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Storm Tracking: The Future of the Carolina Hurricanes


HedleyLamarr

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We haven't had much talk about the NHL and their expansion/relocation plans lately.  I'm not going to let CCSLC tradition go by the boards, so let's toss something out there, shall we?

 

I present to you, @the admiral's third-favorite team to take shots at...the Carolina Hurricanes.  Bless their hearts, they try their best.  Their owner has been trying to sell the team for a while....firstly as "looking for investors", then selling them as a whole.  Their owner's having about as much success at that as the Atlanta Spirit did. 

 

From Yahoo's Greg Wyshynski: Hurricanes possibly to be sold to Quebecor or Las Vegas owner, with relocation a possibility.

 

Now, it's been eerily quiet on the expansion front.  You would think that a team starting a couple seasons from now, that there would be some discussions or rumors or whatever taking place.  Could that quietness be due to getting this Hurricanes situation settled first, whether the team stays in Raleigh or gets moved to either Las Vegas or Quebec City?  Then the city(ies) that lose out on the Hurricanes could be granted an expansion franchise.

 

As the article states, it would benefit Las Vegas (from a box office standpoint) to acquire a team that's already established over starting from scratch and having to wade through the lean, early seasons of the expansion team.  Quebec City would pay whatever it takes to get a team and can likely tough out the growing pains expansion teams go through without suffering at the gate.

 

The team has a lease through 2024, but we've seen over time that leases aren't much of a restriction if someone can afford to buy it out, which both Quebec City and Las Vegas can afford to do.

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Actually, this seems to make sense. Moving the Canes to Vegas or Quebec makes a TON more sense than granting Vegas/Quebec city an expansion franchise, especially considering the current state of the NHL. 

 

Poor Stickguy, though. His family is in shambles, and now we're trying to take his NHL team from him. Talk about getting the shaft. 

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On 11/19/2012 at 7:23 PM, oldschoolvikings said:
She’s still half convinced “Chris Creamer” is a porn site.)
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2 minutes ago, ECUFan25 said:

we have a big enough fanbase to possibly block a move

 

The Thrashers seemed to be drawing OK crowds but that didn't stop them moving to Winnipeg.

 

Reality is, only the stuff happening behind the scenes will determine what happens. If the current ownership wants nothing to do with the franchise and there aren't any prospective local buyers, chances are they're outta there.

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PotD: 24/08/2017

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Normally I wouldn't care about the Hurricanes, but recently I just met the son of one of my mother's old friends, and he is a huge Hurricanes fan. In fact the whole family is. It would be absolutely gutting for me to see their team ripped away from them. So now I'm wholeheartedly rooting for the Canes to stay. 

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Allow me to make this about me. Columbus was Karmanos' first choice in relocating the Whalers: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/13/nyregion/splitsville-for-hartford-and-the-whalers.html?pagewanted=all

 

But our arena situation was even worse than Raleigh/Durham's at the time. I think they were going to renovate and add seats to the fairgrounds where the Columbus Chill played for a temporary arena until the city could figure out a permanent building. The fairgrounds were an ancient and tiny arena used mostly for livestock shows until minor league hockey came along. It was perfect for the "Slap Shot" Chill, but even with upgrades and additional seating it would've been the most embarrassing arena for an NHL team to call home even just as a temporary venue. Worse than the Sharks in the Cow Palace or the Senators in the Civic Centre.

 

Anyways, alternate history timeline: Whalers move to Columbus, become the Ohio Hockey Pucks, the Hockey Pucks develop a strong fanbase with playoff appearances and deep runs sooner than 9 years into the franchise's lifespan, the 2006 Stanley Cup parade cements the Hockey Pucks into Columbus and Ohio's sporting culture forever. Oh and check it out we still end up seeing Geoff Sanderson and Kevin Dineen playing in Columbus. Basically what I'm saying is I'd rather have the Hurricanes' last 15 years over the Blue Jackets' last 15 years, which is sad. 

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2 hours ago, ECUFan25 said:

we have a big enough fanbase to possibly block a move

A football team just moved. Your fanbase couldn't block a butterfly.

 

Allow me to make this about me. Columbus was Karmanos' first choice in relocating the Whalers: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/13/nyregion/splitsville-for-hartford-and-the-whalers.html?pagewanted=all

 

But our arena situation was even worse than Raleigh/Durham's at the time. I think they were going to renovate and add seats to the fairgrounds where the Columbus Chill played for a temporary arena until the city could figure out a permanent building.

 

No, Auburn Hills was the first choice for the Whalers and dismissed for obvious reasons. The plan for Columbus was to play in an abandoned aircraft hangar until an arena was built.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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I hope the Canes don't move. Granted, the 2+ years I lived in Greensboro (~1hr drive from PNC Arena), I went to a grand total of one game. That's equal to the number of Tampa Bay Lightning home games I went to over the same span. I guess I'm part of the problem :(

 

1 hour ago, McCarthy said:

Anyways, alternate history timeline: Whalers move to Columbus, become the Ohio Hockey Pucks

 

We need to start naming more franchises after random sports equipment. Greensboro Goalposts! Baltimore Bases! Brooklyn Net... wait a minute...

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3 hours ago, ECUFan25 said:

Trust me. As a Raleigh resident and not completely a OMG mega superfan of Carolina, but I go to a few games, we have a big enough fanbase to possibly block a move, just watch this clip (I was at this game)

It's not a "fanbase" issue, it's a REVENUE issue. As opposed to the NFL and MLB, the NHL is still gate driven and the Hurricanes are doing poorly at the gate.

 

CAR has been lowest or 2nd lowest in ticket price for the past few seasons, have about 35% of their suites unsold, and TV deal is pretty bad. Those last two are revenues which only portions are shared with the league.

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2 hours ago, goalieboy82 said:

Move the Canes back to Hartford.  

As much as I'd love to see that, they're not gonna move back to a city that's still using the same arena that chased the old Whalers out in the first place.

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24 minutes ago, mcj882000 said:

As much as I'd love to see that, they're not gonna move back to a city that's still using the same arena that chased the old Whalers out in the first place.

so that whaling ship has sailed then.  too bad i loved those old jerseys.  

so long and thanks for all the fish.

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This is potentially good in two ways:

 

A) Barring another Southeastern Winnipeg situation, swapping Raleigh for Las Vegas or Seattle puts us at 15/15. Swapping it for Quebec City keeps 14/16 and lets the league go on with its dream of expanding to Vegas and Seattle. Even if Quebec City doesn't get this team and a Western team does, we don't have to hear from whiny bitch Detroit fans about how Quebec City is not an option (because it would subject the Red Wings to the injustice of playing divisional games against fellow Midwestern cities).

 

Unintentional Sunglasses Emoticon) This sale would rid the NHL of Peter Karmanos, one of the most powerful owners in one of the most incompetent leagues. Get this guy out of here so he can throw more elaborate parties for himself and jerk off to the Red Wings.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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