NHL 2010-2011

[IceCap]

I always thought it would be cool if Atlanta moved to Milwaukee, and then Nashville or Detroit took that eastern spot.

Detroit's already got an arrangement with the league to jump to the East if another team moves to the West.

[CDG1906]

from my view, the Seattle fans maybe will attend a new team

[Sodboy13]

Also talked about was the Thrashers moving to Seattle and Detroit taking Atlanta's place in the Eastern Conference. I know I'll probably get flack for this because it's been talked about so much, but like I said the talk keeps getting more and more these days.

Seattle doesn't have an NHL-capacity hockey arena.

If that layout doesn't look ridiculous enough to you already, go to this site, and click anywhere between Sections 215 and 227, and tell me what kind of hockey game you're watching.

Talk all they want, there's the reality. Of course, Winnipeg doesn't have an NHL-capacity hockey arena, but that doesn't keep toque-wearing yahoos from yammering about how the Jets are totally coming back any second now.

[The_Admiral]

At least Winnipeg is at least around 15,000, which could probably be expanded if they're industrious and creative. KeyArena is like 10,000 for hockey with weird compromised sightlines; totally unrealistic. Too bad. Seattle could've worked if they got in there earlier.

[Sodboy13]

At least Winnipeg is at least around 15,000, which could probably be expanded if they're industrious and creative.

15,015 for hockey (instantly the league's smallest), but perhaps most crucially, only 46 private suites, which hold about 20-25 people each. And looking at the seating bowl, as well as the location the stadium sits in downtown, I don't see how you expand seating and suite capacity.

[kiwi_canadian]

Well they said that even if Winnipeg sold out every game, it would still rank no higher than 25th in attendance. They did say in the article that they would expand it by 2000 which would give them just over 17,000 which would put them up in the higher ranks of attendance. So if this does end up happening, then I think at least over the next couple of years Winnipeg would do well attendance wise.

[Sodboy13]

Did they say how those 2,000 seats would be added? Once again, looking at the building in place, I don't see how that could be done, short of doing what was done at Key Arena - shutting the thing down for a year, gutting the inside, and digging down deeper to fit more people in. And again, there's still the suite issue.

[jonas1111]

Couldn't they renovate Key Arena?

[NorthStar74]

Well apparently in the rumor mill on the hockey news app, there is a possibility that we could see a new, rather an old team in the NHL next season. The Ice Edge group that is trying to buy the Coyotes has had their deal fall through and there is a deal in place that this Thompson character from Winnipeg will buy the team and move them to Winnipeg for next season. This is all probably a bunch of bull but for some reason these things bloody rumors keep coming more and more. The other interesting thing I read was that there is a deal for the Preds to sign with, I think is the city of Nashville, to keep them there for at least another 2 years. If they don't sign it, they could move to Kansas City. Also talked about was the Thrashers moving to Seattle and Detroit taking Atlanta's place in the Eastern Conference. I know I'll probably get flack for this because it's been talked about so much, but like I said the talk keeps getting more and more these days.

OH yeah these rumors... I have yet to see if that move to Winnipeg could actually happen but I dunno.. gotta see how it shakes out... it would be wonderful to have the NHL back in Winnipeg but as was mentioned in other forums and etc, the money issue with corporate support could also be something to consider and more... ehhh...

That's 1 down, 2 more rumors to confirm or shoot down. Personally I just can't see Kansas City or even Seattle for that matter supporting a team. Kansas City hosted an exhibition game between the Islanders and I think the Kings and they got just over 10,000 people. I can't see that city ever getting and NHL team again...mind you Atlanta and Minnesota have both come back. Who knows as long as Bettman is running the show.

On a side note, they also said that no where was Balsilie talked about and that southern Ontario won't be getting a team any time soon, in fact, they might also be losing the Bulldogs. Laval has put a proposal down for an 8000 seat arena and the Habs, if they get it their way, want to move the Bulldogs there. Hamilton is really getting screwed these days.

DO ya have a link for the Laval rumor as well?? I might be interested in seeing it and I thought the Bulldogs and Montreal had signed an extension agreement?? I think I saw that one somewhere but cant recall which site....

I always thought it would be cool if Atlanta moved to Milwaukee, and then Nashville or Detroit took that eastern spot.

Detroit's already got an arrangement with the league to jump to the East if another team moves to the West.

Yeah that has been mentioned for years now that Detroit want to be in the Eastern Conference.. basically to cut down on the travelling and more...

At least Winnipeg is at least around 15,000, which could probably be expanded if they're industrious and creative. KeyArena is like 10,000 for hockey with weird compromised sightlines; totally unrealistic. Too bad. Seattle could've worked if they got in there earlier.

I have been to the MTS Centre and it is very nice... yes I think it can be doable with expanding with 2000 more seats.. would be interesting to see how it is possible... but I have to wonder how long can that be doable with a few months to spare??

At least Winnipeg is at least around 15,000, which could probably be expanded if they're industrious and creative.

15,015 for hockey (instantly the league's smallest), but perhaps most crucially, only 46 private suites, which hold about 20-25 people each. And looking at the seating bowl, as well as the location the stadium sits in downtown, I don't see how you expand seating and suite capacity.

Well they said that even if Winnipeg sold out every game, it would still rank no higher than 25th in attendance. They did say in the article that they would expand it by 2000 which would give them just over 17,000 which would put them up in the higher ranks of attendance. So if this does end up happening, then I think at least over the next couple of years Winnipeg would do well attendance wise.

Did they say how those 2,000 seats would be added? Once again, looking at the building in place, I don't see how that could be done, short of doing what was done at Key Arena - shutting the thing down for a year, gutting the inside, and digging down deeper to fit more people in. And again, there's still the suite issue.

It can be doable with trying to expand the seating by 2000 but someone has to be creative to do it with minimum disrupting the everyday operations of the MTS Centre somehow.... time will tell if it is possible...

[twi]

Here is the logo from the Predators official styleguide...

Could you post the NP mark that's on the alternate pants?

[Sodboy13]

I have been to the MTS Centre and it is very nice... yes I think it can be doable with expanding with 2000 more seats.. would be interesting to see how it is possible... but I have to wonder how long can that be doable with a few months to spare??

It can be doable with trying to expand the seating by 2000 but someone has to be creative to do it with minimum disrupting the everyday operations of the MTS Centre somehow.... time will tell if it is possible...

So you're saying that they can add 2,000 seats to the arena, but that you have absolutely no idea how it could be done. Thanks for that added insight.

[kiwi_canadian]

"DO ya have a link for the Laval rumor as well?? I might be interested in seeing it and I thought the Bulldogs and Montreal had signed an extension agreement?? I think I saw that one somewhere but cant recall which site...."

Rumors of Relocation

It's the 4th point down about Hamilton

I think the Molson brothers own both the Habs and the Bulldogs

[DDR]

I always thought it would be cool if Atlanta moved to Milwaukee, and then Nashville or Detroit took that eastern spot.

Detroit's already got an arrangement with the league to jump to the East if another team moves to the West.

Do you have a source on that you could post? Not in a dickish "I don't believe you so post your source, d-bag" way. I'm just curious as I've not heard this and as a Hawks fan, I think this would hurt the Hawks/Wings rivalry.

[NorthStar74]

I have been to the MTS Centre and it is very nice... yes I think it can be doable with expanding with 2000 more seats.. would be interesting to see how it is possible... but I have to wonder how long can that be doable with a few months to spare??

It can be doable with trying to expand the seating by 2000 but someone has to be creative to do it with minimum disrupting the everyday operations of the MTS Centre somehow.... time will tell if it is possible...

So you're saying that they can add 2,000 seats to the arena, but that you have absolutely no idea how it could be done. Thanks for that added insight.

Well I think the 2000 seats might have to be in the upper bowl but I wonder if half of that can be added to the lower bowl somehow but it might require the ring area to be raised higher? also if the 2000 extra seats can be added in the upper bowl, it would have to have the roof go up more but the press boxes might have to be moved up or moved somewhere else.... I dunno how it would work but ehh just thinking about this some more.. I cant just help wondering why wouldnt the MTS Centre have had the 2000 extra seats in the beginning to start with to make it more comfortable with NHL size arenas? That I bet whoever built the MTS Centre now is probably wondering....

"DO ya have a link for the Laval rumor as well?? I might be interested in seeing it and I thought the Bulldogs and Montreal had signed an extension agreement?? I think I saw that one somewhere but cant recall which site...."

Rumors of Relocation

It's the 4th point down about Hamilton

I think the Molson brothers own both the Habs and the Bulldogs

Ohh thanks, man... I must say I was surprised with that rumor but hmm will see if that is actually gonna happen... Laval Bulldogs?? or Les Bulldogs du Laval? Wonder how that would roll off the tongue?

[bulldogbarks55]

The Leafs will be adding stripes to the bottom of the jersey for next season. That is the only news I have got from my rep so far.

The reason behind the Leafs currently not having a stripe is that John Ferguson signed off on the jersey thinking they were supposed to be tucked in. When he found out that they weren't being tucked in it was too late to add the stripes.

Good news if it's true. Tucked-in jerseys. Another Euro-wimp innovation. I hope we never see it!

[AndrewG70]

Couldn't they renovate Key Arena?

They did that 15 years ago, and that still didn't stop the Sonics from leaving for Oklahoma City. To me, that is one of the biggest tragedies in sports. I used to live in Seattle (and could end up living there again very soon if a job offer comes my way this week), and I had no problems with KeyArena as a basketball facility. It's a shame that a lying sack of s#!t like Clay Bennett could come in and rip the team and its 41-year history right out of Seattle.

That said, it is 110% unsuitable not only for NHL hockey, but for any kind of hockey whatsoever. I went to an indoor soccer game there, and given the arena's design, you could only have fans at only one end of the arena. Not just no fans at one of the end zones, but the seating stops along the sidelines not too far beyond the midfield/center ice stripe. That's why they built the Showare Center for the Seattle Thunderbirds -- a much better facility for hockey.

So if an NHL team moved to Seattle, what would need to happen? Well, first and foremost, an entirely new arena would need to be built -- whether it be in downtown Seattle or somewhere else in the Puget Sound region. In the meantime, the only facility that is feasible for hosting NHL hockey, even temporarily, would be the Tacoma Dome, just based on its capacity. Still even, the sightlines for hockey at the Tacoma Dome are awful.

To sum it up -- no new arena=no NHL hockey for Seattle. Fans would have to make the 2-1/2 hour drive north to the most beautiful city on the face of the planet to watch NHL hockey (not a bad consolation in my opinion).

[oddball]

I just find this topic amusing as people talk about bad stadium seating and too low capacity. When the Coyotes moved to Phoenix and they played in an arena that was supposidly "bad" for hockey and they did fine. As far as low capacity? Obviously if that's the "criteria" then you obviously show your age. 15,000? Not bad, but what about 10,000? Yep that's right the Ottawa Senators played in the Civic Centre which housed 10,000 and they've done fine. Now if Winnipeg builds a new arena, and plays in the current one, there's nothing wrong with that. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see a 15,000 or 16,000 seat arena with luxury boxes. Why? Because the boxes bring in more revenue, and why build too many seats when you can build too little and create a demand for the tickets?

Oh yeah, and seating capacity has what to do with next year's jerseys? Just asking.

[The_Admiral]

They just built the MTSC in 2004. They're not building a new one. They'll have to figure out some way to squeeze some more seats in there, just like how the old Winnipeg Arena was jury-rigged to fit as many seats as possible into the dump. It's astounding that they didn't get it right the first time. How did they not have the aspirations for a new team nor the foresight that the southern teams, one of which happened to be their old one, were being untenably propped up by expansion fee after expansion fee? Dumb, dumb, dumb. If Winnipeg can't get its team back now, it's their own damn fault.

As for the Sens, they were only in the Civic Center for a year or two while they were building Palace Of Auburn Hills, Canadian Edition. It was strictly temporary. I don't know if the Yotes "did fine" at America West considering they've been bleeding like a hemophiliac since they left fair Manitoba.

If it gets things mildly back on topic, the Jets' last uniforms were really crappy, unoriginal, and cheap-looking; and they'd have to do a hell of a lot better than that if they were to come back into existence. SyPhi's logo was a good start.

[BBTV]

Sunday afternoon. Walnut Street, Center City Philadelphia, PA.

BBTV is at a light waiting to make a left on to Walnut. He sees an older (50s) couple walking across the street in front of him. The man is wearing some kind of hockey jersey - couldn't get a good look at it, but at first glance, it looked like the original Coyotes alt (the desert one.) The woman, however, was wearing a royal-blue Winnipeg Jets jersey. No throwback - the real deal. I was watching them walk on the street, just waiting for the light to turn green so I could pull over and chat with them. I was sweating, hoping that they wouldn't turn into one of the restaurants or bars. Finally, the light turned green. BBTV pulls up, calls them over, and proceeds to compliment said woman on her jersey, and tell her it's the first Jets jersey he's ever seen in Philadelphia. He was going to continue to talk, but was getting honked at and yelled at by everyone behind him, so he just said bye and took off. The man was in fact wearing the old Coyotes alt.

[AndrewG70]

If it gets things mildly back on topic, the Jets' last uniforms were really crappy, unoriginal, and cheap-looking; and they'd have to do a hell of a lot better than that if they were to come back into existence. SyPhi's logo was a good start.

I have to respectfully disagree. I think the Jets' last set was a very good-looking uniform. Nice and simple -- the way a uniform should be.