NHL Anti-Thread: Bad Business Decision Aggregator

[RyanMcD29]

I guess this would technically count for this thread because it is an actual relocation next year, but I find it humorous that the notorious left blue line instead of center ice camera at the Nassau Coliseum looks like it'll become a right blue line instead of center ice camera at Barclays Center.

[dbadefense1990]

The problem is people act like a lack of attendance is isolated in the South, and everywhere else it's always gravy.

This quote is humorous. A lack of attendance (effect) is a symptom of the main problem, the NHL placing a franchise in a doomed market (cause). No matter how much the 'Hawks, Bruins or Pens suck (three teams this individual poster called out), fans will always come out because hockey is a well-established sport in those areas (not regarding the legacy of the franchises). It's pretty hard to get hockey going in a warm-climate city like Miami whose main sports focus is usually football.

It's cute to get 5,000 Panthers fans, max, through the turnstiles to see a hockey game; it's bad business to see those fans fill only 1/4th of a standard, NHL arena, and have this repeated 41 times in a season.

[Angels]

I guess this would technically count for this thread because it is an actual relocation next year, but I find it humorous that the notorious left blue line instead of center ice camera at the Nassau Coliseum looks like it'll become a right blue line instead of center ice camera at Barclays Center.

??

[TheGrimReaper]

This quote is humorous. A lack of attendance (effect) is a symptom of the main problem, the NHL placing a franchise in a doomed market (cause). No matter how much the 'Hawks, Bruins or Pens suck (three teams this individual poster called out), fans will always come out because hockey is a well-established sport in those areas (not regarding the legacy of the franchises).

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.

[HedleyLamarr]

This quote is humorous. A lack of attendance (effect) is a symptom of the main problem, the NHL placing a franchise in a doomed market (cause). No matter how much the 'Hawks, Bruins or Pens suck (three teams this individual poster called out), fans will always come out because hockey is a well-established sport in those areas (not regarding the legacy of the franchises).

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.

[Cosmic]

http://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/

That site has very useful graphs to look at the league as a whole, and teams year-by-year. The only flaw is that the Winter Classic distorts things for the host team (if you consider that a flaw).

[dbadefense1990]

This quote is humorous. A lack of attendance (effect) is a symptom of the main problem, the NHL placing a franchise in a doomed market (cause). No matter how much the 'Hawks, Bruins or Pens suck (three teams this individual poster called out), fans will always come out because hockey is a well-established sport in those areas (not regarding the legacy of the franchises).

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.

Huh. Well there's your "Mind-blowing Fact of the Week."

Thought of the 'Hawks as one of the lower-bin teams prior to the 2005-lockout because of the elder Wirtz. But the Bruins? Whaatt?

[RyanMcD29]

I guess this would technically count for this thread because it is an actual relocation next year, but I find it humorous that the notorious left blue line instead of center ice camera at the Nassau Coliseum looks like it'll become a right blue line instead of center ice camera at Barclays Center.

??

Watch a game on TV at the Coliseum and you'll see what I'm talking about. The camera's off-center.

[Cosmic]

It seems like the Thrashers really had a shot, if they had an owner who wanted to own a hockey team. Pretty solid attendance early, quick dip, but then a nice recovery until the continual suckiness finally scared the fans away.

[nash61]

2003-04:

22. Atlanta: 15,121

23. New Jersey: 15,059

24. Anaheim: 14,987

25. Washington:14,720

26. Islanders:13,693

27. Chicago: 13,253

28. Nashville: 13,157

29. Carolina: 12,330

30. Pittsburgh:11,877

2002-03:

28. Atlanta: 13,476

29. Phoenix: 13,229

30. Nashville: 13,228

2001-02:

28. Atlanta: 13,668

29. Phoenix:13,165

30. Anaheim: 12,002

[Sport]

2003-04:

22. Atlanta: 15,121

23. New Jersey: 15,059

24. Anaheim: 14,987

25. Washington:14,720

26. Islanders:13,693

27. Chicago: 13,253

28. Nashville: 13,157

29. Carolina: 12,330

30. Pittsburgh:11,877

Even the best fans in sports history aren't immune to attendance problems when the team goes sideways.

[The_Admiral]

Those numbers at the bottom weren't even that good. If there were 13,000 people watching Mark Bell and Theo Fleury piss themselves between benders and call it hockey, then there are about 48,000 people there watching Toews and Kane.

All around America in the '90s and 2000s, powerful businessmen woke up one morning and said "hey! We can just make numbers up!", and that included NHL owners and their attendance numbers. The dead-enders who go to bat for the Hurricanes always talk about how their 13,000 a year outdraws Hartford's typical 11,000 a year. Well, yeah, sure, when you pull numbers straight out of your ass, the possibilities are endless.

[teddthebucfan]

2003-04:

30. Pittsburgh:11,877

Im reminded of the time I went to a pens game at the Arena around this time with my dad and when we found out that one of my dad's work buddies was at the game we called him on his new cell phone and asked where he was sitting. He responded "I'm the guy on the Upper Deck." He was the only one there.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

This quote is humorous. A lack of attendance (effect) is a symptom of the main problem, the NHL placing a franchise in a doomed market (cause). No matter how much the 'Hawks, Bruins or Pens suck (three teams this individual poster called out), fans will always come out because hockey is a well-established sport in those areas (not regarding the legacy of the franchises).

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.

[HedleyLamarr]

I looked it up...apparently it wasn't until after the first lockout when the Thrashers were out-drawing the Blackhawks and Bruins.

And that was less than 10 years ago.

Fan attendance wasn't the reason why the team moved. Ownership was the reason. They were the successful version of that broad from Major League.

[The_Admiral]

Who herself was an unsuccessful version of Georgia Frontiere.

This is all about floors and ceilings. The Thrashers at their best outdid the Blackhawks at their worst, but the Blackhawks at their best would dwarf the Thrashers anywhere on the continuum, and what we saw of their worst (and the Stars' worst, and the Coyotes' worst, and the Panthers' worst) makes it justifiable for some of us to say that the league needs to be careful about teams with such low floors. Nothing wrong with a few gambles, but you need to stay steady, or as steady as anywhere can be in the magical world of pro sports.

[monkeypower]

Saskatoon???????????

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/sports/Saskatoon+strongest+Canadian+market+option+expansion+Graham+says/10244346/story.html

“I’ll put this market up against Quebec City any time,” he said.

[Lee.]

Oh, Saskatoon. I love you, I really do.

But you're about a third the size of Winnipeg. You have a terrible case of little brother syndrome, and when your big brother is Winnipeg, then you're really messed in the head.

No.

[The_Admiral]

Yeah, let's wait for Saskatoon to have more than one-third the population of Winnipeg. We'll be waiting for a pretty long time. Meanwhile, Quebec City not only gives you the 800,000 people in the metro but a handful of nearby mid-sized cities within reasonable driving distance (Saskatchewan has no reasonable driving distances), plus the entire belle province + Maritimes for television. Saskatoon has an older version of the MTS Centre while Quebec City will have a state-of-the-art arena on par with the ones in American metros three or four times its size like Kansas City, Pittsburgh, or Columbus. Put Saskatoon up against Quebec City and it gets smeared. Allons-y!

[sportstar1212]

Saskatoon has a snowball's chance in hell for the NHL. Though I wouldn't mind seeing them get an AHL team. They'd be a better market than Thunder Bay for a Jets affiliate. They'd even work pretty well for Calgary or Edmonton.