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Originally Posted by Krynn
Exactly from my understanding when they moved from St Jon's they where really thinking about moving here but with The Hitmen and Roughnecks they decided not to because of what you just said to much for the area .if one of the teams wasn't here we would have the farm team here.
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The Roughnecks weren’t owned by the Flames until 2011 and the team left Saint John’s in 2003, so I doubt it was much of a consideration.
To me I think it comes down to the balance sheet.
They pay the Hitmen nothing, the Heat are paid.
Obviously the profit margin on a Hitmen game would be higher, and an additional team would cut into that profit.
The question is, would that potential loss in revenue be more or less than what than the savings of moving a team closer (travel, recalls, personnel etc.) and enhanced revue compared to a distant market.
Compared to running a separate show elsewhere, I would think the ability to use the in-house CSEC marketing machine, coaches, etc. is well worth their while, but that is only my speculation.
When Burke ran the Leafs he talked about one of the benefits of having the Marlies in the same city was recruiting free agents, especially from Europe. If a guy is going to relocate his family across the ocean it would be comforting and attractive to know that if he gets sent to the minors he sleeps in the same bed. This was one of the reasons the Flames couldn’t keep Andrei Taratukhin in North America.
Additionally, having the AHL/WHL in the same market is also attractive for all middling replacement level players looking for NHL work.
Each player is essentially their own brand or corporation.
Calgary is a centerpiece on the WHL scouting loops. If middling player is doing well for the Heat, he’s going to get more looks from scouts in town for WHL games who will also be checking out AHL games, than he would playing in the hinterlands where people will be watching games on TV or live only on specific scouting trips.
Agents know this as well. It’s one of the reasons why players want to play for the Marlies. Sam Gagner knew this when he requested to play for them, and he came back into the league.
Yes, Toronto is much more of a showcase location than Calgary for a player.
But Calgary, or even Winnipeg, is also much more of a showcase location than somewhere like Stockton.