I don't want to totally derail but the poster comparing Winnipeg's success to Regina/Saskatoon as a qualifier for a franchise just doesn't hold which sent me in this direction.
Of course it is a different era especially with the salary cap but imo, the Jets are a bubble team that have already peaked in terms of attendance, ticket pricing, gate receipts. You've maxed out and this is it unless you build a bigger arena and or discover some shale deposit. It is goldilocks: strong loonie and low unemployment.
Other hand, Winnipeg has a small population base, is a "have-not" province, a small corporate base, lower salaries than the other Canadian cities in the NHL.
And I know, these are same reasons naysayers said a team would never return but yet there is a team doing well.
What happens when things ebb when the economy goes down or the Jets have a few losing season? Will fans fork out that kind of cash when the average wage is closer to PEI than to Alberta? That will be telltale…to me anyway.
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