ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers are suspending operations, Trois Rivières sold

[GKJ]

Well, that's very unfortunate. It sucks that Newfoundland can't hold on to their teams. Were they profitable before this ownership took over?

 

[sneakytitz]

Well this weekend's Maine-Worcester series just became even more important.

 

[jetsmooseice]

Well, that's very unfortunate. It sucks that Newfoundland can't hold on to their teams. Were they profitable before this ownership took over?

St John's is a pro sports graveyard. The enthusiasm is there but the geographic reality is pretty hard to overcome. Compound that with local political weirdness and the outlook for teams there is grim regardless of the sport.

 

[archangel2]

My guess is the operational costs to run a team on the island was insane

 

[GKJ]

St John's is a pro sports graveyard. The enthusiasm is there but the geographic reality is pretty hard to overcome. Compound that with local political weirdness and the outlook for teams there is grim regardless of the sport.

They tried junior hockey there too and it didn’t stick. Really seems like the ownership group itself came under financial hardship more than the burden of the team.

 

[LadyStanley]

Check out this Podcast: The Latest with Elliotte Friedman: Tortorella Sounds Off! The Latest With Elliotte Friedman: Tortorella Sounds Off! The Jeff Marek Show podcast

Check out this Podcast: An ECHL Update + The Vezina Trophy Race An ECHL Update + The Vezina Trophy Race

Two parts of the Jeff Marek show with information on ECHL teams (before announcement of BOG results).

 

[GKJ]

Check out this Podcast: The Latest with Elliotte Friedman: Tortorella Sounds Off! The Latest With Elliotte Friedman: Tortorella Sounds Off! The Jeff Marek Show podcast

Check out this Podcast: An ECHL Update + The Vezina Trophy Race An ECHL Update + The Vezina Trophy Race

Two parts of the Jeff Marek show with information on ECHL teams (before announcement of BOG results).

Summerside?

 

[BKIslandersFan]

St John's is a pro sports graveyard. The enthusiasm is there but the geographic reality is pretty hard to overcome. Compound that with local political weirdness and the outlook for teams there is grim regardless of the sport.

Any Jr hockey teams there or around the area?

 

[jetsmooseice]

Any Jr hockey teams there or around the area?

Used to be a QMJHL team there, but it failed too

 

[LadyStanley]

St John's hockey fans keep getting jilted

 

[JMCx4]

St John's hockey fans keep getting jilted

They should start their own league.

 

[dj4aces]

Any Jr hockey teams there or around the area?

There's the SJJHL, a Junior B league. I think there's another Junior B league in Newfoundland as well.

 

[nickp91]

This is horrible for everyone involved from the staff & players losing their job to the fan base

 

[Ciao]

Weird that MLSE didn't at least help them make it through the season and give them a more graceful landing.

 

[joestevens29]

This is horrible for everyone involved from the staff & players losing their job to the fan base

So Terry Ryan's rant on local radio was aimed to this yesterday. Not only the staff, but the volunteers that take time out of their day to be around the team and give a helping hand and ask for nothing in return.

He really brought it down to it doesn't matter what league a team is leaving from it's always gonna be hard on fans as well. Unlike other Cities that lose a pro team he mentioned that for people of St.Johns/Newfoundland it's not as simple as jumping on a quick plane trip and going to watch another team somewhere else. Being on the Island it just isn't cheap to get on that plane and go watch a game in Toronto or wherever.

 

[Ciao]

So Terry Ryan's rant on local radio was aimed to this yesterday. Not only the staff, but the volunteers that take time out of their day to be around the team and give a helping hand and ask for nothing in return.

He really brought it down to it doesn't matter what league a team is leaving from it's always gonna be hard on fans as well. Unlike other Cities that lose a pro team he mentioned that for people of St.Johns/Newfoundland it's not as simple as jumping on a quick plane trip and going to watch another team somewhere else. Being on the Island it just isn't cheap to get on that plane and go watch a game in Toronto or wherever.

Pretty shitty treatment of the Newfoundland market by MLSE after having had AHL and ECHL affiliates there for such a long time. 1991-2005 for the AHL. 2018-24 (incomplete) for the ECHL. Not a good look the way this ended.

This is just not the way you do business.

I would have expected something like that from Harold Ballard.

Now, Leafs Nation, let's go shit all over Arizona ownership for being low-class, eh?

 

[BMN]

Have to agree that MLSE could have at the very least intervened in some manner or fashion to at least ensure the season completed itself. Relocating or contracting a sports team is always hard on someone but it's really an undignified thing for to come to a complete stop like that. I didn't hear the Terry Ryan rant but I can only imagine I'd agree fullthroatedly.

 

[Melrose Munch]

This is the end of the road for St Johns potentially.

 

[GKJ]

Seth Cooper did a radio hit with Jeff Marek yesterday. This wasn’t explicitly stated but it seems like there is a possibility that MLSE tried to move in when the Growlers last owed payments on the arena which nearly shut them down then, and MLSE was in action to host the Growlers at Ricoh for the duration of the season, to the point where other teams were making arrangements, but the deal was worked out with the arena and I guess they were either not happy or didn’t want another deal because everyone had already lost money from it.

If an owner emerges they could return next season. But that could also be somewhere else.

 

[willy702]

Pretty clear the business model that works for ECHL is small and mid-sized US cities where there are arenas and there isn't much of a history of local players making it to the NHL. If there is a player pipeline like there is in Canada, why wouldn't juniors work better there? ECHL towns need their local heroes, guys that may stay around after their careers end and have found a community.

 

[Cacciaguida]

This is really disappointing. I was rooting for both of the Canadian ECHL teams to find new owners.

 

[sneakytitz]

Pretty clear the business model that works for ECHL is small and mid-sized US cities where there are arenas and there isn't much of a history of local players making it to the NHL. If there is a player pipeline like there is in Canada, why wouldn't juniors work better there? ECHL towns need their local heroes, guys that may stay around after their careers end and have found a community.

You are absolutely right.

The ECHL has/will do best in those markets, but they can also accommodate underserved large sized markets like Orlando, Atlanta, KC, and Cincinnati. They and the AHL have also done a great job on not stepping on each other's toes in the U.S., which I hope continues as well.

 

[Voight]

Kind of sucks given how successful on ice they were.

I think people tend to think in idealistic terms with hockey and Canada, but the minor prom market has not been significant in Canada in many years, if it ever really was with modern day hockey.

Could Montreal and Toronto step in in some way? Maybe. Is that a good, sound business decision? I wouldn't bet on it. The financial travel costs for Newfoundland alone must be awful. The ECHL would probably prefer to have more stable teams in the contiguous U.S. anyway.

The state of the economy hasn't helped either. Who has money even for a 3rd tier pro hockey game when the cost of living is astronomical? People are losing their homes and barely being able to afford groceries.

 

[PCSPounder]

All I can say is that, out west when there were more western E teams, there was barely disguised contempt for the travel costs to Anchorage.

Shrug.