bosrs1

Winnipeg is waiting for a market that makes sense to present itself.

Gary Bettman put in a good word for these guys...

They're not angling for an AHL team. They want an NHL team. And they'll probably get it. Either through expansion with Seattle or relocation of someone like Phoenix.

Look on the bright side of today's musical chairs:

We may have the return of the Manitoba Moose!

Still not seeing how that is a good thing beyond the name (which was still an inferior name to the Winnipeg Jets). What San Jose and Winnipeg are doing with the AHL team in the same building makes little sense for the AHL. It's turning the AHL squads into glorified reserve teams nothing more. Hopefully in both cases it's just temporary.

3 leagues are unnecessary. Just put the Eastern Conference affiliates in the AHL, and West in the IHL. Simple as that.

That's what I mean. Why bring back the now long dead IHL? The AHL has a longer history and more stability. Just split the AHL into east and west. Problem solved. It brings more cachet for the teams to be part of the "American League" than it does to be dumped in an artificial recreation of a failed league.

I think three individual leagues going CHL style would make sense. You basically have three groups already. West, Midwest, and Northeast

Why not simply keep them all under the AHL umbrella and have 3 geographic divisions that don't meet until the playoffs. Dividing the league up artificially doesn't seem to do anything but weaken the overall brand.

Well the Gulls have further cemented that they intend to stay in the San Diego area full time. Originally they planned to practice in Anaheim, but now they'll be practicing in San Diego adjacent Poway in brand new digs.

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2015/feb/27/san-diego-gulls-based-poway-new-building/

I mean, if the AHL west is going to essentially act as its own league, why not... you know... just have two leagues.

Personally, I'd go with three leagues, bring back the IHL, and have a CHL-style tournament to determine the overall champion.

Probably because long term it's not going to act as its own league. And because there's a ton of cache that comes from being the AHL that a startup IHL wouldn't have. Part of how this was being sold at least by the Gulls, is that this version of them is joining the most stable of all the minor leagues in the AHL.

I do care about it, because I've been to a lot more AHL/IHL games than NHL ones, and it's becoming fairly obvious that I'll never be able to afford to go to an NHL game in this city again. I've seen the Wolves raise the Calder Cup in person twice, and the Turner Cup once. I've seen good, fun, competitive hockey. I don't want to lay down $20 plus parking and concessions to see systems implementation where the schedule's made up and the standings points don't matter.

If the NHL really wants to push this direct ownership and development above all model (which, side benefit for them at the next CBA: look at all these additional expenses we have!), then just house practice squads and run intrasquad scrimmages in rinks instead of arenas. Develop on-site with the parent club's staff always within arm's reach. And let the markets and owners that want minor league hockey make a league. Good time to do it, too, since the KHL's new anti-import policy could bring a lot of 4-A guys back to North America.

This shouldn't even be an issue. Minor league baseball is both fully affiliated and independently competitive. Hockey can't be because the never-will-bes in San Jose can't sufficiently untwist their undies?

Two things, one as someone mentioned this is likely a work in progress. These 5 won't remain alone in the west for long. Second, it's really only San Jose that is operating their AHL team as a glorified practice squad (much as it pains me to say so as a Sharks fan). And even that might not be long term as they only are doing so for lack of better options. The Ducks for one made it very clear this weekend they expect the Gulls to not only develop their players but to also compete and win in their own right just as the eastern NHL owned teams have done for years. I'd point out the pts leader in the AHL right now is the Kings wholly owned Monarchs.

Now it may be a bit of a downer that they're playing less games for now, but when you consider the bulk of their games are likely to be intradivision you can see some of the logic behind it. San Diego can only play San Jose, Stockton, Ontario and Bakersfield so many times. And making big east coast swings defeats the the proximity purpose of the Pacific Division existing in the first place.

It's fine if they're playing a 68-game schedule in their own league. It's fine if the rest of the league also drops down to a 68-game schedule. It's not fine if five teams are playing 68 games, and the other twenty-five play 76, because of Hockey Reasons.

Yeah it is odd that they'd go with two different schedules, but it also makes sense from the perspective of the various owners. The Pacific teams are all NHL owned, their primary concern is player development, not the team's actual gate. The eastern divisions with the majority being independently owned are interested in having more home games for the gate. It's not perfect, but you can understand their reasons, particularly in the Pacific as they are overall organizationally hockey related even if they're not AHL hockey specific issues.

Love the Gulls turnout for the logo/team unveiling which is awesome for west coast hockey. So what really concerns me is the goof ball responses to the whole AHL migration to the west. How about we embrace it and be happy for the spread of the great sport of HOCKEY. and be haaaappppyy!!!!!

Hey I'm totally behind it even if only a 68 game season (it'll mean slightly cheaper season tickets for me). It also tracks with the totals and per game amounts that the Gulls released on Sunday if they are playing a 34 game home schedule http://sandiegogulls.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/15-16-SDAHL_seatingpricing_MAP.pdf.

And I'm glad San Diego came out in droves for it. It was shocking to everyone including the owners and the executives how much San Diego wanted a hockey team back with the over 8,500 showing up and over 1,600 season ticket deposits. And it'll be good hockey too, better than San Diego's enjoyed since the days of the Mariners.

And yes the Gulls new logo is a nice upgrade over the old ECHL logo it was based on.

Cool. Nice to see the big group in San Diego

Over 8,500 fans showed up. The team had been expecting 500 and said if 1000 showed up it would have been outstanding. They had no clue there was such a strong following of the sport in San Diego. The Gulls will do just fine. And it won't hurt that they'll be the only pro team playing between December and April (possibly even October and April if the Chargers leave). Their only real competition will be SDSU basketball.

How about they have a logo of Stockton on fire? Show the city financially strapped after the Flames leave town and leave lots of fans burnt. ...

Not sure how them leaving town would leave the city financially strapped. Stockton after all has already declared bankruptcy. They're pretty much in the clear on most of their prior bad investments, and they're not investing anything in this AHL franchise. It's no hair off their backsides if the Flames leave.

It's official...the Jr. Gulls confirmed that they'll be the San Diego Sabers next season.

So, there goes the last roadblock to the AHL team being the Gulls.

I swear I'm getting more and more excited for the Gulls return by the day. Glad to see it's all but official now.

Arco Arena has an ice plant (or did), but I believe the rink runs perpendicular to the basketball court, which is wack. (Wiggidy-wack? Nope, just regular type.)

Yeah Arco's ice setup is pretty weird. Only plus side over the horseshoe layout of most basketball only arenas is that the scoreboard is centered... but other than that the seats would appear to be mostly between the blue lines and both goals would be in a very odd location. But it's neither here nor there. Arco isn't long for this world.

Stockton pretty much screwed the pooch... They could've solidified a future if they stayed in the ECHL.

How does moving up to AHL screw the pooch?

And it's not like they had a choice. The ECHL team is owned by the same guys who now own the AHL team. So it's really just the Oilers playing musical teams with their minor league squads. It's no hair off their backside either way.

He said Stockton. Not Bakersfield.

And yeah, idk what exactly Stockton can do here. If the Flames screw it up again, then it's a Flames problem. Stockton's probably cool with having a hockey team still, and a higher level one at that.

Yeah sorry meant to say Flames, not Oilers. They own the AHL team incoming and the ECHL team outgoing so there's though so my point remains the same. It's 6 to one, half dozen to another. The only real pooch screwing is dropping the Thunder name for a generic Flames name.

Stockton pretty much screwed the pooch... They could've solidified a future if they stayed in the ECHL.

How does moving up to AHL screw the pooch?

And it's not like they had a choice. The ECHL team is owned by the same guys who now own the AHL team. So it's really just the Oilers playing musical teams with their minor league squads. It's no hair off their backside either way.

I feel so bad for people stuck with the ECHL. What's the point, even. You might see someone's future backup goalie?

The point is to watch some live hockey representing your home town (or area). As someone who lives in a current non-hockey town, I can tell you I would have taken anything I could get. I'm glad we're getting the AHL, but I would have gladly taken ECHL as well. It's not necessarily about seeing someone going up to so and so NHL team. I couldn't care less that the reborn Gulls are a Ducks farm team or that some of their players might be in the NHL some day.

The way you post, I thought you lived in the San Francisco bay area.

Not for a long time. I'm in San Diego.

I feel so bad for people stuck with the ECHL. What's the point, even. You might see someone's future backup goalie?

I think the Quad Cities are happy to be "stuck" with any hockey at all after a couple trips to death's doorstep.

After CoHL, UHL, 2 years of Flames "AHL," IHL (not the good one) and CeHL, I'm guessing the ECHL is looking pretty good right now in Moline. No facts to back that up, though.

Hey I can attest to that. I mean San Diego has been sans hockey since the ECHL Gulls left almost 10 years ago. At this point anything would have been an improvement. Would have loved an ECHL team. AHL team is of course better, and the city seems to ago with the Gulls already having sold 1000 season tickets in a single weekend. But I imagine an ECHL team wouldn't have done too badly for itself this time around either. The last one did just fine.

Calgary ditching the Stockton Thunder identity that's been around for a decade to rebrand the team the Flames. Well, that went great in Quad City, I'm sure it'll take off like gangbusters in a place that's actually bankrupt.

You have a link for that one? Would be disappointing if that's what they're doing. You think they'd have learned by now.

But I like watching hockey, not fumbling around trying to slug somebody. Of course, I'm hardcore.

Why should hockey be any different?

Baseball puts you outside on a summer day/night. Even at the minor-league level, that's pleasant in and of itself. Hockey, it's winter, it's cold, you're probably in a foul mood. You'd like to watch something watchable. I like watching AHL games because while it may be rough around the edges, it's still very good hockey. Also, tickets to the Chilled Ham are eminently affordable and have nary a bad seat in the house for, again, pretty darn good hockey.

Maybe that's the difference. In California it's not particularly cold and we're not in a foul mood. I'm just as happy to go watch minor league hockey for all it's quirks and unique traits as I am to go see minor league baseball. Hell I drive over an hour to go see MiLB during the summer in Lake Elsinore even though I've got MLB 10 minutes from my house in downtown San Diego just because of minor league sports virtues beyond the level of skill on field. So I'm definitely going to take advantage of seeing a San Diego representing AHL (or ECHL or any other of the larger minor leagues) team 10 minutes from my house rather than drive the hour and a half+ through LA traffic to Anaheim.

I feel so bad for people stuck with the ECHL. What's the point, even. You might see someone's future backup goalie?

The point is to watch some live hockey representing your home town (or area). As someone who lives in a current non-hockey town, I can tell you I would have taken anything I could get. I'm glad we're getting the AHL, but I would have gladly taken ECHL as well. It's not necessarily about seeing someone going up to so and so NHL team. I couldn't care less that the reborn Gulls are a Ducks farm team or that some of their players might be in the NHL some day.

Not so much sanctity as common sense. And sure, a little bit of integrity when it comes to one team playing a 76-game season, another playing a 64-game season because they're in the Cool California Kids Club, and calling it the same league.

If there's going to be a AAA league for western states, fine, whatever, have fun with it, but it shouldn't come at great expense to the small-town northeast, where hockey is kinda their thing. I honestly don't care one bit about losing Norfolk or Oklahoma City, and I'd be pleased as punch to see Charlotte drop off the map as well, but I feel bad for the good folks in New England and upstate New York where there's not a lot going on but get to have this tradition. And actually, of all the franchise relocations I'm still pissed about, Peoria is in the lead on that.

Yeah but at least the people in upstate New York or New England (even more so) are all within, what, two hours of a pro team? I think they'll be fine. And, if hockey up there really is so strong, this may signal a shift of more east coast based teams moving their AHL operations up there to compensate, rather than having to follow prospects who will ultimately end up on the other side of the country anyway.

And the only way to build a strong fan base anyway is to move a team to a non traditional market and let the fanbase grow after pouring government money into their building... Oh my God I'm officially in Cototes fan speak mode.

Maybe this really is a stupid idea.

Don't know about that. None of the new AHL markets are pouring any government money into any of the 5 arenas being utilized. In fact all of them are already using long finished structures and if any improvements are being made, for instance in San Diego which is by far the oldest of the 5 western arenas, it is private money being utilized.

Not so much sanctity as common sense. And sure, a little bit of integrity when it comes to one team playing a 76-game season, another playing a 64-game season because they're in the Cool California Kids Club, and calling it the same league.

If there's going to be a AAA league for western states, fine, whatever, have fun with it, but it shouldn't come at great expense to the small-town northeast, where hockey is kinda their thing. I honestly don't care one bit about losing Norfolk or Oklahoma City, and I'd be pleased as punch to see Charlotte drop off the map as well, but I feel bad for the good folks in New England and upstate New York where there's not a lot going on but get to have this tradition. And actually, of all the franchise relocations I'm still pissed about, Peoria is in the lead on that.

I guess I get what you're saying to an extent, but can't agree. I mean I feel for the people in Glen Falls losing their team for instance, except they're not. They're actually getting an ECHL pro team back that is more in line with the small size of their city. Worcester I feel for in terms of losing their team entirely, and wish they'd had some incoming replacement but alas the Sharks have no ECHL affiliate. Though they still have the team they all really root for in the NHL less than 50 miles away down the Mass Pike so there is that. Manchester similar to Glen Falls is getting a team in line with its city size AND still has the NHL team most of them root for 50 miles away.

Meanwhile the cities their teams are moving to are far bigger and/or far more removed from any alternative, particularly NHL with the obvious exception of San Jose (which of the 5 moves makes the least sense in terms of final placement) and Ontario on distance (though in reality the drive from Ontario to LA or Anaheim takes far longer than the mileage would suggest). I mean really of all the cities involved with this move the only one in the Northeast getting truly screwed is Worcester (assuming the Bruins don't follow through on finding them an ECHL team).

So looking pretty solid that the Feb 22 announcement in San Diego will be for the return of the Gulls name.

http://mayorsmanor.com/2015/02/ducks-land-on-ahl-san-diego-team-name/

Apparently that's everywhere. Bad ad, but not enough is being done to fix it (at the ad provider level).

I started getting redirected to Lyft in the app store constantly in mid-December and again in mid-January (this time affecting Android, too). Gilt was the other 5% of unwanted redirects. Never used either app or service before.

Ironically, never from this site, but I use mobile almost exclusively now.

Search "slimspots" with spam or virus and you'll find a ton of info and no solutions. That's the site it redirects from before opening the app store.

Yeah it's always sending me to a software updater website on the computer. Almost exclusively when I open the Logos section of the message boards. There must be a bad ad in there somewhere. It's making me seriously reconsider using this site if they can't get their ad provider under control.

Has anyone else encountered an issue where you are being redirected at random to different websites when trying to open a thread? I've noticed it happens on both computer and iPad. The latter ends up redirecting to a page which opens the App Store. On computers it's a simple redirect usually to an untrustworthy site that asks your permission to leave if you try and back out.

How is it inefficient though if the 5 teams are all in relatively close bus proximity to each other? And the same with regard to 3 of the parent clubs?