Sodboy13

Pierre LeBrun says Matthew Hulsizer is going to buy a minority stake in the Wild.

And also, the Devils killed hockey in Lowell. Proving harder to do it in Albany, but it's not for lack of trying!

Maybe eventually. Canucks to Abbotsford seems especially inevitable. When the Heat played there, the Wolves were the Canucks' affiliate, and had to play Abby eight times a year, despite not being in their division, because those were the only four games a season the Heat could fill more than half the arena. Arizona may not want to shift theirs west because 1) they don't own Portland outright and don't want to buy a franchise, and 2) we're about 2 years out from the next Here We Go Again thread. All signs point to a 5-team western division/conference/league/fiefdom being announce at the outset. Admiral: Hey, the QC Mallards still exist! In the ECHL, no less.

Adirondanck, Manchester, and Oklahoma City are your other 3.

Could be. I'm willing to wager Joe's pooped himself at work, too.

"Making stuff up on my own" is not a rumor, Joe.

The Heritage Classic in Winnipeg is being postponed, because it's too cold in the winter in Winnipeg to play hockey outside.

Announcing a goal review in the Ducks-Leafs game, the referee confirmed it was a good goal for "Atlanta". Hey, better late than never, I guess.

With a 66-game schedule, they'd play two teams 16 times, and two teams 17 times.

The Anaheim faithful couldn't even fill the lower bowl for Teemu Selanne jersey retirement night.

of Anaheim.

The AHL as you know it died in 2001.

Yeah, the talk all has been that the AHL West would basically function as its own league until the playoffs, as the ECHL West does now. So in a 5-team league, that means playing each opponent 18 times in a season, and always one team unable to play, which probably leads to a lot of scheduling of games on less desirable nights. It also probably bones alignments in the Midwest and Texas, though to what extent, I'm not certain. There's still a lot to shake out here. One unrelated thing that has to happen - I mean has to - is that Peoria either goes back up to the ECHL or drops to juniors like Bloomington did. The SPHL is running a 9-team league with 8 southern teams and Peoria. Take the hint, Rivs.

Yep. Oilers can't put an AHL team in Bakersfield because there usn't a franchise available, despite the fact that they own the OKC franchise that has formally announced they're ceasing operations. Replace team and city names, repeat ad nauseum. Yeesh. By the way, Barons jerseys are $60 at the team shop now. They have one which inverts the orange and blue on the current Oilers' home that I rather fancy.

Ooh, it is about 20,000-plus, isn't it? Anyway, after going through HFBoards' AHL thread last night and barely avoiding a brain bleed, it looks like the Ducks are aiming to plop a team in San Diego. So you've got the Oilers in Bakersfield, the Kings in Ontario (CA), the Sharks maybe icing the AHL team in the SAP Center as well, someone possibly angling for Stockton, and Calgary and Vancouver with old-footprint franchises they could pack up and move. It seems like Fresno, Long Beach, and Abbotsford (Canucks only) could also be markets to consider, if only because they have the facilities. But if the AHL sets up a 5-team league that only plays itself in California, it's gonna be an ugly disaster that probably will also manage to screw the ECHL at the same time.

Greensboro seems very not interested in hockey. I don't think the Generals faired well, and they thoroughly rejected the just-passing-through Hurricanes.

The Checkers are in their 22nd season, and are drawing 5,100 a game, which is right around league average, about 1,500 more per game than Milwaukee, and more than many of the precious northeast post-industrial craphole teams. Save your blumpkins for the parent club, where they're deserved and accurate.

Well, Eugene Melnyk's still broke, so have fun building that, taxpayers!

Ask the UHL. They've got loads of experience on the subject!

I think it's about time they did an entire rebrand. Their entire identity seems a bit stale. I don't mind the logos, but maybe a better color palette would freshen things up a bit. The maroon and black just seems really dull, IMO. "Appleton Foxes" has a nice ring to it.

Well, that's certainly... German.

Fantastic little OITGDNHL story from Uncle Bob, on just how slapdash and last-minute the Florida/Anaheim expansion/Bruce McNall-engineered dick-waving contest was: http://www.tsn.ca/mckenzie-no-one-should-be-caught-off-guard-by-expansion-1.154730

Morin for Vermette. Bang, done, good night.

New York Post Hockey Coot Larry Brokks, who does tend to know people who know things, says the Coyotes' latest financial savior appears to be falling through, leaving IceArizona with their team bought on payday loans. Here We Go Again. http://nypost.com/2014/12/06/devils-need-a-nosedive/