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If the Predators move to Hamilton....


Lalalaloser

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Off topic, but would the Maple Leafs be able to block such a move, too? Or is Hamilton considered outside the territory?

then again, if it's not brought up whenever they talk about the Hartford Whalers (Boston) coming back...

There is a rule that no new or relocated team can be placed within 80km of any existing team, but I am pretty sure if the new owner greases Bettman's already filthy hands enough he will get his way.

Golisano has already stated he will protest any such attempt to place a team there.

and yet they put Anahiem pretty much right on top of the Kings. No problems there

The LA/Anehiem area has a ton more people in it than the Buffalo/Hamilton area if I'm not mistaken.

Sure it does- but Buffalo/Hamilton (commonly referred to as the "Golden Horseshoe" and includes the Niagara region) has a ton more hockey fans!

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Copps needs to be renovated big time before an NHL team moves in. Im from Hamilton and it needs to get a 2nd and maybe 3rd floor, more private boxes etc. It needs major work. Also, as for the name...Im thinking something along the lines of Steelers, Steelheads etc. because Hamilton is steel town. If they used Predators they'd need a new uni. set imo.

Sure it does- but Buffalo/Hamilton (commonly referred to as the "Golden Horseshoe" and includes the Niagara region) has a ton more hockey fans!

True that! Hamilton would sell out even with the Leafs and Sabres an hour away. People who dont want to cross the border for Buffalo and people who wont pay 200 bucks for a ticket will go to a Hamilton game.

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Hey, Columbus has done pretty well. Middle of the pack in attendance, with a much worse team.

Maybe Columbus hasn't been a grand slam, but it's still solid. Nashville has been nothing less than a disaster.

Check the link: http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...ortsHockey/home

In one day, the number of people putting deposits on season tickets for a potential NHL team in Hamilton overtook the number of season-ticket holders of the Nashville Predators.

The season ticket holder base for an very competitive, exciting NHL team in Nashville that has been around for ten years is less than that of a southern Ontario team THAT DOESN'T EXIST can get in ONE DAY!!! Yep, that's Canada.

Of course, the league would prefer that if the team has to move it goes to the hockey hotbed of...Kansas City. Yep, that's Gary Bettman's NHL.

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Hey, Columbus has done pretty well. Middle of the pack in attendance, with a much worse team.

Maybe Columbus hasn't been a grand slam, but it's still solid. Nashville has been nothing less than a disaster.

Check the link: http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/R...ortsHockey/home

In one day, the number of people putting deposits on season tickets for a potential NHL team in Hamilton overtook the number of season-ticket holders of the Nashville Predators.

The season ticket holder base for an very competitive, exciting NHL team in Nashville that has been around for ten years is less than that of a southern Ontario team THAT DOESN'T EXIST can get in ONE DAY!!! Yep, that's Canada.

Of course, the league would prefer that if the team has to move it goes to the hockey hotbed of...Kansas City. Yep, that's Gary Bettman's NHL.

Alright, I want to know how it can be reasonably expected for a city to become a hockey "hotbed" in just 8 seasons? That question applies towards more than just Nashville too. The NHL has the entire U.S. with which to work to attract more fans, yet all I'm hearing is that the league should just give up & move damn near every team to Canada. I would be offended if the league just wrote off 75% of the States just because it doesn't lie in a "traditional" hockey market. The only way for the sport to grow is to have teams somewhere non-traditional. I realize putting the Predators in Anytown, Canada will make some owner some sure money, but it won't do a damn bit of good in exposing anyone new to the game! I hope the NHL sees this. If you have 30 fishermen, it doesn't make any sense for all of them to be fishing in the same lake when there's an entire ocean at their disposal. I've done a lot of Bettman bashing in my time, but the one thing I won't criticize him about is the effort to expand the game.

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Copps needs to be renovated big time before an NHL team moves in. Im from Hamilton and it needs to get a 2nd and maybe 3rd floor

I'm pretty sure Copps already has a 2nd floor... I was sitting in the upper level when I shot

Alright, I want to know how it can be reasonably expected for a city to become a hockey "hotbed" in just 8 seasons? That question applies towards more than just Nashville too. The NHL has the entire U.S. with which to work to attract more fans, yet all I'm hearing is that the league should just give up & move damn near every team to Canada. I would be offended if the league just wrote off 75% of the States just because it doesn't lie in a "traditional" hockey market. The only way for the sport to grow is to have teams somewhere non-traditional. I realize putting the Predators in Anytown, Canada will make some owner some sure money, but it won't do a damn bit of good in exposing anyone new to the game! I hope the NHL sees this. If you have 30 fishermen, it doesn't make any sense for all of them to be fishing in the same lake when there's an entire ocean at their disposal. I've done a lot of Bettman bashing in my time, but the one thing I won't criticize him about is the effort to expand the game.

Right, so the NFL should move, maybe... Green Bay to Mexico City, and, oh what the heck - Tennessee to Hamilton. Expose more fans to the game and grow the sport!

:blink:

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Chris Creamer
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Alright, I want to know how it can be reasonably expected for a city to become a hockey "hotbed" in just 8 seasons? That question applies towards more than just Nashville too. The NHL has the entire U.S. with which to work to attract more fans, yet all I'm hearing is that the league should just give up & move damn near every team to Canada. I would be offended if the league just wrote off 75% of the States just because it doesn't lie in a "traditional" hockey market. The only way for the sport to grow is to have teams somewhere non-traditional. I realize putting the Predators in Anytown, Canada will make some owner some sure money, but it won't do a damn bit of good in exposing anyone new to the game! I hope the NHL sees this. If you have 30 fishermen, it doesn't make any sense for all of them to be fishing in the same lake when there's an entire ocean at their disposal. I've done a lot of Bettman bashing in my time, but the one thing I won't criticize him about is the effort to expand the game.

America at large has been exposed to the NHL.

They don't care for it.

Some "non-traditional" markets love it (San Jose, Dallas). Most don't (Raleigh, Miami, Nashville).

Experiment over, hypothesis proven incorrect. Back to the drawing board, time for my patented NHL-Relegation system to be given a shot :D

Welcome to DrunjFlix

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I gotta agree with the earlier post about too many distractions now for the NHL to compete with and gain NEW American fans south of Chicago or Denver. It is not like a bunch of new kid's hockey leagues have sprung up in the South because of Nashville, Atlanta, and Florida having teams. Correct me if I'm wrong there. If the Preds tank and finish last, that arena will be empty very quickly. The NHL should play to its strengths and focus on areas with a built-in fan base like areas of Canada currently being under served by the NHL. The whole Hamilton is a temporary step to Waterloo conspiracy is intriguing and would probably affect any changing of the team name right away, like the Tenn. Oilers to Titans makeover.

A new owner would seem more likely to support changing the team name to create a new identity for the franchise.

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I gotta agree with the earlier post about too many distractions now for the NHL to compete with and gain NEW American fans south of Chicago or Denver. It is not like a bunch of new kid's hockey leagues have sprung up in the South because of Nashville, Atlanta, and Florida having teams. Correct me if I'm wrong there. If the Preds tank and finish last, that arena will be empty very quickly. The NHL should play to its strengths and focus on areas with a built-in fan base like areas of Canada currently being under served by the NHL. The whole Hamilton is a temporary step to Waterloo conspiracy is intriguing and would probably affect any changing of the team name right away, like the Tenn. Oilers to Titans makeover.

A new owner would seem more likely to support changing the team name to create a new identity for the franchise.

I say keep the name - it works with city traditions (i.e. tigers = predators, etc.)

change the colors (maybe old canucks, orange/black/red?, would work with hamilton colors of black/yellow), and change logo

new identity, fits with cities traditions, and keeps badass original name

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I have "Waterloo" by ABBA in my head now. THANKS A LOT JIM BALSILLIE.

Waterloo just doesn't feel right to me. It'd be like a baseball team in Wilmington, Delaware or something. It's far too late in the game to go to what's really a junior hockey town. I can deal with Hamilton, though, but I have some reservations about that one as well.

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

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... if I'm not mistaken the Ducks paid a buttload of money to the Kings when they entered the league

Correct. If Basille wants to move the team to Hamilton he'll have to pay both the Leafs and Sabres each a good chunk of change.

Seeing how much money he has, that shouldn't be a problem. Hamilton being within the territorial rights of the Leafs and Sabres isn't a roadblock to getting a team there.

Balsille wouldn't have to pay the Sabres jack, Copps ain't in Sabres territory, only Leafs.

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There's also the theory afloat around here that Balsille will put the team in Hamilton just long enough for him to build a new arena in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. That is just outside the both the Leafs' and Sabres' 80 km zone, so he wouldn't have to pay Toronto or Buffalo. However, it's close enough to Toronto to attract a boatload of disgruntled Leaf fans. Also, Balsille's company (Research in Motion) is headquartered in Waterloo. And the company has recently made a mysterious purchase of a parcel of land just big enough on which to build an arena.

Sounds more of a sensible thing to do, but as fickle as this sounds...I like the name Hamilton much better than Kitchener-Waterloo.

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There's also the theory afloat around here that Balsille will put the team in Hamilton just long enough for him to build a new arena in the Kitchener-Waterloo area. That is just outside the both the Leafs' and Sabres' 80 km zone, so he wouldn't have to pay Toronto or Buffalo. However, it's close enough to Toronto to attract a boatload of disgruntled Leaf fans. Also, Balsille's company (Research in Motion) is headquartered in Waterloo. And the company has recently made a mysterious purchase of a parcel of land just big enough on which to build an arena.

If he's as loaded as everyone says he is, it would only make sense to be prepared for the contingency of meeting stiff resistance from the Leafs. It doesn't mean it's his Plan A, though. Heck, this guy could afford Plans B through G, if buying land is all that's required.

Waterloo just doesn't feel right to me. It'd be like a baseball team in Wilmington, Delaware or something. It's far too late in the game to go to what's really a junior hockey town. I can deal with Hamilton, though, but I have some reservations about that one as well.

Hey, what's your problem with the Blue Rocks? :P

There are 10 types of people in this world: those who understand binary and those who don't.

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... if I'm not mistaken the Ducks paid a buttload of money to the Kings when they entered the league

Correct. If Basille wants to move the team to Hamilton he'll have to pay both the Leafs and Sabres each a good chunk of change.

Seeing how much money he has, that shouldn't be a problem. Hamilton being within the territorial rights of the Leafs and Sabres isn't a roadblock to getting a team there.

Balsille wouldn't have to pay the Sabres jack, Copps ain't in Sabres territory, only Leafs.

According to maps.yahoo.com, Hamilton is 72.5 miles away from Buffalo. So, if that 80 mile radius is legit, then they are most definitely in Buffalo's territory.

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... if I'm not mistaken the Ducks paid a buttload of money to the Kings when they entered the league

Correct. If Basille wants to move the team to Hamilton he'll have to pay both the Leafs and Sabres each a good chunk of change.

Seeing how much money he has, that shouldn't be a problem. Hamilton being within the territorial rights of the Leafs and Sabres isn't a roadblock to getting a team there.

Balsille wouldn't have to pay the Sabres jack, Copps ain't in Sabres territory, only Leafs.

According to maps.yahoo.com, Hamilton is 72.5 miles away from Buffalo. So, if that 80 mile radius is legit, then they are most definitely in Buffalo's territory.

I believe it's an 80km radius, which would be like.... 50 miles?

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But what if the owner wants to move so bad that he loads the roster with a bunch of washed up players and guys no one has ever heard of in order to drive away fans?
As long as this woman isn't involved...

phelps.jpg

Most these guys I've never heard of...and the ones I have are way past their prime.

Most of these guys never had a prime.

This guy here is DEAD!

:D LOL! That's hilarioius.

It could happen but I just don't see the NHL, let alone the fans in Nashville, letting Jim Balsillie get away with that. The Penguins had to do that to afford to stay in Pittsburgh so the fans understood, but being horrible so you can leave is a different thing. I think the people of Nashville are smarter than that and anyone who is a hockey fan there would go see the team regardless of how they're playing.

There are fair weather fans everywhere and if Nashville is a true hockey market then they will weather this storm and Balsillie can forget his nefarious plans. However, if there are not enough true hockey fans in Nashville they may lose their team. This is all because people want to be able to check e-mail on their cell phone. What hath technology wraught?

I also don't think that moving to Hamilton will change NHL alignment as Hamilton is only slightly east (relatively speaking) of Nashville, it's just farther north.

Maybe the Hamilton team could change their logo to this:

blackberry_small.jpg

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When I first saw the title, I immediately thought of Orlando Predators former QB Joe Hamilton.

I don't know if I agree with moving the Predators, especially since there attendance has risen in the past few years. However, it's the owner's decision and it does make sense to move the team to an area where the team will be immediately popular. I'm just tired of the anti-Southern hockey fans complaining about teams in Raleigh and Nashville. There are plenty of people down here that enjoy hockey too.

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Here is another plus, they would not have to change divisions at all.

1. Detroit and Columbus are not that far from Hamilton.

2. They have established some sort of rivalry with fellow division teams like Detroit.

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In response to an earlier post, I'm not sure if the Panthers would go anywhere, simply because they are the only tenant in the BankAtlantic Center and the arena is less than ten years old, but if attendance drops down to embarrassing numbers, then I guess the Panthers could relocate and the arena would be Broward County's problem.

I'm a Caps fan, but sadly I agree with the fact that the city just doesn't support that team as much as they should, especially with Ovechkin and now Backstrom on the roster.

The Coyotes built a new arena in Glendale a few years ago, so they probably won't be going anywhere for a while.

The Devils won't go anywhere now since they'll be moving into the Prudential Center in Newark in a few months.

"I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for $3,000. That bothered my dad at the time because he didn't have that kind of dough. But he eventually scraped it up."

-Bob Uecker

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I gotta agree with the earlier post about too many distractions now for the NHL to compete with and gain NEW American fans south of Chicago or Denver. It is not like a bunch of new kid's hockey leagues have sprung up in the South because of Nashville, Atlanta, and Florida having teams. Correct me if I'm wrong there. If the Preds tank and finish last, that arena will be empty very quickly. The NHL should play to its strengths and focus on areas with a built-in fan base like areas of Canada currently being under served by the NHL. The whole Hamilton is a temporary step to Waterloo conspiracy is intriguing and would probably affect any changing of the team name right away, like the Tenn. Oilers to Titans makeover.

A new owner would seem more likely to support changing the team name to create a new identity for the franchise.

Correcting!

The Predators Cup

Nashville

Memphis

There are also leagues in Knoxville and other areas (Alabama, etc.) because of the Predators.

They will probably change it. Isn't the 'Nashville Predators' name due to the discovery of fossils of some type in the Nashville area?

Yes, on the site where they were digging up the arena.

Kennedy: Right. Fonz: Wrong

They did find several sabre-toothed tiger fossils while building in downtown Nashville, but it was not during excavation for the (now) Sommet Center. I'll have to find more info, but I believe the find happened back in the 70's when one of the downtown buildings was going up.

Also, the Preds are not moving to Hamilton...yet. There is an exit clause in the current lease agreement with the City of Nashville, but that is only effective if the Preds don't average 14,000 fans per game. Well, right now sales look good.

From their website:

"The Predators unveiled their logo, a saber-toothed tiger, in Nashville's downtown First American Center on September 25, 1997, 26 years after a fang and foreleg bone of a saber-toothed tiger were found in a cave just below the building's address.

In May of 1971, excavation began at the downtown Nashville site of what today is the 28-story First American Center. Construction workers drilled through 20 feet of solid rock before coming to a soft muddy area. Further digging revealed a cave containing the nine-inch fang and a foreleg bone of a

saber-toothed tiger, extinct for at least 10,000 years.

Radiocarbon tests on the specimen revealed that it could have possibly been one of the last of its breed to exist. Scientists believe that some time during the last glacial period (15,000-80,000 years ago) part of the cave was the den of the saber-toothed tiger.

The discovery, made in August 1971, marks only the fifth of its kind in North America. The cave, located beneath the building, is preserved under concrete for historic and educational purposes. "

Just for reference's sake: AmSouth Center

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You can certainly chalk my remarks as being from a typically "ugly American" that can't possibly appreciate hockey, but here are my two cents...

The fact that Balsillie is taking season ticket deposits for a franchise that isn't currently in Hamilton-Waterloo MSA, let alone for a club he does not own at the present is just brash.

All it is at the moment is a signed piece of paper...nothing more than that. Balsillie obviously doesn't care about the Preds fans (which are there) and certainly doesn't care about the rules of the league with not being able to move a franchise for seven years after purchase. Of course, that might be voided with the ticket clause, but it isn't set it stone.

I know the owners want the money, $220 Million is a lot to pass up on...especially when it isn't to be shared with the players. But this move just doesn't make sense.

You want to give this guy an expansion team (which I am all for putting the league number to 32, but that is another story altogether) to put in the Hamilton area instead of Las Vegas, that would be fine by me. However, just giving up on an area that went from being a bunch of hockey neophytes to a group that is learning more and more as the seasons go on is just sending the wrong message across both countries.

Thanks for listening...or reading. :D

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