mattwswfc

I think the NHL is loving this for their realignment plan. They have the option to 'slip' in 2 expansion teams in the West, which may bode well for Seattle, and then shove a team somewhere silly like Kansas City, Albuquerque or Cheyenne! Also it looks like Quebec City may be off the list as there is no 'room', unless of course the Panthers relocate which could seemingly be a possibility, and wouldn't screw up the alignment. Anyway I shall keep posted as I'm pretty convinced this Coyotes-Glendale saga is far from over yet.

Some of the points made on here are quite interesting and make a lot of sense for the NHL, because if they up and move the Coyotes to QC then there is no guarantee that Seattle will want to pay $300 million for an expansion team, especially if they have no new arena on the way. Everyone knows including Quebecor that QC is top of the list for a team, but it may not be the right time, for the NHL that is, to move the team up to Quebec, when they know Quebec will snatch an expansion team right out of their hands! We can all just sit back and watch it unfold, clever move by the NHL.

I guess you are right, but without these comparisons and debates, this thread may as well be a giant news feed....

Also I may not have posted here in a while, but have been following this story closely all the way. Will anyone miss the Coyotes, or in particular thread that has seen the franchise moving to Hamilton, Winnipeg, Quebec City and now Seattle. What happens after, do we start on another team and speculate about their landing spots. Either way this forum will be a lonely place without talk of the Coyotes moving. Looking back you see how ridiculous and unprofessional the NHL has been regarding this matter, they should have gave an legitimate ultimatum long ago. No matter what Gary Bettman has done for the NHL over the years, this will always be a stain on his legacy.

(Quebec City) would be the smallest market in North American pro sports Ahem... Quebec (Lévis) : 765,706 Green Bay Metro Area: 311,098 Source: www.citypopulation.de *I realize that the Packers have all of Wisconsin (6 million) behind them, but the Quebec City NHL team would have half of Quebec Province (and probably a sizeable portion of the Maritimes) on its side. That's at least 4 million potential viewers, which is enough of a market for an NHL team. Yes, there is the issue of exchange rates and corporate sponsorship, blah, blah - but most of the profitable teams in the NHL are north of the Canada-US border. Hear, Hear! Surely there are parts in Wisconsin that root for the Bears and Vikings, and I guess the whole of Milwaukee can't be Cheeseheads! I am almost certain that since the Nordiques left QC, not everyone would have gone 'Hey what happens now, shall we root for the Habs?' I would hazard a guess that most hockey fans in that Northern part of Quebec don't have an allegiance to anyone, except the memory of the Quebec Nordiques, and watch hockey because of nothing more or less than the sheer fact that they love it. Thus making the region arguably the largest market of passionate hockey fans without a professional team. Also correct me if I'm wrong but don't the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders play in the continents smallest 'major' league market, I think Regina is just shy of 200,000, or maybe that doesn't count...

I personally think Milwaukee could be a good home for an NHL team, miles better than some of the ridiculous locations thrown around for the past 3 years :coughcough: Kansas City and Las Vegas. I also think Seattle would jump at the chance of having the Bucks over a new expansion/relocated NHL team. The Bucks most probably have to be out of Milwaukee, way before anyone can realistically think of Milwaukee as a potential NHL home. But for speculation purposes I would say Milwaukee is definitely a good home for a team.

Thing is though, people really knew it was either Phoenix or Atlanta moving to Winnipeg, they didn't care as long as they got there team. Also you've got to think if the tables were turned and Phoenix did move to Winnipeg, would we be speculating weather Atlanta would move to QC? Probably not... QC are taking advantage of the current situation and using it to try a lure the Coyotes North of the border...

Anyone got a link for this press conference?

Will there be a link?

The Isles still need to get a new arena and there appears to be none on the horizon... It would be interesting to see if playing at the Barclays Centre would be viable long-term.... Well from what I have read/seen the Barclay's Center is being built primarily as a basketball venue only, and will only seat 14,500 fans for hockey. Even though it would be great to see the Islanders play in Brooklyn, it is probably not a viable option. Although a pre-season game is scheduled between the Islanders and New Jersey Devils, so you never know...

Saskatoon, and Kansas City deserve facepalms... Yeah I agree, KC is only on the list because they have a state-of-the-art arena with no major professional tenant, and Saskatoon for the sheer fact it's a relatively large city in Canada and doesn't have a professional hockey team within 250 miles... As for Hamilton, QC and Seattle, well they all are good options (maybe not Hamilton in the current situation), but QC and Seattle are probably the front runners to get an NHL team in the next 5-10 years (hopefully a lot sooner for QC :fingerscrossed:).

http://www.leaderpost.com/sports/Five+other+cities+vying+franchises/6352708/story.html Interesting report from a website speculating which teams are in the hat for a new team, or the existing Coyotes. 5 cities according to these!

It would be Gary Bettman's darkest hour if he moves the Blues out of St. Louis, they are obviously in a viable market with a suitable arena, that also happen draw well like you said.

The beginning of the end......

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=610343 It's going to be the same division and play-off format next year in the NHL, poor old Winnipeg stuck in the South East.