Quote:
Originally Posted by Oling_Roachinen
Up until this season, where attendance was up across the board because of the shorten season, they haven't fluctuated all that much. Staying around the 15,000 mark. And they won the Cup in 2000, lost in finals in 2001 and won again 2003, it's not like they haven't been good. Yet even those seasons and the seasons after they were struggling to hit that 15,000. The new arena is nice, but it's like 10 minute difference, isn't it? And that could be 10 minute extra. If they haven't been able to find a huge market place when they've literally been one of the best teams over the last couple decades, why will they start now? I wont bet against Lou but things don't look especially hopeful for the team on the ice right now.
You're right that those other markets don't really offer much more, other than maybe Quebec, but I don't think the Devils market is good at all. A little drought and they become the next Thrashers/Coyotes/Islanders/Penguins with relocation speculation all the time in my opinion.
|
Well I was talking about what will happen if they're bad, but okay.
Did you just group Pittsburgh and Long Island in with Atlanta and Phoenix? What do those markets/organizations have even remotely in common? Atlanta had no interested ownership group, Phoenix has had pretty much every issue you can imagine, but neither have ever had the issue that caused any relocation talk to circle around the Islanders and Penguins, the lack of a building. The situations couldn't possibly be more different.
For the Devils to relocate there has to be somewhere more desirable to place a team, and you just admitted that none of those markets offer more. I see very little desire from the league to enter Quebec through anything other than a large expansion fee, so that leaves an assortment of random US destinations. So why would an ownership group move the team to one of those markets? Market strength is relative, NJ isn't the best market in the league but it sure as heck beats out a completely untested market with little to no history of supporting hockey.