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W H A announces "Original Six"...


Brian in Boston

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Hockey has only been in the south for maybe under fifteen years total, even less than that in some places, whereas it's been in the north and in Canada for like, what, over 75 years? And not only that, but hockey is in areas where football or basketball is the dominant sport and has been for many decades.

I beg to differ.

Hockey in Houston

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Hartford needs to join the WHA in its second year then, as New England is another hockey hotbed. The Whalers history and such is all owned by the state of Connecticut...the Hurricanes technically can't claim the lineage pre-1997. That's why there are no Whaler sweaters under Carolina in the NHL video games, Gordie Howe's number is in circulation and not retired, et al. Thus, the Hartford Whalers could potentially return in all their green-and-blue, sub-.500, Brass Bonanza glory, while the Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques trademarks are still bound to the Coyotes and Avs.

Winnipeg should also get a team with the new arena there. Those are two classic WHA cities...if this league is in it for the long haul, they'll make it work. Likewise: Twin Cities.

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Unfortunately, Hartford's issue isn't a question of whether it's a "hockey hotbed" or who holds the rights to the Whalers' history and trademarks. The bottom line is that the Hartford Civic Center Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Exhibition Center is managed for the Connecticut Development Authority by Madison Square Garden, LP.

Until Madison Square Garden, LP is removed as manager of the facility, there is NO chance that the new WHA is making a return to Hartford. As parent company of the NHL's New York Rangers, as well as the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack, Madison Square Garden has absolutely no incentive to aid a rival hockey league in its efforts. Which is exactly what leasing the Hartford Civic Center to a WHA team would qualify as.

As for the earliest date that the Connecticut Development Authority can opt out of its contract(s) with Madison Square Garden, we must first assume that the State of Connecticut would want to extricate itself from a business partnership with a proven commodity (MSG) so as to enter into a partnership with a decidedly unproven entity... the new WHA. Why would the State of Connecticut look to oust a business partner that not only manages a state-owned facility, but also provides the region with an AHL franchise, in favor of entering into a deal with the fledgeling WHA? Frankly, they wouldn't.

The WHA isn't going to be setting up shop in Hartford anytime soon.

Brian in Boston

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