AHL West in 2015-16?

[go comets]

so are the Coyotes, what's your point, wildcat

this is why 2015-16 is ludicrous as it stands I can see 2018 or later based off arena leases

I also now don't see LA abandoning Manchester after 2016, after what they've accomplished there the lasst 3 seasons, either

I wish that the newcomers to this board here think and research before posting their opinions, even if they haven't seen some of these teams, tbth, because it's making those true AHL Fans defensive and cynical without knowing what the league or its teams are willing to reveal to their fanbases.

I agree that it will be at least 2-3 seasons away from happening. The flames just signed for 3 seasons, and the canucks are locked in at utica. Word is now that the Canucks can leave but must find another team to finish the remaining 5 seasons. And I can't see any less than 3-4 teams going out west on the initial move in order to make it worthwild.

 

[Clinton Comets EHL]

I agree that it will be at least 2-3 seasons away from happening. The flames just signed for 3 seasons, and the canucks are locked in at utica. Word is now that the Canucks can leave but must find another team to finish the remaining 5 seasons. And I can't see any less than 3-4 teams going out west on the initial move in order to make it worthwild.

Go Comets, where did you source; "Word is now that the Canucks can leave but must find another team to finish the remaining 5 seasons." ?

 

[HansH]

Where did the Thunder Cats play?

It will be interesting to see how many teams actually move the teams. Also, maybe Colorado gets a team and moves it to say Colorado Springs.

Bad idea, IMO - the WCHL team there (their last attempt at a pro team) never won the hearts and minds over Colorado College. Yes, I know an AHL team is "fancier", but Loveland/Fort Collins has shown itself to be FAR more embracing of minor pro hockey.

Now, a Colorado AHL affiliate in Loveland might work -- they've sold out every game of their existence in both the CHL and ECHL, if I recall correctly.

But yes, they'd have to either convince some other owner to move there and affiliate, or buy a team from someone, and I doubt the Cavs owner is at all interested in selling his AHL team.

I've always said that this was possible, but would take a LOT of coordination and pieces falling together, because of the number of parties involved in each individual market -- the team owner who actually owns a franchise, the arena management who can decide not to offer or make bad terms on a lease, and an NHL affiliation being needed. So, there's a LOT of combinations of outcomes possible out there.

Things people seem to be forgetting:

* Edmonton owns OKC (which is not living up to its prior promise)
* Edmonton now also owns ECHL Bakersfield

So, if the lease in OKC and the lease in Bako allow, they might flip the teams, or just fold/sell the ECHL Condors and move the AHL Barons into Bako in their place. That's one possible moving piece.

* The LA lease in Manchester runs out in 2015, I believe
* LA also owns the ECHL Ontario Reign, so once again, there could be a swap or a fold/sale or even move of the Reign so that the Monarchs could move into Ontario. Heck, maybe the Reign move to San Diego, bringing the ECHL back.

So, some mysteries here are:

* How does Anaheim fit into this framework? Are they buying and moving a franchise, or hoping some other owner will be found out West that they can affiliate with?
* How does Colorado fit into the framework, with the situation as mentioned in Lake Erie?
* Is there a way to get the Vancouver affiliation into Abbotsford?
* What are the thoughts on the Norfolk owners -- re-affiliate with someone else (as they've done in the past), or just sell to Anaheim (or someone else)?

And I'll wager that the participants themselves don't know all the answers to these questions yet.

It might fall apart, but it's interesting to watch the participants move towards making it happen, and speculate on what the moving pieces might be.

 

[JimB]

As a Norfolk fan, I'm concerned how this may play out. Norfolk is geographically challenged (many long bus trips) and has become somewhat of an affiliation of last resort--Tampa came after Springfield tossed them; Anaheim is here only because Syracuse didn't renew their agreement. Have no idea if Ken Young would be inclined to sell, but at some price anything is for sale.

 

[go comets]

Go Comets, where did you source; "Word is now that the Canucks can leave but must find another team to finish the remaining 5 seasons." ?

i dont remember if it was twitter or facebook, it was from don liable (spelling)or his son last week sometime. maybe you can shed light on it. i havent seen anyone to ask since the season ended......

 

[GKJ]

I'd feel bad for Manchester if they lose a team outright. Hopefully someone else moves in there. I feel the Kings would be at the forefront of this AHL moving west.

 

[RFA]

No one else saw this as a cheap publicity stunt by Andrews, with the CC finals going on? Maybe a couple of beat writers and boards like this pick up on it?

All the AHL teams are independently owned, if they wanted to move somewhere, they'd move.....

 

[offkilter]

No one else saw this as a cheap publicity stunt by Andrews, with the CC finals going on? Maybe a couple of beat writers and boards like this pick up on it?

All the AHL teams are independently owned, if they wanted to move somewhere, they'd move.....

Publicity stunt? If it is, its a pretty god awful one. At its best all it would is destabilize any team with a west coast NHL affiliate and hurt their business.

 

[Govment Cheese]

All the AHL teams are independently owned, if they wanted to move somewhere, they'd move.....

AHL teams still need approval to move and/or sell the team. New owner and area have to be vetted before a deal is finalized.

Correct me if i am wrong but western NHL teams own their AHL teams: (Kings) Manchester, (Sharks) Worcester and (Canucks) Utica. Calgary (Glen falls) and Edmonton (OK city) may have partial ownership of their AHL affiliates.

The first step for the teams list above is to get themselves free of their arena leases. All have to expire around the same time so that 4-6 teams can make the jump as a division. While that is going on they have to find places to play out west.

Now for the other western NHL teams that don't own an AHL team. They have to find a current AHL owner that is willing to sell or move their team to the west coast. Still have the issue with these teams current arena leases and getting them to expire/buyout to line up with the move.
That is a lot of moving parts and don't see all of them happening for 2-3 years.

There is one other thing that is going to happen in the years after teams move west. Teams left in the east will use the cities that lost teams to leverage their current cities for better arena lease deals.
IMO every city that has AHL hockey should be little worried, since there will be 4-6 AHL markets without teams looking to make a deal.

Going to bring AHL silly season to a whole new level.

 

[Tommy Hawk]

As a Norfolk fan, I'm concerned how this may play out. Norfolk is geographically challenged (many long bus trips) and has become somewhat of an affiliation of last resort--Tampa came after Springfield tossed them; Anaheim is here only because Syracuse didn't renew their agreement. Have no idea if Ken Young would be inclined to sell, but at some price anything is for sale.

Sorry but according to other posters all the eastern conference teams only have bus rides of 2 to 3 hours.

AHL teams still need approval to move and/or sell the team. New owner and area have to be vetted before a deal is finalized.

Correct me if i am wrong but western NHL teams own their AHL teams: (Kings) Manchester, (Sharks) Worcester and (Canucks) Utica. Calgary (Glen falls) and Edmonton (OK city) may have partial ownership of their AHL affiliates.

The first step for the teams list above is to get themselves free of their arena leases. All have to expire around the same time so that 4-6 teams can make the jump as a division. While that is going on they have to find places to play out west.

Now for the other western NHL teams that don't own an AHL team. They have to find a current AHL owner that is willing to sell or move their team to the west coast. Still have the issue with these teams current arena leases and getting them to expire/buyout to line up with the move.
That is a lot of moving parts and don't see all of them happening for 2-3 years.

There is one other thing that is going to happen in the years after teams move west. Teams left in the east will use the cities that lost teams to leverage their current cities for better arena lease deals.
IMO every city that has AHL hockey should be little worried, since there will be 4-6 AHL markets without teams looking to make a deal.

Going to bring AHL silly season to a whole new level.

When have you ever seen the AHL kill a sale or a move? When have you ever seen a team not get out of a lease or affiliation agreement early if the team did not want to?

 

[RFA]

Rangers have been in Denver/Colorado, Islanders have been in SLC- who says it's only western NHL teams on the bandwagon?

Calgary and Edmonton do own AHL franchises.

 

[Clinton Comets EHL]

Sorry but according to other posters all the eastern conference teams only have bus rides of 2 to 3 hours.




When have you ever seen the AHL kill a sale or a move? When have you ever seen a team not get out of a lease or affiliation agreement early if the team did not want to?

I agree. Money talks and the bs walks. I hate to see this, for selfish reasons....as stated earlier but even if an NHL team that own their AHL affiliate lost 3 million a year for 5 years in a market they were growing their brand....what is that? The cost of a 3rd line center? Mike Richards makes 6 m a year in LA and he is 4th line. Not picking on any players but see ur point.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

I think the Jets should just temporarily move their AHL team to Peoria or something for a short bit. Duluth wouldn't be bad either.

 

[GareFan18]

I think the Jets should just temporarily move their AHL team to Peoria or something for a short bit. Duluth wouldn't be bad either.

Kansas City

 

[Tommy Hawk]

I think the Jets should just temporarily move their AHL team to Peoria or something for a short bit. Duluth wouldn't be bad either.

Why move the team at all? Peoria won't take them after getting hosed by St. Louis and then Vancouver trying to get $1.5 mil a year from the city to stay.

 

[adsfan]

That's a rumored lineup. Of those teams, Colorado, Anaheim, and Phoenix do not own their AHL affiliates. So who's selling to allow the move?


Also, nothing says the AHL couldn't pull an ECHL type move and let the six teams play with themselves all season, then making them travel come playoffs.


I have a feeling that the ECHL Western Conference will disappear, to be replaced by this new AHL West Division (mostly based in California).

That is pretty much what the AHL did when the I6 teams joined. Milwaukee got Rochester and Norfolk and one other AHL team visiting. The rest were the old IHL teams.

 

[adsfan]

I think the Jets should just temporarily move their AHL team to Peoria or something for a short bit. Duluth wouldn't be bad either.

I assume that you mean Duluth, MN.

Duluth would be another outpost city, like Charlotte or Norfolk or formerly Abby. There is no more AHL team in Winnipeg since the Jets showed up from Atlanta.
It would be better for the AHL to move a team to Duluth, GA (near Atlanta). They could support the teams in Charlotte (225 miles) and Norfolk.

Duluth is 400 miles and a 6 hour drive from Milwaukee and nearly the same from Des Moines (Iowa Wild). Duluth gets 85 inches a snow per winter, similar to Syracuse. That could make travel in or out by airplane or bus difficult even for a temp relocation.

 

[aparch]

Duluth [MN] is 400 miles and a 6 hour drive from Milwaukee and nearly the same from Des Moines (Iowa Wild). Duluth gets 85 inches a snow per winter, similar to Syracuse. That could make travel in or out by airplane or bus difficult even for a temp relocation.

It's no different than trying to get in and out of Syracuse in the winter (123.8"). Or Rochester (99.5"). Or Binghamton (83.4"). Or Portland (83.8"). Or St. John's (131.9").

The University of Minnesota Duluth doesn't have a problem with traveling out of or having teams get to Duluth for hockey games in Winter.

That is pretty much what the AHL did when the I6 teams joined. Milwaukee got Rochester and Norfolk and one other AHL team visiting. The rest were the old IHL teams.

Thanks for the insight! I wasn't familiar with the schedule when the IHL 6 joined the AHL. So there is precedent already.

 

[regulate]

https://twitter.com/wyshynski

This was first reported by the John Hoven on Mayor's Manor back in April, so there are definite legs to this story http://mayorsmanor.com/2014/04/major-news-kings-preparing-to-move-top-prospects-to-socal/

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

This was first reported by the John Hoven on Mayor's Manor back in April, so there are definite legs to this story http://mayorsmanor.com/2014/04/major-news-kings-preparing-to-move-top-prospects-to-socal/

boy some of you will be ticked if Manchester and Worcester stay past 2016....

 

[regulate]

boy some of you will be ticked if Manchester and Worcester stay past 2016....

I will. The beautiful Citizen's Bank Arena is less than 10 minutes from my house (Staples Center is about an hour). It's a great arena for hockey, and the Kings have an ECHL affiliate there now, but I am really not interested in going much because I want to see the actual prospects, not guys who will never see the NHL. I would get season tickets in a heartbeat if the Monarchs are moved to Ontario, California. It would suck for Manchester fans. Hopefully they will get a new team. Just makes sense to be able to see your players develop, vs being 3,000 miles away.

 

[dmband]

boy some of you will be ticked if Manchester and Worcester stay past 2016....

What has changed? Is there some current news on the status of the Western push?

 

[adsfan]

boy some of you will be ticked if Manchester and Worcester stay past 2016....

I believe that the move to the West will take two years. Maybe 3 or 4 teams initially, with the others to follow in the next season (2016-17). It would be hard to move 6 teams in one concerted effort.

 

[ZekeA]

A few questions

I believe that the move to the West will take two years. Maybe 3 or 4 teams initially, with the others to follow in the next season (2016-17). It would be hard to move 6 teams in one concerted effort.

"Adsfan":


Could you tell us what 3-4 teams would move out West 1st? Also in what cities they would play in??

How would you realign the Western conference, and their divisions??

Would travel costs go way up???

Thank you for your reply to my questions~~~~!!!!!!!!!

 

[Martin V]

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE - SEASON 2015-16

WESTERN CONFERENCE

PORTLAND (OREGON) FLAMES
ONTARIO KINGS
SEATTLE CANUCKS
SACRAMENTO SHARKS
SAN DIEGO DUCKS

Texas STARS
San Antonio AVALANCHE
Iowa WILD
Oklahoma City OILERS (may move to Bakersfield eventually)
LAS VEGAS or HOUSTON COYOTES

Chicago BLUES
Milwaukee PREDATORS
Rockford BLACKHAWKS
Grand Rapids RED WINGS
Lake Erie BLUE JACKETS

EASTERN CONFERENCE

THUNDER BAY JETS
Rochester SABRES
Syracuse SENATORS
Toronto MAPLE LEAFS
Portland CANADIENS (may move to Laval eventually)

Lehigh Valley FLYERS
Wilkes Barre - Scranton PENGUINS
Hershey CAPITALS
Norfolk PANTHERS
Charlotte HURRICANES

Bridgeport ISLANDERS (may move to Nassau Long Island eventually)
Hartford RANGERS
Manchester LIGHTNING
Providence BRUINS
Albany DEVILS

gone: Utica, Adirondacks, Worcester, St Johns, Springfield, Binghamton and Hamilton