Back In The Game?

[GMac]

I think if basille could have gone in the front door like he has tried several times before he would have, but its seems the Bettman thinks if he loses one of his expansion or moved teams he will be a failure...

look at the entire predators fiasco, Basille overbid on that franchise then a supposed paperwork issue cause Leopold to back out of the deal, and sell the team for less (rumoured to be atleast 50 million less) to Boots Delbaggio who has had a hand in the LA Kings, which means he at one time had partial ownership of 2 NHL franchise (which is not allowed by NHL bylaws) but hey not like it matters turns out Boots didnt have the money anyway... I thought the NHL did their due diligence on all new owners...

plus throw in the fact that Leopold got a sweetheart deal on the Wild right after the Preds sale was complete... this all seems pretty fishy...

Bettman needs to learn from his sensei, David Stern, and his relationship with Mark Cuban... you may not like the guy, he may be a pain in your ass, he may challenge you at every turn, but he's good for the game, good for the fans, and he's a solid financially stable owner who has a passion for the game...

[rvrdgsfn]

Ok I am gonna risk upsetting God, Jesus, Siva, Guru Nanak, The Force and whatever else i might, but I shall add my two pennies from neutral Britain.

I think it makes more sense to have more Hockey teams in Canada than to have a team in Phoenix. There are probably other markets in the South that are less deserving of a franchise that have one right now, but its the Coyotes we are talking about at the moment. And this is one of those moments were Phoenix guys complaining sound like the guy who picked up a missing dollar from the ground then complain when it gets stolen off them. Its not that I don't have sympathy with Phoenix, but you got the Coyotes by a relocation, so it makes it harder to complain when the team wants to leave.

I have to agree with this one, when Nashville was possibly going to Hamilton, the tickets were being sold at a rapid pace. As much as I hate to tell the kids in Phoenix, but I think its time to move back to Canada. Hockey does work in the South, I would know, but most of the times, they support teams that win. Not us staying true & loyal. Plus its only in certain areas that it works.

I'd say move them to Hamilton. Give Phoenix an AHL team.

[Burmy]

I still say the NHL should do an Expos maneuver with the Coyotes-Buy 'em, move 'em back to Winnipeg, have 'em be the Jets again, and look forward to the success and a new owner coming!

[Gary]

I still say the NHL should do an Expos maneuver with the Coyotes-Buy 'em, move 'em back to Winnipeg, have 'em be the Jets again, and look forward to the success and a new owner coming!

Winnipeg had their chance, plus the commissioner did say that if they do take control(and ballsillie's bid fails) they will find an owner here in the Glendale/Phoenix area. They will not be moving to Winnipeg

[The_Admiral]

Talk about "having a chance." How many does Phoenix get before it becomes obvious that the NHL won't work there?

[Gary]

Talk about "having a chance." How many does Phoenix get before it becomes obvious that the NHL won't work there?

I won't lie to you, if the team does stay in Phoenix, it'll be their last chance, I know that when someone buys the coyotes to stay here in Phoenix they will do all it takes to make them successful

[The_Admiral]

"...fine but this is the LAST TIME!"

[BB61]

I think if basille could have gone in the front door like he has tried several times before he would have, but its seems the Bettman thinks if he loses one of his expansion or moved teams he will be a failure...

Let's see...

The league endured the first full season cancellation in North American sports history, its playoff games are primarily carried on a third rate cable network, and has been surpassed by every sport up to and including cross country pogo jumping in popularity (though I just like to think that's because the American sporting public, as a whole, is a bunch of xenophobic idiots).

Yeah, he's a failure. This won't change things.

[Jimmy!]

Wasn't he also responsible for doing away with the whole Campbell / Wales conference setup and going to something closer to the NBA?

[BB61]

Wasn't he also responsible for doing away with the whole Campbell / Wales conference setup and going to something closer to the NBA?

He was, though by the time he took over, the teams were pretty much geographically aligned. He changed the names because he didn't think that new fans would get the references to the old names.

I'm amazed he didn't change the name of the Stanley cup to something equally as simplistic, like the "Big Silver Cup Thing".

[The_Admiral]

Wasn't he also responsible for doing away with the whole Campbell / Wales conference setup and going to something closer to the NBA?

He was, but small potatoes compared to everything he did that led up to a cancelled season.

[thestockholmpig]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I think the Coyotes should stay in Phoenix. How can we call ourselves one of the four major sports leagues without a team in such a populous city like Phoenix? All this city needs is a winner and people will definitely start to show up at games. Look at the Islanders; during the dynasty years and the years afterward they were doing fine. Now look at them. Look at Tampa Bay; they start to actually compete in the league, even winning a Cup, and people finally show up to the games. Same with Chicago and Boston. The Coyotes need to put a better team on the ice and let's see what goes from there.

Also, I know loads and loads of people want half the league's teams to be in Canada , but what if it doesn't work? "How could it not work?", some people might say. Winnipeg and Quebec proved that sometimes things don't work out. And three teams in one region? The New York area has that, but the Islanders have their problems and the Devils were very close to moving to Nashville. How about the Boston-Rangers-Hartford triangle? I think that Buffalo might become the odd team out just like Hartford was if a Hamilton team does happen.

Besides, the NHL is trying to become more popular. Hamilton doesn't really grab the attention of the casual fan like Las Vegas or Kansas City or Seattle does. Some Canadians might say that spreading the game in the USA is pointless, it's Canada's sport after all. (In that case, please give up the Blue Jays, baseball's our national pastime you know) But imagine how much more respect hockey would get if the NHL grew. Imagine how many more young kids would start playing this great sport and ,who knows?, eventually make it to the NHL. That being said, I'd love to see a team in Milwaukee or Portland, maybe even Salt Lake City. Okay, my rant's over.

[The_Admiral]

How can we call ourselves one of the four major sports leagues without a team in such a populous city like Phoenix? All this city needs is a winner and people will definitely start to show up at games.

We/ourselves? Do we, in fact, have Mr. Bettman on the line? The NFL doesn't have a team in Los Angeles and nobody doubts its legitimacy. The NBA is missing from populous and significant cities like Seattle, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh. There are major cities without baseball. I think the sport that people play ON ICE can survive without Phoenix in its footprint. Your last sentence isn't so much an argument for Phoenix having sports teams so much as it's a damning indictment of why they shouldn't. "All we need is a winner." That's every city. That doesn't impress me. You have to put asses in seats every year.

If anything, the NHL has lost popularity and respect since the league metastatized through the South. Even non-hockey fans often say stuff like "Raleigh has a hockey team?" and "wait a minute, now who are the 'Blue Jackets' again?", because the league was shuffled more times than a deck of cards through the 1990s, with no laurels to show for it but a season that didn't happen because the league LIED AND LIED AND LIED about its profitability by collecting expansion fee after expansion fee to hide the fact that they were spiraling into diseconomy-of-scale chaos. They overextended themselves big time, and the Coyotes (and the Predators too) are the epitome of the NHL's whole circle of deceit.

[rams80]

Give Phoenix an AHL team.

Sure...what's another ridiculous road trip among friends?

I will say this about Hamilton and the so-called demand. How do we know this franchise won't simply become the NHL's Milwaukee Brewers, selling out only when the Leafs (Cubs), Red Wings (Cardinals), and Sabres (New York or Los Angeles) are in town?

[highlanders08]

Some Canadians might say that spreading the game in the USA is pointless, it's Canada's sport after all. (In that case, please give up the Blue Jays, baseball's our national pastime you know)

There's a big difference between having 1 Canadian team in the MLB and 24 American teams in the NHL. I'm not saying that there shouldn't be NHL teams in the states, but I think that due to recent expansion in the states not faring well (Phoenix, Atlanta, Nashville) it's time to put a team back up here in Canada and see how they do. If it doesn't work, then they're in the same situation as the Coyotes/Predators/Thrashers, but if it does work maybe the NHL will look in to putting more franchise's up here.

[The_Admiral]

I will say this about Hamilton and the so-called demand. How do we know this franchise won't simply become the NHL's Milwaukee Brewers, selling out only when the Leafs (Cubs), Red Wings (Cardinals), and Sabres (New York or Los Angeles) are in town?

The Brewers had a pretty spectacular string of sellouts in 2008 and are on pace to draw well over 3 million in 2009. The sleeping giant woke up.

[Jigga]

There wasn't a Major League Baseball team in Washington, DC for 30-some odd years. Los Angeles hasn't had an NFL team since 1994. Phoenix not having an NHL franchise doesn't compare to either of these in the slightest bit.

And as far as being one of the four major sports leagues, that ship sailed a while ago. There is no Big 4 anymore. There's a Big 2.5 and if College Football had a playoff, they'd all be fighting for second.

[rams80]

I will say this about Hamilton and the so-called demand. How do we know this franchise won't simply become the NHL's Milwaukee Brewers, selling out only when the Leafs (Cubs), Red Wings (Cardinals), and Sabres (New York or Los Angeles) are in town?

The Brewers had a pretty spectacular string of sellouts in 2008 and are on pace to draw well over 3 million in 2009. The sleeping giant woke up.

OK....lets assume the Brewers stop winning again. What happens then?

[Jimmy!]

I will say this about Hamilton and the so-called demand. How do we know this franchise won't simply become the NHL's Milwaukee Brewers, selling out only when the Leafs (Cubs), Red Wings (Cardinals), and Sabres (New York or Los Angeles) are in town?

The Brewers had a pretty spectacular string of sellouts in 2008 and are on pace to draw well over 3 million in 2009. The sleeping giant woke up.

OK....lets assume the Brewers stop winning again. What happens then?

It would be interesting to look at attendance figures prior to 2008 when the Brewers WEREN'T winning.

[The_Admiral]

The Brewers are no longer run by Selig's bumbling idiot daughter, so the organization probably won't plummet into those depths again. I think they'll draw fairly well for several more years, if not drawing 45,000 every night like they were after the All-Star break last year.