Quote:
Originally Posted by Vulcan
This is the trouble Canadian teams are going to run into, most of the sites in the north are already taken by the WHL and they'll cry foul if an AHL team tries to move in. It could even upset the fans in that city.
Maybe entice the Saskatoon Blades to move to Abbotsford and put our AHL team in Saskatoon. This would also block the Canucks.
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It is more than just crying foul. Pro hockey below the NHL level has continually failed in most areas of the country. Junior hockey is absolutely entrenched here. Speaking for myself, if you told me I could have the the AHL Flames in town for the exact same cost as the Hitmen, I would say no thanks.
As far as Stockton and Glens Falls goes, flipping the Adirondack Flames to the ECHL makes too much sense not to happen. The market wants hockey, but its arena is not AHL calibre. So we save hockey in the city, give them one more year at the AHL level, then hopefully build a solid long term relationship at the ECHL level? That would be a good thing, I think.