tigerslionspistonshabs

They tried to move them to Auburn Hills?

Carolina actually has fans though, Extremely fair weather, but they're there.

FtfyRight...the KHL would put a team in Havana.

I thought it would cause some issues. They could always go with an NHL shield at centre ice, sort of what like the Jets and Giants do. The ads are probably easy enough to switch, but then you have two storied franchises which probably want their presence known. Nevermind.

If I'm not mistaken, isn't MSG going bye-bye at some point in the foreseeable future? What would be the odds of the Isles and Rangers building a shared arena ala Jets-Giants or Lakers-Clips? Knicks would have to go too.

Oh..fair enough.

So the Isles are playing their best hockey in quite some time. Last night's game against a division rival, the Flyers, garnered only 12,409 fans. I understand the fans woes for the past 2-3 decades, but with a decent team out there now, what's the deal? Just a protest/statement for their pending move to Brooklyn?

Things like this always boggle my mind. Someone had to write up what was going on that banner, then submit it to someone else for approval, then send it off to the banner making company, who sends it back to the team, who puts it up in the rafters...all with a typo.

The blizzard was a product of weather-manipulation by Gary Bettman.

It already does if you count San Jose.

So instead of working to fix the failing franchises in non-traditional markets, just add more. A pro hockey team in Las Vegas will make the Arizona Coyotes look like the Montreal Canadiens.

WOW

I take it that you haven't been a hockey fan for very long... The Blackhawks and Penguins had horrible attendance numbers before the lockout. ...as did the Bruins. I distinctly remember the Thrashers out-drawing the Blackhawks and Bruins in the few seasons leading up to the first lockout. Possibly the Penguins, too. My brain cannot comprehend this statement.

Why?

I actually just got used to Kunitz in a Pens uni. Always associated him with the Ducks.

oh and dude, your sig says Playoffs and theres a picture of a Sabres logo. Must be a couple of years old.

Does anyone else find it weird that they actually wrote 'Philadelphia 76ers' at the bottom of the Iverson banner? I mean, isn't it obvious?

Pistons' Motor City jersey.

I went to Montreal for the first time this past summer and fell in love with the city. Beautiful downtown, all types of people, a large corporate presence. While yes it's true that even the second coming of Christ would play second fiddle to the Habs, a baseball team would have very minimal direct competition with them. A well placed downtown stadium close to the Bell Centre, where Labatt Park was proposed could work very well. A lot of foot traffic, you can get downtown from anywhere in the city in half an hour or less due to a very efficient public transit system. I was there in July and the city was absolutely booming. Anywhere you looked at any point of the day or night, there's something going on and there are hoards of people walking around. There is a huge diversity in age, culture, interests. It's really tough to call it. The Expos yearly attendance was very sporatic. They were drawing 28,000 fans in the early-mid 80s, and then it varied from 8,000-22,000 until the axe swung. I think at this point, it still may be a bit risky. Has anyone mentioned Vancouver? I think it may be worth a look. - Population of 2.3M. - Not much direct competition other than the spring/fall hockey/baseball lap-over - BC Lions on the odd Sunday in late summer/early fall and then the Whitecaps - It's very much a sports town (so much so that they riot when their team loses ) and very diverse in every way - it has the highest net worth of any city in Canada, meaning a lot of disposable income - Massive media production centre (2nd in North America outside L.A.) It all weighs on whether BC Place could host baseball. It's just been renovated, including the addition of a retractable roof and pretty much new everything else. The place is state-of-the-art. It's mixed on whether it can be properly utilized for baseball however. Other than that, I mentioned Portland but there seems to be hiccups there as people have said. I might take some flak for this, but what about Norfolk/Virginia Beach? It's always flirted with whenever relocation comes up in any league. The Kings looked at it last year, Grizzlies and Hornets in 2001-02, the Expos in 03. It's got a metro pop of nearly 2 mill and growing, with no other major league team. Obviously there would need to be a solid plan on a stadium, but who knows?

They, and the A's, need to get this whole stadium situation sorted out. Both are viable markets in the right conditions. Barely 20 year old stadiums are getting replaced just because, while these two perennial contenders play in absolute s#itholes (in the A's case, literally) As for New Orleans- it's a one horse sports town and they've already got 2 horses. Memphis- the Grizzlies seem to be just getting by. It's a market completely dominated by college sports. Pro will always play the second fiddle.

Don't understand how Jersey is always in the mix. The Devils have always had attendance issues and they've been among the most successful teams in the league for the past 2 decades (even now that they're out of the swamp, still relatively low) The Nets had trouble drawing 14,000 fans when they were a title contender. Now bring in a team that requires at least 25,000 a night to stay viable into a territory where the Yanks and Mets already have their claws dug in. Makes sense. I think the only viable option at this point is Portland. A good sized city with no other summer team and only one other team period (sorry, I still don't count MLS). Montreal, as much as I'd love to see it, I just don't see it working out. At least not yet.

Is there anyone right now with a viable stadium awaiting a tenant? I don't think so. Market wise, I think Portland is the only realistic one. One pro team (sorry MLS fans) in town that doesn't play in the summer. Maybe San Antonio for the same reason. People keep throwing around North Jersey. I just don't see it as viable at all. Even though New York City is massive, those fans are already Yankees or Mets fans. It'd be like opening a mom-and-pop shop next to a Wal-Mart. A nice idea, but not viable. What about Indianapolis? I'm not too familiar with the stadium landscape. They obviously can't use Lucas Oil, but is there a demand for ball there?