Checkers V: Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy Edition

[Canes]

Checkers are a perfect fit for our AHL affiliate in almost every way, but I guess Donny boy having a friend in Chicago is more important.

 

[UncMike]

Sheppard off to ECHL in Florida.....Canes & Checkers only have 6 D-men each now......let's pray for a healthy finish to the year

 

[My Special Purpose]

May as well have our AHL affiliate on Mars the way we use it.

 

[Brock Anton]

Yeah, if any team made "sense" to affiliate with Chicago, it would be us.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

This is dumb and I'm mad about it.

Because when the f***ing Canes miss the f***ing playoffs, at least we can go to f***ing Charlotte to see some f***ing playoff games.

f***.

 

[Lempo]

Are we sure it's not per sauce?

 

[SlavinAway]

So if this happens do the Checkers actually move or do we just change affiliations to a team already in Chicago?

 

[WreckingCrew]

So if this happens do the Checkers actually move or do we just change affiliations to a team already in Chicago?

I would assume just affiliate change, Charlotte has been a top 10 market for 10 years. That said, it makes no sense...they moved the team from Albany to make it closer, they just switched ECHL from Florida to Greenville to keep the whole "Carolina" thing, they're close enough to market together (why would a group that maximizes value move the team so far away)...gonna change all that because DW has a friend there? Dundon is no idiot, I doubt he'd want the logistical nightmare and upheaval just for DW...I think he'd more likely show Waddell the door if he's so interested in joining his friends in Chicago.

 

[emptyNedder]

Dundon is no idiot,

So true—he ended up with the world's best fantasy gaming software.

 

[WreckingCrew]

So true—he ended up with the world's best fantasy gaming software.

If any of us had the money, we'd be the first one's in line to buy that game! lol

 

[GoldiFox]

I would assume just affiliate change, Charlotte has been a top 10 market for 10 years. That said, it makes no sense...they moved the team from Albany to make it closer, they just switched ECHL from Florida to Greenville to keep the whole "Carolina" thing, they're close enough to market together (why would a group that maximizes value move the team so far away)...gonna change all that because DW has a friend there? Dundon is no idiot, I doubt he'd want the logistical nightmare and upheaval just for DW...I think he'd more likely show Waddell the door if he's so interested in joining his friends in Chicago.

I doubt Waddell has the unilateral power to move the Canes AHL affiliate. If the Canes are changing then it is surely because Dundon green lit it and the rumor is saying it is for cost considerations.

If the Canes never call up Checkers and their traveling costs can be cut significantly with a move to Chicago then that sounds like a strong operating budget reason to move. It definitely has risks attached though. It assumes there is little value in having Hurricanes fans in Charlotte. Which may be true, they have plenty of data we don't.

 

[HisIceness]

I will raise holy hell if the Checkers and Hurricanes sever ties. There is zero reason to do such a thing, zero. It is incredibly stupid that such a thing is a possibility. I'm actually shocked that it's being looked at. It shouldn't have legs at all.

It is already so f***ing difficult to get people in this damn town to pay attention to the Canes, the Checkers are the lifeline to doing so. Why would you take that away? You should be doing more to promote yourselves in this city. And for Gods sake the Checkers just won a f***ing championship, which is one more championship than the Panthers or Hornets have. The Canes should be doing a hell of a lot more to market themselves here, not less, and having the Checkers be someone elses team doesn't help. I mean f***, the Checkers are easily run better than the Hornets and arguably the Panthers too and are on the verge of being a dominant team again next season. Why f*** that up over a f***ing dollar when you can easily make more investing in the fanbase here.

I mean if they're going to do this, then what was the point of having a "Carolina connection" in bringing the ECHL affiliate to Greenville? Might as well have them go back to Florida in that case.

And, travel costs? What the hell? There are daily flights from RDU to Charlotte and vice-versa on American Airlines, there's 4-5 of them a day. The River Rats would fly in and out of here when being called up/down. Are you really going to do this to save a buck while pissing off your fans in Charlotte (and elsewhere in the state) whom you should be trying to attract more of just so you can have the players fly in and out of 'cheaper' Chicago? Are you really saving money doing this when both airports are AA hubs? Do you really think you'll be converting Blackhawk fans into Canes fans?

I seriously hope these are just dumb rumors. But I'm getting the feeling they might be legit now that we're seeing them again. I just cannot believe this is being reported. Hell just have the damn Rockford Icehogs become the Wolves if it's so damn important to keep the Wolves. Actually no, scratch that, I'd just say axe the Wolves since they can't find a stable affiliate.

Sorry for the long rant and constant editing, but as a Canes fan in Charlotte this is incredibly frustrating to hear about and frankly I don't think I should have to explain why this is a shit idea. Don't fix whats not broken. This isn't broken, leave it the f*** alone.

 

[HisIceness]

They will auction these off after the game.

 

[GoldiFox]

I will raise holy hell if the Checkers and Hurricanes sever ties. There is zero reason to do such a thing, zero. It is incredibly stupid that such a thing is a possibility. I'm actually shocked that it's being looked at. It shouldn't have legs at all.

It is already so f***ing difficult to get people in this damn town to pay attention to the Canes, the Checkers are the lifeline to doing so. Why would you take that away? You should be doing more to promote yourselves in this city. And for Gods sake the Checkers just won a f***ing championship, which is one more championship than the Panthers or Hornets have. The Canes should be doing a hell of a lot more to market themselves here, not less, and having the Checkers be someone elses team doesn't help. I mean f***, the Checkers are easily run better than the Hornets and arguably the Panthers too and are on the verge of being a dominant team again next season. Why f*** that up over a f***ing dollar when you can easily make more investing in the fanbase here.

I mean if they're going to do this, then what was the point of having a "Carolina connection" in bringing the ECHL affiliate to Greenville? Might as well have them go back to Florida in that case.

And, travel costs? What the hell? There are daily flights from RDU to Charlotte and vice-versa on American Airlines, there's 4-5 of them a day. The River Rats would fly in and out of here when being called up/down. Are you really going to do this to save a buck while pissing off your fans in Charlotte (and elsewhere in the state) whom you should be trying to attract more of just so you can have the players fly in and out of 'cheaper' Chicago? Are you really saving money doing this when both airports are AA hubs? Do you really think you'll be converting Blackhawk fans into Canes fans?

I seriously hope these are just dumb rumors. But I'm getting the feeling they might be legit now that we're seeing them again. I just cannot believe this is being reported. Hell just have the damn Rockford Icehogs become the Wolves if it's so damn important to keep the Wolves. Actually no, scratch that, I'd just say axe the Wolves since they can't find a stable affiliate.

Sorry for the long rant and constant editing, but as a Canes fan in Charlotte this is incredibly frustrating to hear about and frankly I don't think I should have to explain why this is a shit idea. Don't fix whats not broken. This isn't broken, leave it the f*** alone.

Just to clarify my supposition on travel costs, that would be travel of the AHL team to AHL opponents. The travel cost between Raleigh and Charlotte means nothing when the Canes only use callups once in a blue moon. I know very little about the layout of the AHL but a cursory glance at the team map shows Charlotte is way out of the way.

Team Map/Directory

 

[MinJaBen]

Just to clarify my supposition on travel costs, that would be travel of the AHL team to AHL opponents. The travel cost between Raleigh and Charlotte means nothing when the Canes only use callups once in a blue moon. I know very little about the layout of the AHL but a cursory glance at the team map shows Charlotte is way out of the way.

Team Map/Directory

Who pays the AHL teams' travel costs? I assumed it was the franchise owner of the AHL team who pays travel to and from their away games, not the NHL affiliated club. I certainly expect the NHL team to pay the travel costs of the players associated with callups. Since Dundon doesn't own the Checkers, why would being in Chicago with lower travel costs to away games affect Dundon's bottom line?

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

Who pays the AHL teams' travel costs? I assumed it was the franchise owner of the AHL team who pays travel to and from their away games, not the NHL affiliated club. I certainly expect the NHL team to pay the travel costs of the players associated with callups. Since Dundon doesn't own the Checkers, why would being in Chicago with lower travel costs to away games affect Dundon's bottom line?

I’m assuming there’s an affiliation fee to the NHL team, no? Maybe Charlotte is charging more.

That’s why I’m hoping this is just public posturing.

 

[GoldiFox]

Who pays the AHL teams' travel costs? I assumed it was the franchise owner of the AHL team who pays travel to and from their away games, not the NHL affiliated club. I certainly expect the NHL team to pay the travel costs of the players associated with callups. Since Dundon doesn't own the Checkers, why would being in Chicago with lower travel costs to away games affect Dundon's bottom line?

I have no idea how any of that works but some of the first tweets talked about costs being lowered. Maybe it is 100% just affiliation fees as AD says above. In that case that just seems like a pissing contest between owners for the Canes to move.

 

[My Special Purpose]

I will raise holy hell if the Checkers and Hurricanes sever ties. There is zero reason to do such a thing, zero. It is incredibly stupid that such a thing is a possibility. I'm actually shocked that it's being looked at. It shouldn't have legs at all.

It is already so f***ing difficult to get people in this damn town to pay attention to the Canes, the Checkers are the lifeline to doing so. Why would you take that away? You should be doing more to promote yourselves in this city. And for Gods sake the Checkers just won a f***ing championship, which is one more championship than the Panthers or Hornets have. The Canes should be doing a hell of a lot more to market themselves here, not less, and having the Checkers be someone elses team doesn't help. I mean f***, the Checkers are easily run better than the Hornets and arguably the Panthers too and are on the verge of being a dominant team again next season. Why f*** that up over a f***ing dollar when you can easily make more investing in the fanbase here.

I mean if they're going to do this, then what was the point of having a "Carolina connection" in bringing the ECHL affiliate to Greenville? Might as well have them go back to Florida in that case.

And, travel costs? What the hell? There are daily flights from RDU to Charlotte and vice-versa on American Airlines, there's 4-5 of them a day. The River Rats would fly in and out of here when being called up/down. Are you really going to do this to save a buck while pissing off your fans in Charlotte (and elsewhere in the state) whom you should be trying to attract more of just so you can have the players fly in and out of 'cheaper' Chicago? Are you really saving money doing this when both airports are AA hubs? Do you really think you'll be converting Blackhawk fans into Canes fans?

I seriously hope these are just dumb rumors. But I'm getting the feeling they might be legit now that we're seeing them again. I just cannot believe this is being reported. Hell just have the damn Rockford Icehogs become the Wolves if it's so damn important to keep the Wolves. Actually no, scratch that, I'd just say axe the Wolves since they can't find a stable affiliate.

Sorry for the long rant and constant editing, but as a Canes fan in Charlotte this is incredibly frustrating to hear about and frankly I don't think I should have to explain why this is a shit idea. Don't fix whats not broken. This isn't broken, leave it the f*** alone.

So, we can put you down as a "nay" then?

 

[My Special Purpose]

Just to clarify my supposition on travel costs, that would be travel of the AHL team to AHL opponents. The travel cost between Raleigh and Charlotte means nothing when the Canes only use callups once in a blue moon. I know very little about the layout of the AHL but a cursory glance at the team map shows Charlotte is way out of the way.

Team Map/Directory

Just a little.

 

[Lempo]

Who pays the AHL teams' travel costs? I assumed it was the franchise owner of the AHL team who pays travel to and from their away games, not the NHL affiliated club. I certainly expect the NHL team to pay the travel costs of the players associated with callups. Since Dundon doesn't own the Checkers, why would being in Chicago with lower travel costs to away games affect Dundon's bottom line?

The whole article 14 of the CBA is about the ins and outs of the reimbursement and benefits for transferred players.

The gist is that the NHL team pays:

(c) A Player who is entitled to reimbursement pursuant to this Article 14 shall be
reimbursed by his new Club when he is Transferred by Trade, Waivers, or expansion draft. A
Player who is entitled to reimbursement pursuant to this Article 14 shall be reimbursed by his
own Club when he is Transferred by team relocation, Loan, or Recall. A Club's reimbursement
obligation may not be assigned, traded or transferred to another Club and shall in all
circumstances remain with the original Club that is responsible for the reimbursement obligation.

Rent, mortgage, moving expenses, hotel, car rentals, per diem...

 

[HisIceness]

So the Checkers are not close to any existing AHL teams but the Wolves are close to two teams (Rockford and Milwaukee). So f***ing what? Is it really worth leaving the biggest city in the state (of whose population you should be marketing towards more) so two road trips are less expensive? Newsflash, you're going to be in the Western Conference, you're going to be traveling to California and Texas and Arizona and Colorado (and Nevada next year) as well. Oh Chicago is a hub airport? Yeah so is Charlotte. Oh Chicago's airport is bigger? You're still traveling across two time zones within your own conference.

This just screams penny-pinching for the sake of it and there should be no justification for this. There should be more focus on promoting the Canes in this city, not less. There is so much potential to turn Charlotte into more of a Hockey town by keeping the relationship as is. Why f*** that up to save a dollar over spending two dollars? Is it really worth screwing over the Hurricanes fans like myself who do live here and do attend Checkers games? Is it really worth screwing over new fans who paid attention to last years playoff run because the Hornets and Panthers suck and the Canes are the best team in the state at the moment and going forward?

You're going to ruin a good thing w/ the Checkers coming off a Championship and the Canes with a good young core (and the Hornets/Panthers in mediocrity), and potentially screwing over Charlotte Hockey fans in the long-term (when the Panthers realize they want to move their operations to Atlanta or Orlando or wherever, leaving Charlotte in the dark) to save money on two f***ing road trips when you're going to be doing more traveling in the Western Conference?. f*** off with that bullshit. Suck it up and find a way to make Charlotte more of a goldmine. Don't fix what isn't broken. Chances are good that there will be more AHL relocations in the next 5 years. There's a good chance that a city like Norfolk gets a team back or Atlanta gets a team. Don't f*** that up for short-term road trip savings, and don't let Charlotte become like San Antonio who is losing their AHL team and likely won't be getting any Hockey team back anytime soon. The Florida Panthers or whoever else won't be loyal to this town.

Please God, let sanity prevail here. I really don't want to have to explain this to my co-workers and friends who don't follow Hockey and question me about everything the Canes/Checkers do that the Canes owner is an arrogant penny-pincher he would move the AHL team out of the state to save money on two road trips while spending more on going to California every year.

Sorry again for the long post and constant editing but you guys have no idea how frustrating this is for me. It's one thing if it's just a rumor but the fact that it hasn't been squashed yet and the fact that it's even a possibility to begin with both worries and pisses me off. Seeing the Checkers is my lifeline to seeing the Canes in this town since they've done one preseason game in 20+ years and having the Checkers be the affiliate (and being Calder Champs and future contending champs) is the best thing the Canes can do to attract more fans here, and they are potentially going to f*** it all up, all for saving a dollar over spending two dollars when there's more money to be made locally. This is the kind of thing Eugene Melynk would do. Don't f*** this up. Don't be a greedy arrogant penny-pincher and f*** over Hockey fans in the 15th largest city in the USA.

Please Dundon/Waddell/Khan and whoever else, do the right thing, keep the Canes/Checkers relationship in tact. Figure something out, don't f*** up a good thing.

Please, for the love of God.

 

[Canes]

They're gonna leave Charlotte. Dundon hoping this move makes up for potential lost playoff revenue after spending to the cap for one full season. More of the same next season, I expect to see some salary moved out, even if it's good players and not a guy like Nino or Skjei.

 

[A Star is Burns]

I wouldn't like this move for sure if it happens. It would be one of the first decisions by this regime that I truly hate. I only get down to one game every year or two from my area, but it's a nice option. I do like having it in NC though. Hopefully this is just some negotiating ploy.

 

[WreckingCrew]

I wouldn't like this move for sure if it happens. It would be one of the first decisions by this regime that I truly hate. I only get down to one game every year or two from my area, but it's a nice option. I do like having it in NC though. Hopefully this is just some negotiating ploy.

It would be a huge deal for me since I go to about 10 games a year...I don't want to see my team feeding a rival to my Canes. It was different as an ECHL team because only a few made it past the AHL and weren't direct feeders...plus Rangers are one of "my teams" (mom from NYC introduces me to hockey)

 

[DaveG]

Another thing to keep in mind with this is that currently with the setup with the Checkers they have control over who plays and how the prospects develop. Chicago would literally be the exact opposite of that. They're absolutely notorious for being completely atrocious when it comes to prospect development. If anything the claims of "Waddell has a relationship with their ownership group from his time in Atlanta" would be a reason it DOESN'T happen. For the Wolves winning is literally everything, they give literally zero shits about prospect development. We could have a blue chip goalie prospect coming in and they'd go out and sign Dustin Tokarski and have him start 60 games to the prospects 18. There's a reason that literally nobody wants to affiliate with them, so the concept that we'd make the move is utterly inexplicable to me, especially when we've been building a rep for being good at prospect development, even if that's a bit iffy to us.