Hypothetical: If the Coyotes had to move...
by Advocate on Jan 30, 2012 11:58 PM PST
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PrintI'm sure there's no reason to suspect that the Coyotes are going anywhere. I mean, they have an awesome arena location, a solid fan base, and reliable ownership. They're probably OK. Or not, who knows. Maybe they're in deep trouble, the fans are wondering if they should commit to the Coyotes and the league can't sell the team fast enough. I'm not a doctor or anything, I might not be the right guy to give a diagnosis.
(Poll After the jump)
Having said that, if the Coyotes were to leave Phoenix, where do you think they should go?
I vote they move to Portland. I base that vote mostly on the fact that I like Portland and think the city would be even cooler if they had an NHL team. Seattle is OK but there are too many Canucks fans in those parts and I'm suspicious they would consistently drown-out Seattle (Coyote's?) fans in rather annoying fashion.
Anyway, what's your vote?
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Toronto needs a second team, but we're probably going to have to wait on that arena in Marham.
Neither Copps Colosseum or Ricoh Colosseum could reliably contain an NHL team.
The artist formerly know as *"Sharks_Fan_In_Toronto"*
Official theme song of the San Jose Sharks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn9_EQ2ykyo
You need to get the WHL kick started again.
Outside of absorbing a team or two like the last time, I don’t know if the NHL has the balls to upset the Maple Leafs by plopping a second team down.
If all sports fandom is a form of emotional gambling, football is poker and hockey is Russian roulette.
Portland or Seattle...
Both cities would truly embrace an NHL team. Also, would be a fun Sharks roadie during the year!
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The artist formerly know as *"Sharks_Fan_In_Toronto"*
Official theme song of the San Jose Sharks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn9_EQ2ykyo
by Evil Stanchion on Jan 31, 2012 4:12 PM PST up reply actions
Atlanta.
But, we want an ownership group that cares about hockey and will actually advertise outside the arena.
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x
The artist formerly know as *"Sharks_Fan_In_Toronto"*
Official theme song of the San Jose Sharks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn9_EQ2ykyo
by Evil Stanchion on Jan 31, 2012 7:02 PM PST up reply actions
I want 'em to go to Kansas City
I’m moving there in the Fall, so I’d love to have a hockey team closer than St. Louis. I like the ‘Yotes, and I’d be mighty tempted to buy season tickets, or at least a game when the Sharks are in town.
Oh man, I love Kansas.
Carry On My Wayward Son
Icarus (Borne on Wings of Steel)
etc.
The artist formerly know as *"Sharks_Fan_In_Toronto"*
Official theme song of the San Jose Sharks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn9_EQ2ykyo
by Evil Stanchion on Jan 31, 2012 8:56 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Any eastward movement hurts the league
If the Coyotes have to move, they should move to a big population center in the West with a hockey-friendly climate/culture. I would support moving them to Seattle or Salt Lake City.
I would most emphatically support expanding the league to 32 teams. This would make the 4-conference system much more logical, and allow for a more balanced travel schedule.
"It's not so much me as it's Roenick."
by TeemuSucks on Feb 2, 2012 10:28 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Are you kidding?
Expansion?!? Talent for 30 teams is already thin and you want to make it even thinner? Most teams have barely enough serviceable players to fill their top 3 lines. I guess being a Sharks fan spoils us because our top 6 is always solid, but expansion would really dilute teams’ rosters IMO.
I’ve actually heard arguments that the league should contract, not expand.
"Sometimes when the hockey gods f*** you over, the only thing you can do is hope they leave you a twenty on the dresser."
Yea, the Sharks have had a solid top 6 for the past 5+ years now that it is hard to remember the shitty days, but you only need to go so far as Phoenix and Columbus etc and you can see where the lack of top line and 2nd line guys really hurts them. For years Rick Nash has had to play with 2nd rate guys and had no help, and it has showed in Columbus’ lack of playoffs. Look at Calgary and the revolving door that is their top line of people to play with Iginla.
There just is not enough current talent available to support an extra 2 teams and expect them the legitimately compete in the league until 8+ years in the future when the pretty much consistent 1st round top 5 picks would eventually develop into something (if they’re not crushed under the weight of expectations). Additionally, during this time that the expansion teams were sucking and filling up on top picks, that thins out the prospects for all the other teams to replenish ranks during the years that players eventually retire etc etc.
If the KHL folded and those players were mixed into the fold (along with even more Russian prospects as well into the draft system) then it could service 32 and maybe even 34 quality teams, but the likelihood of that league collapsing is very little given the popularity of hockey in Russia.
I think Seattle, too, for location,
but they don’t even bother with the Thunderbirds anymore. The old Tacoma Rockets moved to Canada due to low attendance in the mid-’90’s. It’s a decent city, but it might be another Phx or Atl for the NHL.
If you mention ending your life, or show signs of self-harm, I will take you seriously!
"Take a deep breath sometimes, a break, and play some hockey. Hockey is a great way to take a pause from day-to-day hard work." -- Lt Gen. D.H. Huntoon Jr. (paraphrased)
"He doesn't miss many of those!" --Randy Hahn
"Something's gotta give." --Drew Remenda (mumbled under breath on the air)
You can't.
The artist formerly know as *"Sharks_Fan_In_Toronto"*
Official theme song of the San Jose Sharks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn9_EQ2ykyo
by Evil Stanchion on Feb 4, 2012 5:52 PM PST up reply actions
you have to petition SBN.
People have done it, but it’s a hassle as I understand it.
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by PNK on Feb 6, 2012 9:27 AM PST up reply actions
Atlanta
Most deserving city anywhere…
"Logan Couture is a dirty, filthy man. Tell all your friends" - Mr. Plank
Welcome to the NHL, Atlanta Thrashers of Winnipeg.
Seattle or KC.
It would be nice to see Atlanta get a team with ownership that cares, but I don’t think they go into that well again.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take"-Wayne Gretzky"-Michael Scott.
by SharksFanEst.1994 on Feb 4, 2012 11:28 AM PST reply actions
Maybe the ownership would care if there was a full house every night. 75% capacity each night when the team wasn’t even the worst in the league. Meh, theres obviously deeper issues, and obviously ownership issues, but still it probably wouldnt have gotten so bad if it was sold out each night, or close to it.
I just think its a shame that HP Pavilion can only house 17.5k. I can easily see the Sharks sell out a 20k arena if only the capacity was there.
With the potential realignment scenario to consider
I’d rather have them move east, leave the Sharks with a seven team conference.
Also, having spent a year in the Kansas City area, I have great doubts that they would support an NHL franchise. So my pick would be a return to Quebec City, though that remains doubtful with the current arena situation there.
Winter. Time to eat fat and watch hockey. -- Margaret Atwood
The NHL's put themselves in a bind with moving Atlanta to Winnipeg
Winnipeg was the only city with a ready owner and a modern arena. You can’t rely on the plans for the new arena in QC until it gets out of the court system. It’s one thing to know a new arena will be ready by say, 2015-16. it’s another to be told that it’s going to be in court until 2014 and only if it passes those challenges will it even be started, and if not, the whole process has to be re-started from scratch. Kansas City has an arena, but no interested owners, and no other city has anything that’s gone past blueprints.
If all sports fandom is a form of emotional gambling, football is poker and hockey is Russian roulette.
I wouldn’t really say modern arena, since its capacity is only 15k, but yea it was already built and capable of servicing an NHL level event.
Seattle is a popular choice because it is a market that doesn’t have a lot of sports in the area with the NBA team leaving there, and so the market could eat up hockey, as well as already have an NHL ready arena there in KeyArena. I’d even go so far as to say the open market would be the most ideal reason for the relocation because you want to move to a location that will sell out.
KeyArena is not NHL ready at all, from what I've heard
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Dunno why it wouldn’t be. The wiki page says it played home to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL for 28 years before they moved 3 years ago to a smaller arena in Kent. Since WHL and NHL have the same rink dimensions, I don’t get why it wouldn’t be NHL ready.
Tacoma Dome can support 2k more people, but is a 40 minute commute from Seattle, which is a 3x larger population center, and a 40 minute drive could deter many fans from picking up the sport in the first place (established fans would probably make the drive, but before a fanbase is established that is more of a risk).
Key Arena's hockey configuration makes the old America West Arena layout look like the Tank's...
From the Key Arena website, here’s the hoops layout…
…and here’s the hockey layout…
No way that works out long-term. The main scoreboard would be hanging over the north blue line, and you lose a good 20% of the premium lower bowl seating. Plus, you’ll have that good old-time America West overhang back in action, and the NHL may veto Key just on that basis.
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by SierraSpartan on Feb 15, 2012 10:49 AM PST up reply actions
Key Arena may or may not be ready, but
The Tacoma Dome is actively looking for an NBA and/or NHL tenant.
If you mention ending your life, or show signs of self-harm, I will take you seriously!
"Take a deep breath sometimes, a break, and play some hockey. Hockey is a great way to take a pause from day-to-day hard work." -- Lt Gen. D.H. Huntoon Jr. (paraphrased)
"He doesn't miss many of those!" --Randy Hahn
"Something's gotta give." --Drew Remenda (mumbled under breath on the air)
Tacoma?
There are people there?
The artist formerly know as *"Sharks_Fan_In_Toronto"*
Official theme song of the San Jose Sharks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn9_EQ2ykyo
by Evil Stanchion on Feb 7, 2012 9:33 PM PST up reply actions
Technically it is one big
If you mention ending your life, or show signs of self-harm, I will take you seriously!
"Take a deep breath sometimes, a break, and play some hockey. Hockey is a great way to take a pause from day-to-day hard work." -- Lt Gen. D.H. Huntoon Jr. (paraphrased)
"He doesn't miss many of those!" --Randy Hahn
"Something's gotta give." --Drew Remenda (mumbled under breath on the air)
In regards to the view of there not being enough talent for 30 teams to ice a serviceable team
What is FTF’s view on going from 5 on 5 to 4 on 4?
That makes our top 6 into 3 great forward lines (assuming teams remove a forward).
and D pairings stay the same.
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The Lone Niclas Wallin Fan
4 on 4 permanently? No. Just no.
This is the NHL… that means 5-on-5 at even strength. No.
"Logan Couture is a dirty, filthy man. Tell all your friends" - Mr. Plank
Welcome to the NHL, Atlanta Thrashers of Winnipeg.
well i agree,
just playing devils advocate. I like the 4th lines being full of grinders and tough guys.
But in a simple look at 5v5 hockey vs 4v4 hockey, what are your complaints?
"Duh duh... duh duh... duh duh... Salsa shark! We're gonna need a bigger boat! Man goes into cage, cage goes into salsa. Shark's in the salsa. Our shark." - Randall Graves
The Lone Niclas Wallin Fan
Seattle won't work once they get NBA
I just know this, spent many years up there and hiked up to Van just to catch “real” hockey not the kids playing. Its a hoops crazed area with lots of local basketball talent that is still in shock over the Sonics leaving. Unless the NHL gets the new arena to itself it will be a very tough sell.
Realistically the best place for the Coyotes is the other side of Phoenix, but since that ain’t happening I’d grudgingly say KC fits best right now. I think the NHL needs to be in Phoenix or Vegas, but now is just a bad time for it to work. In time though I think they need to move back there for geographic balance and the good fan bases they can have as long as they don’t put the arena out in stupidville. For all you Bay Area folks how good would a .500 team draw fans if the arena was in Pleasanton? That is essentially what Glendale is.
It probably wouldn’t because its too close to SJ and yet at the same time too far. The Ducks and the Kings barely support 2 in their area because their region is all a packed region without a giant major drive between the two, and yet the population is also pretty regional in its “loyalties” due to various reasons, money, industry, etc. SJ is its own central area and you have to drive significantly out of it to get to Pleasanton, so I don’t think a separate fanbase would latch on there, especially if they were a middling team when the already established team that it would try to pull fans from is the stronger team. Besides, Pleasanton is too close to the literally smelly shithole that is Livermore.
I could see Stockton working, though only on a fanbase standpoint, their arena can’t house enough to support an NHL team’s costs.
I am not talking about a second team there, I mean if the Sharks played in an arena out there. It is a very similar situation in Glendale, except in Glendale there isn’t even a train to get you out there. A fringe suburb with a little bit of industry, but mostly residential and a nightmarish commute for most people on weekday evenings. People act like its a statement of poor support for the team, but you really couldn’t find a situation that bad anywhere else except maybe the Islanders. Talk about another team where the fans get crapped on for not supporting mediocrity.
San Jose may not be the most central location for the Bay Area, but it is central to many people and more importantly many businesses with $$$ to spend on the seats which really make or break a team.
by Fakers Stink on Feb 12, 2012 10:59 PM PST up reply actions
You didn’t make it clear you were dropping a comparison instead of a move suggest.
Pleasanton has a pop of ~70k while Glendale has one of ~220k. Not a huge amount compared to other towns that sports are in, yet that still doesn’t change the fact that the building isn’t filling up, and a 17k capacity arena is less than 10% of the city’s population.
It isn’t the fault of those that are there or even necessarily the remaining people of said smaller town it is located in, no one can be forced to like and attend something. It happens, but regardless of the reason if the team isn’t drawing enough support for the sport after a certain amount of time (they’ve been there 15 years) then it has to move.
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