Quote:
Originally Posted by Frequitude
Really happy for you Bouw. Eff the haters. Hopefully the cocky dbag Jets fans leave you alone now that they have their little toy.
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It's not really about that and really never has been. Putting it into the most simplistic of terms, a location with willing ownership is better than a location without. The only difference between Atlanta and Phoenix is that the city of Atlanta was not married to the team for any reason (nor was it willing to be) and Glendale is by way of the arena lease (and even the mayor of Glendale has mentioned there is investigation into the possibility of chasing a minor-league franchise as a tenant).
The Coyotes have been a playoff team the past two seasons, so it's no longer about the on-ice product. No one wants to own a team there (with their own money) and only a fraction of a fraction of the population gives a crap. Wealthy folks don't want to buy a franchise that is a poor draw and fans don't want to buy season tickets to a franchise without stable ownership that will keep the team there (hello, Catch-22!).
Only positive out of this whole thing is that the NHL has established through the courts that it reserves the right to dictate where its franchises are located (courtesy of the Balsillie factor). But I have a hard time believing the BoG wants to own this team for another year and an equally hard time believing the CoG is going to spend an annual $25 million in perpetuity until someone buys the damn team.
I honestly believe that this is the last season in the desert unless the ownership situation gets squared away before end of the next season.
