NHL in Houston

[ChicagoOakland]

2 minutes ago, the admiral said:

 

Based on anything in particular? All I see is everything bad about Atlanta but worse.

I just think Houston has an actual professional hockey history with the Aeros, which is something Dallas never really had. Granted, populations change and the Aeros did move, but I still think that's at least a small step in the right direction.

[The_Admiral]

Dallas isn't even a model of excellence once you get past that time they bought Brett Hull and Ed Belfour. Stars games were bomb scares for the first half of this decade. 

[M4One]

19 hours ago, BigRed618 said:

 

We could... but would it bother you that much if they ended up being the Aeros? It is a cool name. Be a shame if it went to waste.

 

It's an okay name.  The other potential names would really have to be a pile of crap though.  I just don't think a major league team should be adopting a minor league team name, especially one that only cease to exist only a couple of years ago.  

[Cardsblues02]

Aeros, IMO, is a lame-ass name. I would prefer something, well, actually interesting and new. 

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

10 hours ago, jerseyjunk said:

Can't call them Aeros when you already got the Astros 

 

If the new Major League Rugby can start a team called the Seattle Seawolves, then "Aeros" is not too close to "Astros".

 

That said, the NHL should definitely not put a team in Houston. That league already has too many teams in inappropriate areas of the country.

 

Rule of thumb: if a city doesn't get snow, then it shouldn't have an NHL team.

[29texan]

5 hours ago, ChicagoOakland said:

If Dallas can be a hockey market, I think Houston might be and even better one. Plus, since Fertitta already owns the arena there won't be any rent disputes like what happened to the old Aeros.

 

Houston would equal Dallas as a hockey market. 

[daniel75]

Houston>Dallas hockey market.

[DustDevil61]

12 hours ago, Cardsblues02 said:

No, Aeros isn’t a no brainer. Despite being a popular name around these boards, I think a new name would be put in place. As a Houstonian, I can tell you most people who don’t follow hockey but love sports would tell you they don’t know who the Aeros were or the significance of their name. The AHL team drew well, but the NHL team would target fans who love sports but don’t have a team. I would go with a red and light blue color scheme to counter the Star’s “victory green”.

 

The Toyota Center is all red. Everything about it is red, seats and everything. It would look bad to have a team with a blue based scheme. 

 

Move the Coyotes to Houston. Couldn't be any worse than Arizona.

 

A Houston-based team wearing Light Blue and Red? I approve heartily!

[jerseyjunk]

5 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

If the new Major League Rugby can start a team called the Seattle Seawolves, then "Aeros" is not too close to "Astros".

 

That said, the NHL should definitely not put a team in Houston. That league already has too many teams in inappropriate areas of the country.

 

Rule of thumb: if a city doesn't get snow, then it shouldn't have an NHL team.

Nobody watches or cares about Rugby though 

[JaquelKrys]

4 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

 

If the new Major League Rugby can start a team called the Seattle Seawolves, then "Aeros" is not too close to "Astros".

 

That said, the NHL should definitely not put a team in Houston. That league already has too many teams in inappropriate areas of the country.

 

Rule of thumb: if a city doesn't get snow, then it shouldn't have an NHL team.

 

That rule of thumb is stale and needs to be put to bed. And trust me, being a New York transplant Islander fan that moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1995, I thought Florida having 2 hockey teams was idiotic. I've since changed my tune.

 

1. This isn't 1910, you don't have to wait until a pond freezes to play the sport. High five to technological advances in refrigeration.

 

2. So many northern transplant hockey fans live in sunbelt cities, do we have to forfeit seeing a live NHL game because it doesn't snow here? Ridiculous.

Seattle is on the cusp of getting an NHL team, I lived there too for 9 years. It snows 2-4 days out of the year in the city. Hardly a bone chilling blizzard. Winters there are mild, ponds don't even ice over. 

Leafs, Habs, Wings, Blackhawks, Rags, Pens, Bruins, Devils, Flyers, and depending how good they are doing that season Isles are big draws to Cats games

 

3. Auston Matthews & Shayne Gostisbehere. Matthews went to Coyote games, Gostisbehere is from the junior Florida Panthers program. There are players in the league now where Florida, Tampa, Dallas, Arizona, Carolina, Nashville, San Jose, Los Angeles, and Anaheim always had a team. 20+ years! It's not an invasion of sunbelt talent, but players are coming up the ranks and are not only getting into the league, but are high draft picks. and that should be recognized.

 

Tampa and Nashville fans have shown how passionate they are for their teams respectively. Panthers suffer from previous ownership groups that weren't devoted after the year of the rat. But if they had ownership that were active, gave a $@#% and built a winner, more fans would show up period. Has nothing to do with outside temperature. Vinnie Viola seems to be taking steps to rebrand the Cats, market them better, and build on their talent minus moving Tallon from GM for a season.

 

Like I said before, I love the Isles, but I realize if I don't give some support to the Panthers, I won't see them or any of the top names in the game right now. A lot of transplants need to do the same if they live in a sun belt market.

[29texan]

[wildwing64]

14 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

Rule of thumb: if a city doesn't get snow, then it shouldn't have an NHL team.

 

In a league that largely plays its games indoors.

[swisherHOU]

The WHA Aeros championship banners and Howe’s #9 hung in the Toyota Center for years until the minor league Aeros moved.

 

I wasn’t here for the WHA Aeros but I know they are remembered fondly. The minor league team was supported very well. I think it would be a mistake to name a team in Houston anything but the Aeros.

 

I think hockey would do well in Houston. We’re the most diverse city in the US with a massive number of transplants. There are a few high schools in the area with hockey teams and I think interest in the sport would explode if a team came here.

 

I’m currently trying to learn hockey myself by following the Oilers this season (because they’re called the Oilers of course!). 

[IceCap]

9 hours ago, JaquelKrys said:

That rule of thumb is stale and needs to be put to bed.

The Thrashers, playing in a Sunbelt metropolis, did so poorly they were dependent on League revenue sharing to stay afloat. 

Then they became the Jets and started playing in a much smaller city in the Canadian prairies. And they proved to be so successful there that they now pay into League revenue sharing rather than take from it. 

 

Cities like Nashville, Tampa, and Dallas have proven there is a market for the sport in some Sunbelt markets.

Then you have Phoenix Arizona, Florida, and Carolina who prove night in and night out that the NHL shouldn’t be in those markets. 

 

It’s not as simple as saying “no snow? no hockey” but to pretend that the Sunbelt is this smashing success is foolhardy. 

 

Again, Winnipeg > Atlanta as a NHL market.

 

So you’re not wrong, but you’re far from right. 

[Kevin W.]

15 hours ago, Ferdinand Cesarano said:

Rule of thumb: if a city doesn't get snow, then it shouldn't have an NHL team.

That ship sailed when the league expanded to Southern California 50 years ago. It's been there ever since. Get over yourself.

[sky1324]

4 hours ago, Ice_Cap said:

Then you have Phoenix Arizona, Florida, and Carolina who prove night in and night out that the NHL shouldn’t be in those markets. 

I agree with both Arizona and Florida, but I think that the Carolinas can prove their worth in the league. The Canes have suffered from poor teams and ownership, and also the place in Raleigh. It's not in a great place, especially if you want to brand the team as "Carolina". Charlotte, however, is right on the border of South Carolina, meaning South Carolinians can make it to games. The Charlotte Checkers, at their peak, were 8th in attendance in the AHL (being a smaller market than 3 of them), and average 6338 people a game over 8 seasons in a 8600-seat stadium. I honestly think that moving the Canes to Charlotte is the right move.

[The_Admiral]

Why can't the Carolinas just be happy with the NFL, NBA, college basketball, college football, and siphoning the Midwest and Northeast of their population in a race to the bottom?

[VancouverFan69]

23 hours ago, Cardsblues02 said:

Aeros, IMO, is a lame-ass name. I would prefer something, well, actually interesting and new. 

 

If Aeros is a lame-ass name, how would you describe the Wild?

[Morgan33]

Aeros would be perfectly acceptable if we didn't already have the Jets.  They would need something a little more unique.

[29texan]

27 minutes ago, Morgo said:

Aeros would be perfectly acceptable if we didn't already have the Jets.  They would need something a little more unique.

Adding to that, their original colors nearly match Winnipeg...