Around the NHL: Part XXXIV

[nsvoyageurs]

The City of Phoenix just spent over $200MM renovating the Suns Arena. The seating bowl is not conducive to hockey.same situation as Barclay’s. The Suns owner, who controls the building, wants no part of the Coyotes. Bottom line, that’s not an option.

Getting another building built in this market has been and continues to be a long shot. There will be no government money. The location they are toying with now is pretty good real estate but we are talking (at the earliest) a 2025-26 season opening. It will also be 100% private capital and I doubt Merrill’s has anywhere near the resources to pull it off.

There are a lot of loyal fans here. Just not enough of them. The current building is excellent for hockey but the team has complained about the location since day two. The Cardinals Stadium is right next door and they do fine. Yes, it’s a tough commute from the east side during the week but it’s not a problem on the weekends or holidays.

I could go on for hours about all of the things they have done wrong here. My entire post hockey and journalism career was in marketing so I understand how to move product.. They have been brain dead in promoting the team. I offered to help on numerous occasions without a response.

Thanks for your clarification with the Suns' arena. I had read Sarver wanted nothing to do with the Coyotes. The franchise has been poorly run in every conceivable way; the fans there (however many of them there are) have put through the wringer. How are their TV/radio ratings?

I think it was Steve Ellman (along with Wayne Gretzky) who put together the group that got that arena; did they not realize Glendale was not a good location, or were they unable to get an arena deal in Scottsdale, or at least somewhere that's easier for fans to get to and would generate more revenue? I don't remember the details from that time.

Gary Bettman has been hell bent/stubborn/anal on having that team stay in the Phoenix area. The current owner supposedly has money, but according to an article in the Athletic from a few months ago, they have a very toxic work environment and are in long default on a number of bills. Maybe this is the time where the NHL says it just isn't going to work; let's find a place where they can get on a more stable foundation.

They should have listened to you on promotion ideas!

 

[bobbop]

Thanks for your clarification with the Suns' arena. I had read Sarver wanted nothing to do with the Coyotes. The franchise has been poorly run in every conceivable way; the fans there (however many of them there are) have put through the wringer. How are their TV/radio ratings?

I think it was Steve Ellman (along with Wayne Gretzky) who put together the group that got that arena; did they not realize Glendale was not a good location, or were they unable to get an arena deal in Scottsdale, or at least somewhere that's easier for fans to get to and would generate more revenue? I don't remember the details from that time.

Gary Bettman has been hell bent/stubborn/anal on having that team stay in the Phoenix area. The current owner supposedly has money, but according to an article in the Athletic from a few months ago, they have a very toxic work environment and are in long default on a number of bills. Maybe this is the time where the NHL says it just isn't going to work; let's find a place where they can get on a more stable foundation.

They should have listened to you on promotion ideas!

Glendale is not as bad as people say it is but when the team continues to tell people they are not staying in the arena long term and they need a new building, it makes it tough to build a following. The west side of the metropolitan area is booming.

 

[Tawnos]

Thanks for your clarification with the Suns' arena. I had read Sarver wanted nothing to do with the Coyotes. The franchise has been poorly run in every conceivable way; the fans there (however many of them there are) have put through the wringer. How are their TV/radio ratings?

I think it was Steve Ellman (along with Wayne Gretzky) who put together the group that got that arena; did they not realize Glendale was not a good location, or were they unable to get an arena deal in Scottsdale, or at least somewhere that's easier for fans to get to and would generate more revenue? I don't remember the details from that time.

Gary Bettman has been hell bent/stubborn/anal on having that team stay in the Phoenix area. The current owner supposedly has money, but according to an article in the Athletic from a few months ago, they have a very toxic work environment and are in long default on a number of bills. Maybe this is the time where the NHL says it just isn't going to work; let's find a place where they can get on a more stable foundation.

They should have listened to you on promotion ideas!

Sometimes organizations do a ton of market research on where to put a location and then screw up because they get offered a better real estate deal. I used to work for a retail company with a store on the southeast side of my city. This wasn’t something ubiquitous, like Best Buy, but more of a niche thing. Still, big national company. Well, they grew enough that they wanted to put another store in the area. Did they put it a half hour north near a big mall or a half hour west near another big mall? Their research would’ve told them to. Nope, they put it 15-20 minutes away, towards the northeast. They got a great deal on the spot though. 6 years later, they relocated my old store (I was gone by then) to be near the mall in the western part of the city. Stupid, stupid.

 

[nsvoyageurs]

Sometimes organizations do a ton of market research on where to put a location and then screw up because they get offered a better real estate deal. I used to work for a retail company with a store on the southeast side of my city. This wasn’t something ubiquitous, like Best Buy, but more of a niche thing. Still, big national company. Well, they grew enough that they wanted to put another store in the area. Did they put it a half hour north near a big mall or a half hour west near another big mall? Their research would’ve told them to. Nope, they put it 15-20 minutes away, towards the northeast. They got a great deal on the spot though. 6 years later, they relocated my old store (I was gone by then) to be near the mall in the western part of the city. Stupid, stupid.

Deals like those, ultimately, in the long run, fail more often than not. It's not looking at the whole picture and/or being short-sighted.

With the Coyotes, they were in a bad spot as they knew they couldn't stay at the Suns' arena (whatever the name of it was at the time) financially and from a hockey viewing perspective. A new arena was needed sooner than later. Whoever bought the old Winnipeg Jets (I forget who they were) should've thought of these things when they were putting the deal together to buy the team and move it to Phoenix. They should've had arena plans in place before the team was moved. The NHL itself should've required that they had arena plans prior to.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Kevin Hayes’ brother passed away. RIP

 

[eco's bones]

Kevin Hayes’ brother passed away. RIP

That really blows. That is way too young.

 

[Bacon Artemi Bravo]

Wtf happened

 

[17futurecap]

You get a knot in your stomach when you see the young family he is leaving behind.

RIP, condolences to Kevin and his family.

 

[will1066]

holy crap

 

[Mike in Houston]

RIP Jimmy Hayes

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

rough week for the hockey world, RIP Jimmy Hayes

 

[n8]

RIP Jimmy Hayes. Man, that must be a big blow for Kevin.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

OMG wtf. Too young, geeze

 

[cheech70]

Just watching the Champion League draw and was wondering if that format could increase excitement for the NHL...
Just think a Ranger - Islander final

 

[Synergy27]

Canes lock their future up at a great AAV. Who here is confident the Rangers end up doing the same?

 

[aufheben]

 

[will1066]

No conclusive update on Jimmy Hayes' cause of death:

Jimmy Hayes' cause of death still unclear after autopsy

 

[NYSPORTS]

Surpassing nine lives and closing in on 18.

 

[cwede]

Finally a new normal where offer sheets happen more often?
Or just payback re Aho?

 

[mas0764]

Revenge?

 

[Hire Sather]

Bergerin: "Sebastian Aho accepted our offer. He wants to come to MTL. He sees our youngsters coming up in the org & he wants to be a part of that. We're proud, but there's still a waiting period."

Waddell: "Jesperi Kotkaniemi accepted our offer. He wants to come to Carolina. He sees the core we’ve built here and he wants to be a part of that. We’re proud, but there’s still a waiting period. When you make an offer like that, we saw a vulnerable position.”

 

[mas0764]

This is why the Rangers won’t offer sheet. There is a culture of retaliation for these. The Hurricanes have no real interest in Kotkaniemi, they just want to screw Montreal.

 

[Hire Sather]

https://mobile.twitter.com/Canes

They tweeted in french and changed their bio to french lmaooo

 

[Nickmo82]

$20 signing bonus. Hilarious. Because it's Aho's #?

 

[aufheben]

Canes lock their future up at a great AAV. Who here is confident the Rangers end up doing the same?