Phoenix LXXXIII: "Stuff's Gonna Happen"

[Wingsfan2965*]

It will drag on until at least Glendale chooses an arena manager.

Which it shouldn't. The writing is already on the wall.

 

[cbcwpg]

If the team does move to Seattle, that sound you hear will be ALL the Coyote fans in Arizona, all at once saying, "Sweet, Sweet Justice".

Gotta disagree there. I'm sure you are right, some will be happy seeing the team go somewhere other than QC, but I don't think that's the majority. I think the majority of Coyotes fans will react just like those in Winnipeg in '96. They will be mad, they will be pissed, they will feel like someone ripped their heart out, but most importantly... when its all over, they won't give a rats ass where the team ends up, because they will be done with the NHL.

 

[Donwood]

Can somebody confirm Gary Bettman just repeated the "maybe we should go back where we were" sentence, regarding potential relocation?

he did

 

[OttawaRoughRiderFan*]

We'd be treated even worse IMO. This is such a joke, it feels like Canadian markets have to do double the work just to get Bettman and co. to even consider them, while markets like Seattle, KC, even Las Vegas get thrown around it seems on a daily basis and without even knowing if there is a market for hockey in those cities. As long as you have an arena they all seem to be ok, consequences be damned.

Hey Bettman, you can have our run down arena RENT FREE! Who wants to go to a rabid fan base in QC when you can wait 4-5 years on a new arena in Seattle...only in the NHL folks, only in the NHL

We have no one to blame but ourselves. I have said this before...

You can't ask the Season Ticket holders to give up their tickets and that's fine. However, we Canadians don't have to buy beer and food at the games. We Canadians don't have to buy their crummy merchandise - buy "Hockey Canada" instead. We Canadians should refuse to put and additional money into this league.

Until we do that, we will be the ugly sister and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

 

[JimAnchower]

One can only speculate, but I think that he might well be trying to sway some other votes. If that doesn't work, I'm sure that he thinks that he'll get political mileage from supporting the Coyotes even if the effort fails. I got the sense from some of his comments that he is wanting the NHL to be painted with some of the responsibility for this. In any case, it is much too late to imagine that there is a viable local ownership candidate, and the NHL seems to have made it plain that they won't tolerate a delay. Daly's comment that "no decision is a decision" is perhaps the most telling quote yet.

That's a possibility I didn't think of, trying to sway votes. But if he is, it seems he should at least be plausible in his warnings. Westgate won't be boarded up with tumbleweed running through it a month after the Coyotes leave. Heck, the Coyotes haven't played a home game in a month and a half and more stores and restaurants are opening or will open soon.

 

[OttawaRoughRiderFan*]

Bob McCown and John Shannon said that GB and the NHL want $500M for a Toronto expansion team and close to that much for QC. AND HE THINKS HE WILL GET IT!

Again, then we wonder why we are the ugly sister.

 

[Ugmo]

Can somebody confirm Gary Bettman just repeated the "maybe we should go back where we were" sentence, regarding potential relocation?

he did

That's pretty cool. Now, if only I believed a word that came out of his mouth...

 

[grindline]

I have never understood the logic behind geographical locations and realignment as the driver for selling franchises. The BoG are very wealthy and successful Alpha business types; they didn't succeed by ignoring dollars on the table. I can't see Jeremy Jacobs taking more than 8 microseconds to ignore scheduling concerns when faced with the prospect of raising HRR across the league, never mind paying out of his franchises pocket to prop up an ailing franchise.

Besides, and I know I'm risking deviating into realignment talk here so I apologise, having Quebec and adding Seattle and Toronto 2 in a few years actually could work quite well for alignments.

 

[Nordskull]

Asked about Markham, Bettman would have said "maybe we should go back in a place we were forced to leave if things have changed"

Not the exact wording, speaks fast..

That would be huge.

 

[Quo]

Can somebody confirm Gary Bettman just repeated the "maybe we should go back where we were" sentence, regarding potential relocation?

He did but it was in the same breath as "maybe we should go somewhere new" ...he was just listing hypotheticals.

 

[OttawaRoughRiderFan*]

2B) I believe that may indeed be the case. PKP was a heavy duty bidder in trying to acquire the Habs, serious money, $500M+, the NHL may not want to let him in "on the cheap" so to speak through a Relocation Sale, but would be more than happy to sell him an Expansion Franchise for lets say $350M and in fact are planning to do just that. If they let him buy the Coyotes, that money's gone, and how on earth do they justify a hefty Relo Fee to make up the difference when not 2yrs ago Winnipeg got in for $170M?

Great point.

Gotta disagree there. I'm sure you are right, some will be happy seeing the team go somewhere other than QC, but I don't think that's the majority. I think the majority of Coyotes fans will react just like those in Winnipeg in '96. They will be mad, they will be pissed, they will feel like someone ripped their heart out, but most importantly... when its all over, they won't give a rats ass where the team ends up, because they will be done with the NHL.

I disagree. We (Canadian trolls) have put this fan base thru hell for 5 years. They would have every right to smile/gloat if the team ends up in Seattle.

That's pretty cool. Now, if only I believed a word that came out of his mouth...

Funny cause it's true. He knows who he's playing to.

 

[Revo]

he did

Has to be put in context, but if he did say that, it's a pretty big statement.

 

[HockeyAddict]

Still like...

Phoenix LXXXIV: Long Road to Ruin

Here now, don't make a sound
Say, have you heard the news today?
One flag was taken down
To raise another in its place

A heavy cross you bear
A stubborn heart remains unchanged
No harm, no life, no love
No stranger singin' in your name

But maybe the season
The colors change in the valley skies
Dear God, I've sealed my fate
Runnin' through hell, heaven can wait

 

[Whileee]

I'm one of those 13,000, and I can absolutely confirm... in the years that Winnipeg did not have the NHL... I didn't spend one dime directly on the NHL. So by putting a team in Winnipeg, the NHL got a new customer.

I completely agree with this. It echoes my situation, and that of several other STHs I know. People who were die-hard Jets fans didn't just switch allegiance to another team. Many of us stayed interested in hockey, watched big events (e.g. some compelling NHL playoff games and Finals, WJHC, Olympics), but generally lost interest in the NHL. Fans that were already fans of other teams (e.g. Leafs, Canadiens) kept following them. Winnipeggers maintained their interest in hockey, often through playing in rec leagues, or through their kids, etc. But the return of the Jets has not only revived interest among former Jets fans, but also in a whole new generation of fans (my daughters included).

 

[Tawnos]

"Upside" is a flawed concept when you are sacrificing large chunks of revenue to play in poor hockey markets.

I think this has been mentioned before, but I sometimes wonder if there are mid-level members of the BoG who don't want to see a massive sudden increase in league-wide revenue for payroll purposes.

 

[Wheathead]

Don't trust anything John Shannon says about this situation. He's the one who was trumpetting on Twitter about how the JIG was close to closing the sale after the lockout was over. He doesn't get it.

 

[OttawaRoughRiderFan*]

I have never understood the logic behind geographical locations and realignment as the driver for selling franchises. The BoG are very wealthy and successful Alpha business types; they didn't succeed by ignoring dollars on the table. I can't see Jeremy Jacobs taking more than 8 microseconds to ignore scheduling concerns when faced with the prospect of raising HRR across the league, never mind paying out of his franchises pocket to prop up an ailing franchise.

Besides, and I know I'm risking deviating into realignment talk here so I apologise, having Quebec and adding Seattle and Toronto 2 in a few years actually could work quite well for alignments.

But, as Killion said, if you relocate to Seattle for $175M and then expand to Toronto and QC for $800M, the league is miles ahead.

 

[LPHabsFan]

I have never understood the logic behind geographical locations and realignment as the driver for selling franchises. The BoG are very wealthy and successful Alpha business types; they didn't succeed by ignoring dollars on the table. I can't see Jeremy Jacobs taking more than 8 microseconds to ignore scheduling concerns when faced with the prospect of raising HRR across the league, never mind paying out of his franchises pocket to prop up an ailing franchise.

Besides, and I know I'm risking deviating into realignment talk here so I apologise, having Quebec and adding Seattle and Toronto 2 in a few years actually could work quite well for alignments.

Jacobs wouldn't. But at the same time his team isn't likely to have to play a significant portion of their games on the west coast where you don't just have to deal with travel but also change of time zones for the players but more importantly, the time for when the game starts. It would be interesting to look at the ratings breakdown for each of the teams and look at the drop off when they are on the west coast. I know for me, I'm not likely to watch all of the Habs games when they are playing in California when I have to get up for work the next morning. Same thing for Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, Chicago, etc....

 

[Killion]

Bob McCown and John Shannon said that GB and the NHL want $500M for a Toronto expansion team and close to that much for QC. AND HE THINKS HE WILL GET IT!

Id dare say McCown & Shannon are quite likely absolutely 110% correct. The NHL looks at Canada's last 3 remaining markets of QC, Toronto2 & Hamilton as absolute Cash Cows. Why play that chip with a Relo? Your talkin close to $2B in Expansion Fee's & Indemnification Payments to Toronto & Buffalo, and... the NHL will get it. You want in? $450M-$500M not out of line considering the sale prices of the Leafs & Habs.

 

[Nordskull]

That's pretty cool. Now, if only I believed a word that came out of his mouth...

Thats the faith test...

Lets say this is nothing to cool down people here..

 

[Ugmo]

He did but it was in the same breath as "maybe we should go somewhere new" ...he was just listing hypotheticals.

Still, that only leaves Quebec City and Hartford. And Atlanta I suppose! Unless you want to go way back, and I can't imagine that's what he meant.

 

[OttawaRoughRiderFan*]

Don't trust anything John Shannon says about this situation. He's the one who was trumpetting on Twitter about how the JIG was close to closing the sale after the lockout was over. He doesn't get it.

This is true. John Shannon is often wrong.

 

[grindline]

But, as Killion said, if you relocate to Seattle for $175M and then expand to Toronto and QC for $800M, the league is miles ahead.

$

Now that is what I call a compelling argument for ignoring QC, rather than the alignment and scheduling.

 

[GordonGraham]

Bob McCown and John Shannon said that GB and the NHL want $500M for a Toronto expansion team and close to that much for QC. AND HE THINKS HE WILL GET IT!

Again, then we wonder why we are the ugly sister.

For TO sure for quebec city no way the habs+bell centre + one of the top 3 most lucrative concert business sold for just above that

 

[OttawaRoughRiderFan*]

Id dare say McCown & Shannon are quite likely absolutely 110% correct. The NHL looks at Canada's last 3 remaining markets of QC, Toronto2 & Hamilton as absolute Cash Cows. Why play that chip with a Relo? Your talkin close to $2B in Expansion Fee's & Indemnification Payments to Toronto & Buffalo, and... the NHL will get it. You want in? $450M-$500M not out of line considering the sale prices of the Leafs & Habs.

Sad but true - altho, I think Hamilton will never get a team. God, I hate Bettman and the NHL.