NHL Vegas wants to buy AHL team and move it to LV

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Barclay Donaldson

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Feb 4, 2018
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I'm not sure where you saw that. I believe the Vegas representative stated they had spoken to at least two independently owned AHL teams, which is why a lot of speculation is looking at Rockford, Binghamton, Springfield, and others.

Binghamton is owned by the same group that owns the New Jersey Devils, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. They are not independent. The Devils have owned their AHL affiliate franchise since 2006.
 
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royals119

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Isn't Binghamton owned by the NJ Devils' parent company?

Binghamton is owned by the same group that owns the New Jersey Devils, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. They are not independent. The Devils have owned their AHL affiliate franchise since 2006.

Yes, the Devils own the franchise, and a local person/group runs the business operations - similar to Utica. I wasn't speculating about them, I was just disputing Tommy's assertion that Vegas is looking at NHL owned/operated teams exclusively, when the articles have said they are doing the opposite. The fact that they have a local operator likely gets them lumped in with the independents by those who are speculating about them.

I suppose if Vegas ran out of actual locally owned and operated options they might ask the operator in Bingo if he is willing to take a payoff to end his contract with NJ, and also ask the Devils if they would sell their NHL franchise and affiliate with Chicago. Seems more unlikely than other options, but every option has a reason why it supposedly won't happen.

In the end it seems like somebody is going to do something that most people think they won't do - probably because Foley paid them enough money to change their mind. Sort of like on the show American Pickers. When Mike wants to buy something and the owner doesn't want to sell it, he asks "What is the crazy price that would change your mind?". Maybe Foley eventually decides he doesn't want to spend "it's not for sale money" and goes back to Chicago.
 

axecrew

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Feb 6, 2007
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Yes, the Devils own the franchise, and a local person/group runs the business operations - similar to Utica. I wasn't speculating about them, I was just disputing Tommy's assertion that Vegas is looking at NHL owned/operated teams exclusively, when the articles have said they are doing the opposite. The fact that they have a local operator likely gets them lumped in with the independents by those who are speculating about them.

I suppose if Vegas ran out of actual locally owned and operated options they might ask the operator in Bingo if he is willing to take a payoff to end his contract with NJ, and also ask the Devils if they would sell their NHL franchise and affiliate with Chicago. Seems more unlikely than other options, but every option has a reason why it supposedly won't happen.

In the end it seems like somebody is going to do something that most people think they won't do - probably because Foley paid them enough money to change their mind. Sort of like on the show American Pickers. When Mike wants to buy something and the owner doesn't want to sell it, he asks "What is the crazy price that would change your mind?". Maybe Foley eventually decides he doesn't want to spend "it's not for sale money" and goes back to Chicago.

Problem is...if and or when it gets to that..not for sale money part...It's entirely possible they've pissed the Wolves off to the point of better spend that not for sale money because you're not going to like how we run things now. Kinda like trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube.
 

Centrum Hockey

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Aug 2, 2018
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Yes, the Devils own the franchise, and a local person/group runs the business operations - similar to Utica. I wasn't speculating about them, I was just disputing Tommy's assertion that Vegas is looking at NHL owned/operated teams exclusively, when the articles have said they are doing the opposite. The fact that they have a local operator likely gets them lumped in with the independents by those who are speculating about them.

I suppose if Vegas ran out of actual locally owned and operated options they might ask the operator in Bingo if he is willing to take a payoff to end his contract with NJ, and also ask the Devils if they would sell their NHL franchise and affiliate with Chicago. Seems more unlikely than other options, but every option has a reason why it supposedly won't happen.

In the end it seems like somebody is going to do something that most people think they won't do - probably because Foley paid them enough money to change their mind. Sort of like on the show American Pickers. When Mike wants to buy something and the owner doesn't want to sell it, he asks "What is the crazy price that would change your mind?". Maybe Foley eventually decides he doesn't want to spend "it's not for sale money" and goes back to Chicago.
The devils are notorious for being a bad nhl affiliate. Levin would probably get sick of them like he did with the blues.
 

Barclay Donaldson

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Feb 4, 2018
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Yes, the Devils own the franchise, and a local person/group runs the business operations - similar to Utica. I wasn't speculating about them, I was just disputing Tommy's assertion that Vegas is looking at NHL owned/operated teams exclusively, when the articles have said they are doing the opposite. The fact that they have a local operator likely gets them lumped in with the independents by those who are speculating about them.

I suppose if Vegas ran out of actual locally owned and operated options they might ask the operator in Bingo if he is willing to take a payoff to end his contract with NJ, and also ask the Devils if they would sell their NHL franchise and affiliate with Chicago. Seems more unlikely than other options, but every option has a reason why it supposedly won't happen.

In the end it seems like somebody is going to do something that most people think they won't do - probably because Foley paid them enough money to change their mind. Sort of like on the show American Pickers. When Mike wants to buy something and the owner doesn't want to sell it, he asks "What is the crazy price that would change your mind?". Maybe Foley eventually decides he doesn't want to spend "it's not for sale money" and goes back to Chicago.

In that case, about every team in the AHL has a local operator. At the end of the day, they don't have any power. They are minority owners at the very most, and can't exercise any real control of the franchise. If Vegas runs out of options, buying out minority owners of a team who enjoy generally controlling their AHL franchise, which New Jersey still does albeit without much success, that isn't going to succeed. He'll just end up being a minority owner of a team that he can't move.

I think Foley knows that, and he's going to try more realistic options before he burns every bridge. He has options, and none of them are really all that good. He should have bought an expansion franchise when he had the chance. No one is willing to sell their AHL franchise right now, every single independent owner is overwhelmingly competent and aware of how to correctly run and profit from their franchise.
 
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