.

geography people, geography !

You can see the freaking Manhattan skyline from the Meadowlands. NY has 3 teams.

 

[Rails]

A) History. Toronto is the Maple Leafs territory; end of story.

B) Other Markets. There are markets in the United States, and maybe Canada with the CBA's cost certainty, that the NHL market could capitalize on that could potentially bring in a new fan base or revenue sources.

C) the 50 Mile Fee (on a smaller scale). I'm not sure if it is still around, but in the last decade of expansion/relocating, there was a fee that the new franchise would have to pay if they were moving into a city within a fifty mile radius of an existing NHL team. I think that this is why Hamilton has not gained an NHL franchise (44 miles from Toronto). I doubt that would stop the NHL if they wanted a proven NHL market. Although I doubt many of the Toronto natives would change existing NHL allegiances to a new Toronto/Hamilton team.

 

[TheFinalWord]

Ottawa to Toronto is a good 7 or 8 hour drive in good traffic.

It's actually only 5hrs unless there is a major accident or snowstorm, but that's neither here nor there. I think Ottawa-Toronto is a huge rivalry because of the recent playoff series'. I think it's been something like 4 of the past 5 years the Leafs have beaten Ottawa in the playoffs. I think most teams are rivals of Toronto because Toronto is the centre of North America.

 

[Metallian*]

Ontario already has 2 teams.
Toronto has the territory to Toronto.
No other city in Ontario could support an NHL franchise.

There should be no discussion on this stupid topic.