Quote:
Originally Posted by getbak
I've had the thought in the back of my head since it was announced that Glendale was giving them the boot next season, could they simply suspend operations until their new arena is open?
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The last time this kind of thing happened was during the Great Depression. There were cases where a franchise was granted permission to miss an entire season, but never after the season had started. On the rare occasions where a team suspended operations in mid-schedule, they were punished with the revocation of their franchise. The Chicago Blackhawks once played half a season in a near-empty arena in Windsor, Ontario, to avoid that outcome.
Of course, I don't know what the current franchise agreement between the NHL and its member clubs looks like (nor, probably, does anyone else other than Bettman, Daly, their lawyers, and the owners). But I imagine there would be many millions of dollars in forfeits to be paid, and the Coyotes' franchise might revert to the league.