Quote:
Originally Posted by FanIn80
I mean, I don't really remember Bettman doing a whole lot to save the Nordiques. To his credit, he got us the salary cap that allowed most of the rest of the Canadian teams to survive (TOR and MTL didn't really need it), but fighting to keep teams in four cities (Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver) is different than just fighting to keep a team in Calgary.
If this city doesn't want a new arena, then it doesn't want pro sports or marque concerts and events either. Can't see anyone fighting to keep an NHL team in a city like that.
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I think the NHL landscape is quite a bit different today than it was nearly 30 years ago. The Canadian TV money, the higher Canadian Dollar, social media and etc have probably tipped the scales a little bit more to our side. Canadian teams aren't in as much danger as they were back in the mid to late 90's when Canadian NHL and even Canadian NBA teams (Grizzlies) were struggling mightily.
The NHL knows the Flames were close to an arena deal, so if there's a will, then there should be a way. It's not like the people of this city are against the idea of a new arena and it's not like the Saddledome is an dysfunctional piece of turd. It works, but it's old.