[Tinordi]

Originally Posted by ernie

While it is clearly a power play to pressure and leverage the lawmakers (see Pengins and Kansas City, The Patriots and Hartford) the Oilers do need a new facility or they will start to sink financially. Now obviously having a team capable of making the playoffs would help in that regard but they are leaving a lot of potential money on the table that they wouldn't with a new facility.

We can argue night and day over if that is the correct thing to do. If it's slimey or not. But the end result for a city like Edmonton (and Calgary), losing the NHL team would be a tremendous blow financially to many many businesses. Due to that these visits to other cities with facilities or soon to be facilities can create significant leverage....but only if you are ready to follow through on it. If he's simply bluffing and won't move the team then it is all for not and pointless. Thing is, I don't tend to think rich business men tend to bluff. Seattle may be a very distant plan B or even C or D but it is likely a plan he is ready to execute if need be.

Ahem...

http://deadspin.com/5946564/no-the-c...on-is-canceled

These stadium economic impact projections always contain the same fallacy. They assume that if people aren't spending their money on sporting events, they're not going to spend it at all. That's not true. People tend to spend whatever disposable income they have, and if they're not going to hockey games, they're going to do something else with it. More trips to bars, restaurants, concerts, etc. So a lockout could actually funnel more money back to the city—if Ilitch didn't also own concert venues, movie theaters, food distribution companies, restaurants, the Tigers, and a casino.

A lockout hurts the players, the fans, and the owners who aren't losing money on their teams. The Red Wings are one of those few teams in a good hockey market, turning a big profit—Ilitch doesn't want a lockout. (As we explained, this is about big market owners vs. small market owners, rather than owners vs. players.) Nobody wants there to be hockey more than Mike Ilitch. Hell, he's publicly spoken out against the salary cap. Because he's the one who stands to lose tens of millions, not the city of Detroit. Detroit would take a very minor hit, nothing it can't handle. To imply otherwise is baseless scaremongering.