LadyStanley
Registered User
Missed his segment live (and too busy to listen on demand -- so far), but sound bite in promos is that the league will be at 31 teams for 2018-19 season start.
Let the speculation begin.
Let the speculation begin.
Manchester, NH will make a big push as the ECHL is not really working there. Friends who supported the Monarchs said it was a thrill to see the Kings win 2 Cups because many of the players came through Manchester, but very few ECHL players make it to the NHL.
Portland, Maine is to risky and frankly the NBA D-League team has done a good job in attracting families and the market isn't that big.
St. John's could be a sleeper but I think they need Quebec to get a team to have any chance.
Is there even on demand SXM? I'd like to hear it myself.
Didn't you guys here the news? With Andrew increasing the franchise value so much, the league is expanding to 62 teams. Each NHL team will be required to affiliate with TWO AHL teams and the schedule will consist of only the two teams playing each other. The remaining 31 teams will then play in a tournament similar to the Final 4.
This way everyone posting on here about their cities getting a team will get one!!
Didn't you guys here the news? With Andrew increasing the franchise value so much, the league is expanding to 62 teams. Each NHL team will be required to affiliate with TWO AHL teams and the schedule will consist of only the two teams playing each other. The remaining 31 teams will then play in a tournament similar to the Final 4.
This way everyone posting on here about their cities getting a team will get one!!
This already exists. It's called the American Basketball Association.
Make Manchester great again, bring back the AHL. The ECHL is unwatchable.
I thought that dissolved into the NBA eons ago?
That was the iconic ABA.
The current ABA is this bizarre League where teams fold days before their first game & other teams must create zombie franchises to fill the schedule.
There are already over 400 dead franchises ranging from Maine to Singapore to Venezuela.
The Bruins relationship with Providence is 'strained'. They are livid over some off-ice moves the Providence Bruins ownership have made recently and Manchester is just as close to TD Garden as Providence is.
A Manchester Bruins team would average 7-8K a game rivaling Providence.
The only thing I know for certain is the Bruins no longer want to associate with Providence owner H. Larue Renfroe.
The Bruins relationship with Providence is 'strained'. They are livid over some off-ice moves the Providence Bruins ownership have made recently and Manchester is just as close to TD Garden as Providence is.
A Manchester Bruins team would average 7-8K a game rivaling Providence.
The only thing I know for certain is the Bruins no longer want to associate with Providence owner H. Larue Renfroe.
I don't see the Boston-Providence affiliation coming to an end anytime soon. If it does, that would severely impact Providence's AHL success. Manchester's best AHL attendance like many others came in the "novelty" years when the product was fresh and relatively new to the market. I don't think the "fan base" has been overly impressive the last two seasons in the ECHL. Drop offs are expected initially but the fan loyalty to hockey overall has been very poor, even with a decent ECHL product with a roster of players the past two seasons who could play at the AHL level. I am sure even the Bruins AHL squad in other New England cities would do just as well as Manchester. Imagine the Bruins in Springfield, Worcester, Portland, Bridgeport, Burlington VT (if they had suitable arena) and heck even Lowell would sell out every night had the Bruins landed there. Anything can happen to our surprise of course but I would be shocked to see such a perfect relationship like Boston-Providence come to an end.....Providence reminds me of a little Boston, the arena in Providence feels like a Bruins affiliate, almost too perfectly. The Manchester fans like the Adirondack fans will stomp their feet, jump up and down crying foul declaring the ECHL is inferior rah rah rah and all that nonsense. The ECHL is a step below the AHL we get it, the roster poaching and turnover drives many crazy, myself included. If major cities, many who are major league in other sports can put sustainable attendance in their building's for an ECHL team then that reflects poorly on Podunk towns like Manchester or Glens Falls who refuse to support teams which cost multiple millions to operate in their respective towns... If an ECHL team is doing their best to give the fans an entertaining product to be proud of and the fans are not receptive then that suggests people are not interested.
Yeah... I don't foresee that happening. Manchester, Worcester & Portland's days in the AHL are numbered and its only a matter of time before Springfield & Hartford join that list. The AHL is leaving New England for various reasons that have been discussed previously. The league is moving into bigger markets or markets closer to the parent club and there is nothing that would suggest that Providence is any trouble financially.The Bruins relationship with Providence is 'strained'. They are livid over some off-ice moves the Providence Bruins ownership have made recently and Manchester is just as close to TD Garden as Providence is.
A Manchester Bruins team would average 7-8K a game rivaling Providence.
The only thing I know for certain is the Bruins no longer want to associate with Providence owner H. Larue Renfroe.
uh, it failed in Portland, NS, look back to 1987-91, where exactly did you think Providence got their franchise from....PORTLAND