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troutman · 04-19-2011, 09:28 AM

Scott Taylor

Is Winnipeg's Return to the NHL Days Away?
http://www4.fantrax.com/newsColumn.g...vm9nk3gmnfuyjr

While NHL executive Jim Devellano, vice-president of the Detroit Red Wings, has said frankly that the American owners would prefer not to move back to Winnipeg, the league probably has no choice. The optics are dreadful and frankly, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman should resign if he has to re-locate the Coyotes -- the team he personally moved from Winnipeg to Phoenix -- to the city it once left behind. The American owners hate the idea of moving back to a city that it left a decade and a half ago, because it would have to admit that its expansion into non-traditional U.S. hockey markets was failing.And be sure, Phoenix isn’t the only failure. Atlanta, Florida, Columbus and Nashville are all struggling. Dallas’s ownership situation is a mess. St. Louis is looking for a new ownership arrangement. Colorado doesn’t sell enough tickets anymore. Tampa has a great owner, but a lot of empty seats. And the Islanders are just a money pit. From a competitive standpoint, the NHL has the best hockey league on the planet. From a business perspective, the league is a mess.

Barring a miracle, it seems pretty clear that despite its own wishes, the NHL has only two alternatives — continue to own the team in Phoenix, a team that will lose between $30 million and $40 million this season, or sell it to a very rich man representing Winnipeg.

Both options are not ideal from the league’s point of view. If the move to Winnipeg seemed like a good idea, it would have been done last year. Now, however, it might be the only idea.

Many people in the know (mostly Toronto media stars) are convinced that as early as Wednesday, the day the Coyotes could be eliminated from the playoffs, the NHL will begin negotiating with Thomson and Chipman and that sooner, not later, the NHL could be heading to Winnipeg, a city of 700,000 on the cold Canadian prairie with no five-star hotels, a tiny airport that is only accessible from a few American cities, has very few major corporate head offices, has one of the smallest per capita household incomes of all the major Canadian cities (60th in Canada) and a 15,000-seat arena, the smallest in the NHL.

04-19-2011, 09:28 AM	#1162
troutman Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Crowsnest Pass Exp:	Scott Taylor Is Winnipeg's Return to the NHL Days Away? http://www4.fantrax.com/newsColumn.g...vm9nk3gmnfuyjr While NHL executive Jim Devellano, vice-president of the Detroit Red Wings, has said frankly that the American owners would prefer not to move back to Winnipeg, the league probably has no choice. The optics are dreadful and frankly, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman should resign if he has to re-locate the Coyotes -- the team he personally moved from Winnipeg to Phoenix -- to the city it once left behind. The American owners hate the idea of moving back to a city that it left a decade and a half ago, because it would have to admit that its expansion into non-traditional U.S. hockey markets was failing.And be sure, Phoenix isn’t the only failure. Atlanta, Florida, Columbus and Nashville are all struggling. Dallas’s ownership situation is a mess. St. Louis is looking for a new ownership arrangement. Colorado doesn’t sell enough tickets anymore. Tampa has a great owner, but a lot of empty seats. And the Islanders are just a money pit. From a competitive standpoint, the NHL has the best hockey league on the planet. From a business perspective, the league is a mess. Barring a miracle, it seems pretty clear that despite its own wishes, the NHL has only two alternatives — continue to own the team in Phoenix, a team that will lose between $30 million and $40 million this season, or sell it to a very rich man representing Winnipeg. Both options are not ideal from the league’s point of view. If the move to Winnipeg seemed like a good idea, it would have been done last year. Now, however, it might be the only idea. Many people in the know (mostly Toronto media stars) are convinced that as early as Wednesday, the day the Coyotes could be eliminated from the playoffs, the NHL will begin negotiating with Thomson and Chipman and that sooner, not later, the NHL could be heading to Winnipeg, a city of 700,000 on the cold Canadian prairie with no five-star hotels, a tiny airport that is only accessible from a few American cities, has very few major corporate head offices, has one of the smallest per capita household incomes of all the major Canadian cities (60th in Canada) and a 15,000-seat arena, the smallest in the NHL.