Quebec still in discussions.

[Guttersniped]

Unless I’m missing something, the main point of more US market expansion was always to get a much bigger national television deal. If teams aren’t in major television markets they are losing out on those rating. Seattle is 13th, so it got a team. Houston is 8th largest so that’s a candidate.

Now Atlanta is 10th so screwing that up is a huge debacle and Phoenix is 11th.

Now I don’t know what money the National Canadian tv deal even brings or how that works but a Quebec team wouldn’t increase even viewership. They sound like they would love a team and they have an arena for it so I wish them well but I think the white whale for the NHL is a National US TV deal and Canadian teams don’t help.

I apologize if I’m just stating the obvious and this has been discussed.

 

[Stumbledore]

[QUOTE="Guttersniped, post: 173783726, member: 311369" Now I don’t know what money the National Canadian tv deal even brings or how that works but a Quebec team wouldn’t increase even viewership. They sound like they would love a team and they have an arena for it so I wish them well but I think the white whale for the NHL is a National US TV deal and Canadian teams don’t help.

I apologize if I’m just stating the obvious and this has been discussed.[/QUOTE]

Canadian NHL rights - $5.232 billion Canadian over 12 years

American NHL rights - $2 billion American over 10 years

From what has been posted here and elsewhere about Coyotes viewership in Arizona, you can be assured that a team in Quebec City would greatly increase viewership.

Count Bettman has repeatedly dismissed the size of various TV markets (cf Atlanta, Phoenix, etc.) as irrelevant to the American TV contract.

Some of us would advise taking Bettman's comments with a considerable pillar of sodium.

 

[MNNumbers]

[QUOTE="Guttersniped, post: 173783726, member: 311369" Now I don’t know what money the National Canadian tv deal even brings or how that works but a Quebec team wouldn’t increase even viewership. They sound like they would love a team and they have an arena for it so I wish them well but I think the white whale for the NHL is a National US TV deal and Canadian teams don’t help.

I apologize if I’m just stating the obvious and this has been discussed.

Canadian NHL rights - $5.232 billion Canadian over 12 years

American NHL rights - $2 billion American over 10 years

From what has been posted here and elsewhere about Coyotes viewership in Arizona, you can be assured that a team in Quebec City would greatly increase viewership.

Count Bettman has repeatedly dismissed the size of various TV markets (cf Atlanta, Phoenix, etc.) as irrelevant to the American TV contract.

Some of us would advise taking Bettman's comments with a considerable pillar of sodium.[/QUOTE]

And, to add a little more, Guttersniped....

You are exactly correct. The holy grail for the NHL would be a MUCH larger US TV contract. When the Canadian contract is something like 2 1/2 times as large on a per year basis, you know that the league isn't getting as much as they want.

This also contributes to the issues with franchise viability imbalances. Approx 750M/yr of league revenue in national broadcast contracts. Other revenue which is completely shared is merchandise. All the rest is local. That means that, easily, 2/3 to 3/4 of revenue is local revenue. That creates problems when you compare local revenue possibilities from Miami to Montreal, for example. And, a larger national media contract would even that out. That's part of the reason it is desired so badly.

 

[Guttersniped]

Canadian NHL rights - $5.232 billion Canadian over 12 years

American NHL rights - $2 billion American over 10 years

From what has been posted here and elsewhere about Coyotes viewership in Arizona, you can be assured that a team in Quebec City would greatly increase viewership.

Count Bettman has repeatedly dismissed the size of various TV markets (cf Atlanta, Phoenix, etc.) as irrelevant to the American TV contract.

Some of us would advise taking Bettman's comments with a considerable pillar of sodium.

He’s definitely lying about major American tv markets not mattering for a national US tv contract because that’s all US networks care about but 1) there’s more to putting a team in a city to capture those big US markets, particularly, say, if those franchises flounder and leave, uh, twice 2) if a Canadian team has a big arena and is bringing in money then US teams are happy because everyone likes money.

If US TV National deals are a potential issue with Quebec’s candidacy then maybe it would hinder anything from happening until after any long term US TV deals are signed. In the end that arena should get a team, it worked for Winnipeg and that one’s bigger.

The issue to me with Arizona, and I’m the opposite of a financial wiz, is debt now that the COVID shutdown happened right after they got another sucker, I mean, investor to put a bunch of money into it. The accounting on that team must be a trip. I hope it works out for them and I feel for their intrepid fans.

I’m not rooting against anyone other than maybe Houston because I can’t imagine they even care that much other they just have the arena that can host hockey games.

I apologize if this has been covered as well but are the Habs blocking the bid? I guess I mean publicly but maybe there’s gossip about politicking as well.

 

[MNNumbers]

I have posted this before, but I might rehash it a little bit.

Back of napkin calculation on the Arizona franchise.....

IA/LeBlanc purchased from NHL for 170M. In 2013.
There was an admission in there, by the organization, of a 35M deficit in ONE single year shortly thereafter.
That included a one time buyout of about 15M of a player's contract, so the 'stable' deficit would have been about 20M
There was definitely debtload involved in that purchase, because we know of the loan with Fortress Investment Group.
Therefore, at 5% interest (for 2 years, because Barroway is supposed to have retired that loan)....
170 +5% = 178M
35M in losses = 212M
Year 2....+ 5% = 222M
+20M in losses = 242M
At that point, Barroway purchased the team, supposedly for 305M, but no one really knows. We're just working on the 'amount which has been invested to purchase the team' angle...
2015-2016 = (Assuming Barroway was NOT borrowing)...again 20M in losses
2016-2017 = Again
17-18 = Again
18-19 = Again
And, you are at about 320M in 'investment' costs right there.

Forbes (I know, how do you trust them), suggests that Meruelo's actual purchase cost was 300M. As you can see, that's about the initial price 7 years ago to Ice Arizona, plus all the accumulated losses.

Obviously, this is a crude calculation, but you get the point. And, considering that there is word in the other thread that Meruelo does NOT have a strict 7-years-before-relocation clause in his purchase agreement, then you see the issues that the franchise faces. The losses accumulate until the cost of paying back the present owner becomes more than what a new owner is going to want to pay.

That's the reason that Meruelo, and the Latino marketing, and the beginning of progress, was such a happy business to the fans, and it was good news to those of us following things here.

But, COVID.......

 

[Stumbledore]

He’s definitely lying about major American tv markets not mattering for a national US tv contract because that’s all US networks care about but 1) there’s more to putting a team in a city to capture those big US markets, particularly, say, if those franchises flounder and leave, uh, twice 2) if a Canadian team has a big arena and is bringing in money then US teams are happy because everyone likes money.

If US TV National deals are a potential issue with Quebec’s candidacy then maybe it would hinder anything from happening until after any long term US TV deals are signed. In the end that arena should get a team, it worked for Winnipeg and that one’s bigger.

The issue to me with Arizona, and I’m the opposite of a financial wiz, is debt now that the COVID shutdown happened right after they got another sucker, I mean, investor to put a bunch of money into it. The accounting on that team must be a trip. I hope it works out for them and I feel for their intrepid fans.

I’m not rooting against anyone other than maybe Houston because I can’t imagine they even care that much other they just have the arena that can host hockey games.

I apologize if this has been covered as well but are the Habs blocking the bid? I guess I mean publicly but maybe there’s gossip about politicking as well.

Three observations, for what they are worth.

Bettman is not lying. Bettman never lies in his official capacity. Instead, he usually equivocates. It's an important distinction. It allows him to continue practicing law and it also allows people to hear in his comments whatever they want to hear.

The size of the TV market is not that important to the NHL. While they want their sport to be popular and expand their markets, they are not really that worried about the ratings. As long as they are contractually guaranteed a certain fee for a certain number of years, viewership is not as important to the league as you might think. Ratings are important to the broadcaster and they certainly want to recoup their investment, but the rights holder knows ahead of time what the impact of hockey is in various markets and what sort of advertising or sponsorship ranking will be required. (Companies rarely buy an advert just during hockey games; they buy a package deal which includes various sports, different types of programmes, and a variety of time slots.) The Canadian rights holder will look at how many other products it can package for the Francophone market outside of La Belle Province and factor that into their bid. I'm sure various American rights holders or subsidiaries have worked the Atlanta, Phoenix, and other markets into their calculations and care little one way or the other about Quebec City.

Finally, the Habs are not blocking the bid, absent of any really good conspiracy theories. Various sports and business types have opined that a Quebec City team would revitalize les Canadiens and the rivalry would enlarge the beverage market far greater than a Covid-19 vaccine. In my opinion, Quebec City's bid fails because of local politics and personalities. People who live in the Cite du Quebec may differ and their opinions should be carefully considered.

 

[TheLegend]

Three observations, for what they are worth.

Bettman is not lying. Bettman never lies in his official capacity. Instead, he usually equivocates. It's an important distinction. It allows him to continue practicing law and it also allows people to hear in his comments whatever they want to hear.

The size of the TV market is not that important to the NHL. While they want their sport to be popular and expand their markets, they are not really that worried about the ratings. As long as they are contractually guaranteed a certain fee for a certain number of years, viewership is not as important to the league as you might think. Ratings are important to the broadcaster and they certainly want to recoup their investment, but the rights holder knows ahead of time what the impact of hockey is in various markets and what sort of advertising or sponsorship ranking will be required. (Companies rarely buy an advert just during hockey games; they buy a package deal which includes various sports, different types of programmes, and a variety of time slots.) The Canadian rights holder will look at how many other products it can package for the Francophone market outside of La Belle Province and factor that into their bid. I'm sure various American rights holders or subsidiaries have worked the Atlanta, Phoenix, and other markets into their calculations and care little one way or the other about Quebec City.

Finally, the Habs are not blocking the bid, absent of any really good conspiracy theories. Various sports and business types have opined that a Quebec City team would revitalize les Canadiens and the rivalry would enlarge the beverage market far greater than a Covid-19 vaccine. In my opinion, Quebec City's bid fails because of local politics and personalities. People who live in the Cite du Quebec may differ and their opinions should be carefully considered.

I’ve seen the articles regarding the Habs support for the return of the Nordiques and agree that’s certainly not the issue. The arena is there, the fanbase is certainly there.

So what does that leave?

Getting an owner (group or individual) with deep enough pockets who wants to be there, and doesn’t carry along any baggage that the league can’t live with.

 

[MNNumbers]

I’ve seen the articles regarding the Habs support for the return of the Nordiques and agree that’s certainly not the issue. The arena is there, the fanbase is certainly there.

So what does that leave?

Getting an owner (group or individual) with deep enough pockets who wants to be there, and doesn’t carry along any baggage that the league can’t live with.

Exactly. Except for one thing.....

There is no guarantee that the NHL BOG wants to go to every market where those 3 things are true. It's more of....."If you want a team, you need these 3 things."

Interestingly enough, when the CAD was way down, and Winnipeg 1.0 departed, and Quebec 1.0 departed, things were much more fluid. I think I would attribute that to Bettman growing into his position as much as anything, and the economic situation on the continent changing as it has.

Winnipeg 1.0 departing Winnipeg has to be the biggest collection of errors that the league has made. First of all, the league was too quick to want to leave. Wait a little, and local ownership might have developed. Second, the effort to go to Minneapolis somehow was not orchestrated very well. I'm not sure yet if Burke and Gluckstern were simply too hopeful, or if something else was amiss. And, third, that was NOT the right way to try to enter the Phoenix market. I don't know what would have been the other options, but the way that happened was surely a big collection of errors, and would not happen that way today.

 

[Bondurant]

And, third, that was NOT the right way to try to enter the Phoenix market.

Please elaborate. NHL wanted a team in Phoenix. Option 1 was relocation of another team. Option 2 was expansion. That is how you enter the Phoenix market.

 

[MNNumbers]

Please elaborate. NHL wanted a team in Phoenix. Option 1 was relocation of another team. Option 2 was expansion. That is how you enter the Phoenix market.

NHL did NOT want a team in Phoenix. Going there was accidental.

Burke and Gluckstern wanted to go to Minneapolis. That failed because they needed about an 8M/year deal from the city, and the city and the Timberwolves (NBA) wouldn't grant that. Mayor Coleman in St Paul then stepped up to try to get them to St Paul, but there was not enough time to get the deal done before the start of a new season, because of needed renovations.

So, with no market preparation at all, the Jets landed in Phoenix. The arena was not set up nicely for hockey, there was no time for the owners to evaluate how best to market the team to the local area, and, therefore, the team did not get nearly the kind of fan fair they needed - especially to a market without a strong hockey history.

Contrast:
North Stars to Dallas.....
Owner Norm Green had threatened to leave Minnesota for a couple of years, and had changed the marketing to "Stars" from "North Stars". He had had long discussions with the people in Dallas. In short, Dallas knew the team was coming for more than a year before it arrived.

Quebec to Denver......
Second NHL team in Denver. Colorado has a hockey history. A much less challenged situation.

Atlanta to Winnipeg (2.0)......
Who in Winnipeg really needed any market prep

In short, going to a place like Arizona requires some preparation, and the hurried nature of the relocation did not allow that. In fact, the arena in Phoenix had been built just a few years earlier, and Colangelo (Suns owner) had asked Bettman about NHL coming, and was told, "No plans", and that's the reason the arena did not set up for hockey very well.

 

[gstommylee]

NHL did NOT want a team in Phoenix. Going there was accidental.

Burke and Gluckstern wanted to go to Minneapolis. That failed because they needed about an 8M/year deal from the city, and the city and the Timberwolves (NBA) wouldn't grant that. Mayor Coleman in St Paul then stepped up to try to get them to St Paul, but there was not enough time to get the deal done before the start of a new season, because of needed renovations.

So, with no market preparation at all, the Jets landed in Phoenix. The arena was not set up nicely for hockey, there was no time for the owners to evaluate how best to market the team to the local area, and, therefore, the team did not get nearly the kind of fan fair they needed - especially to a market without a strong hockey history.

Contrast:
North Stars to Dallas.....
Owner Norm Green had threatened to leave Minnesota for a couple of years, and had changed the marketing to "Stars" from "North Stars". He had had long discussions with the people in Dallas. In short, Dallas knew the team was coming for more than a year before it arrived.

Quebec to Denver......
Second NHL team in Denver. Colorado has a hockey history. A much less challenged situation.

Atlanta to Winnipeg (2.0)......
Who in Winnipeg really needed any market prep

In short, going to a place like Arizona requires some preparation, and the hurried nature of the relocation did not allow that. In fact, the arena in Phoenix had been built just a few years earlier, and Colangelo (Suns owner) had asked Bettman about NHL coming, and was told, "No plans", and that's the reason the arena did not set up for hockey very well.

Atlanta to Winnipeg (2.0) only happened for 2 reason, A) they had no arena to go to to remain in Atlanta, B) Winnipeg was the only option available at the time.

 

[Bondurant]

NHL did NOT want a team in Phoenix. Going there was accidental.

Burke and Gluckstern wanted to go to Minneapolis. That failed because they needed about an 8M/year deal from the city, and the city and the Timberwolves (NBA) wouldn't grant that. Mayor Coleman in St Paul then stepped up to try to get them to St Paul, but there was not enough time to get the deal done before the start of a new season, because of needed renovations.

So, with no market preparation at all, the Jets landed in Phoenix. The arena was not set up nicely for hockey, there was no time for the owners to evaluate how best to market the team to the local area, and, therefore, the team did not get nearly the kind of fan fair they needed - especially to a market without a strong hockey history.

In short, going to a place like Arizona requires some preparation, and the hurried nature of the relocation did not allow that. In fact, the arena in Phoenix had been built just a few years earlier, and Colangelo (Suns owner) had asked Bettman about NHL coming, and was told, "No plans", and that's the reason the arena did not set up for hockey very well.

The basketball arena was not best suited for hockey but it worked in the interim. Didn't the arena in Winnipeg lack corporate box seating and have obstructed views?

Plans change. Phoenix had minor league hockey going back to '67. The populations has been growing steadily since WWII with people moving from "traditional" hockey markets. The move to Phoenix was not as short sighted as you believe and the game is more popular here than you believe. This is a fickle market and the crowds will increase with a better team on the ice. Increased television viewership and attendance is proof of that. Would other markers be better? Absolutely but NHL is here to stay in Phoenix.

 

[TheLegend]

NHL did NOT want a team in Phoenix. Going there was accidental.

Burke and Gluckstern wanted to go to Minneapolis. That failed because they needed about an 8M/year deal from the city, and the city and the Timberwolves (NBA) wouldn't grant that. Mayor Coleman in St Paul then stepped up to try to get them to St Paul, but there was not enough time to get the deal done before the start of a new season, because of needed renovations.

So, with no market preparation at all, the Jets landed in Phoenix. The arena was not set up nicely for hockey, there was no time for the owners to evaluate how best to market the team to the local area, and, therefore, the team did not get nearly the kind of fan fair they needed - especially to a market without a strong hockey history.

Contrast:
North Stars to Dallas.....
Owner Norm Green had threatened to leave Minnesota for a couple of years, and had changed the marketing to "Stars" from "North Stars". He had had long discussions with the people in Dallas. In short, Dallas knew the team was coming for more than a year before it arrived.

Quebec to Denver......
Second NHL team in Denver. Colorado has a hockey history. A much less challenged situation.

Atlanta to Winnipeg (2.0)......
Who in Winnipeg really needed any market prep

In short, going to a place like Arizona requires some preparation, and the hurried nature of the relocation did not allow that. In fact, the arena in Phoenix had been built just a few years earlier, and Colangelo (Suns owner) had asked Bettman about NHL coming, and was told, "No plans", and that's the reason the arena did not set up for hockey very well.

One correction... IIRC it wasn’t Bettman who told Jerry Colangelo the NHL wasn’t interested in Arizona. That was his predecessor John Ziegler.

(trying to post a clip here but it may not show up)


Bettman came in right after that and ended up asking Colangelo if he could help them with housing the Jets 1.0. They knew each other from Bettman’s days with the NBA. Probably was the beginning of Bettman’s famous Rolodex campaign to fix league problems.


But you’re correct that they placed a team in Arizona without the proper preparation.

 

[Stephen]

The basketball arena was not best suited for hockey but it worked in the interim. Didn't the arena in Winnipeg lack corporate box seating and have obstructed views?

Plans change. Phoenix had minor league hockey going back to '67. The populations has been growing steadily since WWII with people moving from "traditional" hockey markets. The move to Phoenix was not as short sighted as you believe and the game is more popular here than you believe. This is a fickle market and the crowds will increase with a better team on the ice. Increased television viewership and attendance is proof of that. Would other markers be better? Absolutely but NHL is here to stay in Phoenix.

From a distance, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with Phoenix as a hockey market compared to Dallas or Denver as far as Sun Belt relocations are concerned, but the track record in that market has been historically poor from weak ownership to on ice product.

If the Phoenix Coyotes had started life with the resources and ownership of the Vegas Golden Knights in the mid 90s I'm sure you'd have a success, but with the particular owners who have been recruited it feels like throwing good money after bad.

 

[MNNumbers]

The basketball arena was not best suited for hockey but it worked in the interim. Didn't the arena in Winnipeg lack corporate box seating and have obstructed views?

Plans change. Phoenix had minor league hockey going back to '67. The populations has been growing steadily since WWII with people moving from "traditional" hockey markets. The move to Phoenix was not as short sighted as you believe and the game is more popular here than you believe. This is a fickle market and the crowds will increase with a better team on the ice. Increased television viewership and attendance is proof of that. Would other markers be better? Absolutely but NHL is here to stay in Phoenix.

In no way am I saying that the team isn't staying, or that the market is impossible. I'm simply pointing out that the intention of the sale was to move to Minneapolis. When that fell through, Bettman contacted Colangelo. So, there wasn't any time for market preparation. It could be argued differently, of course. You could say, "Hey, there were near sellout crowds the first few years. Who needs market prep?" And, maybe that works. But, then, if that is your argument, then why the decrease in attendance after about 2-3 years? Likewise, if that's your argument, I would say, "Same thing happened in Glendale. Near sellouts for a couple years, then a fall off. Why?" And, the answer might be "Losing team." But, perhaps that's the reason you need some market prep in some places.

Again, not to argue, or to throw shade on Phoenix. It's simply the truth that the intention was not to go to Phoenix when it became impossible for Jets 1.0 to stay in Winnipeg.

From a distance, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with Phoenix as a hockey market compared to Dallas or Denver as far as Sun Belt relocations are concerned, but the track record in that market has been historically poor from weak ownership to on ice product.

If the Phoenix Coyotes had started life with the resources and ownership of the Vegas Golden Knights in the mid 90s I'm sure you'd have a success, but with the particular owners who have been recruited it feels like throwing good money after bad.

The first sets of owners did not do the future any favors, for sure. Burke and Gluckstern....Ellman...Moyes.....All were in over their heads. Then, BK, IceArizaon, Barroway.... Meruelo is the first guy you would think might have a chance.

 

[GKJ]

Unless I’m missing something, the main point of more US market expansion was always to get a much bigger national television deal. If teams aren’t in major television markets they are losing out on those rating. Seattle is 13th, so it got a team. Houston is 8th largest so that’s a candidate.

Now Atlanta is 10th so screwing that up is a huge debacle and Phoenix is 11th.

Now I don’t know what money the National Canadian tv deal even brings or how that works but a Quebec team wouldn’t increase even viewership. They sound like they would love a team and they have an arena for it so I wish them well but I think the white whale for the NHL is a National US TV deal and Canadian teams don’t help.

I apologize if I’m just stating the obvious and this has been discussed.

It's probably a big one, but if the ratings in the US are any indication, they don't need half the American teams. Star players in small-market US teams probably get more mileage in Canada. The bottom line in the US is that most of these markets don't draw flies in ratings unless it's the playoffs, and often late in them.

Gate is a different story though. Having a smaller group of far more dedicated fans if it makes half you're revenue.

But if adding Quebec makes their Canadian TV deal more lucrative, then it should be explored. My guess is that the networks don't think it does. But eventually someone's gotta explain how Florida and Arizona are more valuable to this league than Quebec, because Florida and Arizona don't draw and have zero national TV value.

 

[Fatass]

It's probably a big one, but if the ratings in the US are any indication, they don't need half the American teams. Star players in small-market US teams probably get more mileage in Canada. The bottom line in the US is that most of these markets don't draw flies in ratings unless it's the playoffs, and often late in them.

Gate is a different story though. Having a smaller group of far more dedicated fans if it makes half you're revenue.

But if adding Quebec makes their Canadian TV deal more lucrative, then it should be explored. My guess is that the networks don't think it does. But eventually someone's gotta explain how Florida and Arizona are more valuable to this league than Quebec, because Florida and Arizona don't draw and have zero national TV value.

Don’t the local TV ratings for the Panthers and Coyotes games get constantly beat by infomercial channels? Very few people watch hockey in those markets. In Quebec City the fandom would be insane. Any owner would be making money for the league. Instead of bleeding money, and taking equalization dollars, they would be adding to the other owners’ coffers. Imo one of these two teams is playing in Quebec City inside a year.

 

[MNNumbers]

Don’t the local TV ratings for the Panthers and Coyotes games get constantly beat by infomercial channels? Very few people watch hockey in those markets. In Quebec City the fandom would be insane. Any owner would be making money for the league. Instead of bleeding money, and taking equalization dollars, they would be adding to the other owners’ coffers. Imo one of these two teams is playing in Quebec City inside a year.

Larry,
Let me point out that local TV in Quebec would make money for the local owners, NOT the rest of the league. What it would do for the rest of the league is sell a ton of merchandise, which is shared revenue. And, tbh, I am not sure they would end up so high in the revenue list as many assume. I would see the Nordiques, which not as much possibility of corporate support as there is in Montreal and Vancouver and Toronto and big US cities, as being 15-20 in the league in revenue.

And, I don't think there is any relocation happening soon.

 

[Galaxydoggystyle]

Jim Balsillie even though it would never happen because the NHL hates the guy but he does have a net worth of 800 million. He has been tried 3 or 4 times to buy a team to relocate to Hamilton wonder if Quebec would be good enough for him?

 

[Centrum Hockey]

Jim Balsillie even though it would never happen because the NHL hates the guy but he does have a net worth of 800 million. He has been tried 3 or 4 times to buy a team to relocate to Hamilton wonder if Quebec would be good enough for him?

The NHL only wants to work with owners who follow their protocols. If Jim Balsillie acted more like true north and less like a rouge the league would be willing to deal with him.

 

[bleedblue94]

It's also important that when looking at the Canadian versus US TV contracts to keep in mind that there's been a lot of reported regret regarding the amount of money that was invested in that Canadian contract? Am I off with this or forgetting something wrong? I feel like I've read countless articles questioning that investment and then also mentioning ideas of selling off partial rights so that they could recoup some of the money that they spent. I only bring it up because simply comparing the Canadian deal to the current American deal without full context isn't really fair. Just is not really fair to compare the current dollar amount today on a much newer Canadian TV contract compared to the dollar amount of a much older US contract. I guess my point is it's not as simple as just looking at what the dollar amounts were at the time that the contracts were signed or what they averaged out to per year, there's a lot of other factors that go into them and also want to determining if the deal was beneficial for the NHL or to deal with more beneficial for the broadcast company.

 

[Blue Warriors]

Have you heard of the Mulroney curse?
Brian Mulroney, from Baie-Comeau, Quebec, was the Prime Minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. During this period, Canadian teams won 8 Stanley Cups and the Nordiques played in Quebec City .None has been able to win a championship since he resigned. The Nordiques left in 95 and the Jets 1.0 in 96.
Mulroney is now Chairman of Quebecor Board of Directors and was directly involved in the « deferred » expansion bid.
It is believed that in order to lift the curse an NHL team must be brought back to Quebec City by Mulroney. Only after righting this wrong can another Canadian team win the Stanley Cup.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

To compare Quebec City and Montreal in the context of Bill 101 is not very useful. All I'm saying is that the presence of bill 101 is definitely not a net positive for an Anglo business. I speak French, live in Quebec, and have French heritage so you don't need to extoll the virtues of the law to me it's very apparent and it's very off topic to do so.

The Nordiques would not be an "Anglo" business and the NHL already does plenty of French language marketing.

That's a non-issue.

 

[Fatass]

The Nordiques would not be an "Anglo" business and the NHL already does plenty of French language marketing.

That's a non-issue.

Would the fans in Quebec really care about their players’ (owner and management’s) heritage? I don’t think so. Imo, the Coyote’s or Panther’s current owner, management, players, and all staff would be welcomed for sure. Why would those owners sell their teams? Just relocate them to Quebec, and start enjoying being in a rabid hockey market, and making profits.

 

[Bondurant]

Would the fans in Quebec really care about their players’ (owner and management’s) heritage? I don’t think so. Imo, the Coyote’s or Panther’s current owner, management, players, and all staff would be welcomed for sure. Why would those owners sell their teams? Just relocate them to Quebec, and start enjoying being in a rabid hockey market, and making profits.

And yet...the owners don't want it to happen. Your dream is crushed.