Quote:
Originally Posted by Zulu29
I really don't know how anyone can truly believe an NHL franchise could survive in Saskatchewan. The province's population is too spread out, medium and small cities all over the place plus Regina and Saskatoon. Manitoba's population is concentrated in Winnipeg with a few small cities. Saskatchewanites may be die-hard hockey fans, but their market just could not support an NHL team and likely never will.
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I love when people use the population argument against Saskatoon and Saskatchewan as a whole. By this logic, there is absolutely no way a nfl franchise should exist in Green Bay yet somehow it does. Green Bay has a population of 100k with a metro of 360k. Yet Phx has a metro pop of 7-8 million and they can't fill the arena. Yes, it is in Glendale but would it really be better in downtown Phx? And what would be the real attendance not factoring in the out of towers?
Saskatchewan is booming if you haven't noticed and while the population hovers around a million, a good proportion of them are hockey fans. Saskatoon/Regina are half the population and Regina is only 2-2 1/2 hrs from Saskatoon. Farmers set their own hours, especially in winter so getting home late isn't an issue. With all the mining/oil activity there should be enough corporate support to buy boxes.
While it may not be the sexiest market, believe it could succeed if given a chance and if enough US markets fail, the Board of Governors and NHLPA would prefer relocation to contraction.