Coyotes Tempe Entertainment District/Arena photos

[powderjunkie]

The interesting thing about a Coyotes relocation is how terrible the team will be for the next few seasons...it's probably not the way you want to break into Houston or KC.

QC seems like the best market to tolerate a few years of suck...sophisticated fans who will be okay with the long game and happy enough to see good hockey from visiting teams.


I do wonder how much the league will be looking at a 2nd team in TOR. There are a lot ways that could play out, but I don't think it would be with a team parachuting in on short notice. If the Senators can't get their ship together in the long-term it could make some sense.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

The interesting thing about a Coyotes relocation is how terrible the team will be for the next few seasons...it's probably not the way you want to break into Houston or KC.

QC seems like the best market to tolerate a few years of suck...sophisticated fans who will be okay with the long game and happy enough to see good hockey from visiting teams.


I do wonder how much the league will be looking at a 2nd team in TOR. There are a lot ways that could play out, but I don't think it would be with a team parachuting in on short notice. If the Senators can't get their ship together in the long-term it could make some sense.

Also who moves from the East to the West?

[Ped]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

QC seems like the best market to tolerate a few years of suck...sophisticated fans who will be okay with the long game and happy enough to see good hockey from visiting teams.

Quebec is used to suck, since they had the Nordiques.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Also who moves from the East to the West?

A nicely balanced 32 team league and two 16 team conferences is something that fans care about more than owners IMO.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Also who moves from the East to the West?

Probably Columbus, and one of DET/BOS/BUF goes to the Metro.

Metro division is probably the toughest in the league for the foreseeable future, while the Central has become a lot more open beyond Colorado. If they want any hope of making the playoffs, CBJ is probably better off in the west.


CBJ's were in the old five team Central Division from 2000-2013, where it was bloody hard to compete:

DET - powerhouse that entire time...trailing off a bit near the end, but even 2013 they pushed the eventual champion Blackhawks to 7 games in the 2nd round.

CHI - bad until 2008, but then a powerhouse for the last 5 seasons

STL -pretty strong until the lockout; 3 bad seasons, then ~90pt + seasons incl. a 109pt season

NAS - bad for the first few years being only 2 yrs older than CBJ, but from the lockout on they were generally a 100+ pt team


You kinda had to write off the first few years as an expansion team...they basically had 3 seasons coming out of the lockout where CHI and STL were also pretty bad.

But now the Central is kind of a crapshoot:
STL/NAS/WPG/DAL/MIN/CHI - any permutation of standings for these teams seems plausible for the next 5 years, while the Pacific looks to remain fairly weak (ie. not taking wildcard spots)

compared to the MET:
CAR/NYR
PIT/WAS - the end is near, but could easily be contenders for ~3 more years
PHI/NJD/NYI - kinda similar to the Central crapshoot teams, but generally more resourced and with a bit more elite young talent developing

And the Atlantic looks more likely to take a wildcard slot or two.

CBJ has better odds to compete in the West, though it would kinda suck for them time zone wise.

[GioforPM]

Quebec is not getting a team. No matter what.

[WCW Nitro]

How about San Diego? Pretty big market with now only 1 major sports team

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Quebec is not getting a team. No matter what.

Why do you think “no matter what” (not enough corporate sponsors?)?

I thought they were building or had built a new arena l?

[getbak]

Originally Posted by WCW Nitro

How about San Diego? Pretty big market with now only 1 major sports team

They would need a new arena. Their current arena is 55 years old and holds less than 13,000 for hockey.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Quebec is not getting a team. No matter what.

Disagree; they as good as anywhere for a 'break glass in case of emergency' relocation...which is kinda the point of this thread at this point.

They've done everything 'right' in terms of working behind the scenes and staying quiet publicly.

Google tells me QC's metro pop of 800k is slightly higher than WPG's 780k.

If ARI hasn't sorted themselves out 3 months from now, where would you put them?

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Disagree; they as good as anywhere for a 'break glass in case of emergency' relocation...which is kinda the point of this thread at this point.

They've done everything 'right' in terms of working behind the scenes and staying quiet publicly.

Google tells me QC's metro pop of 800k is slightly higher than WPG's 780k.

If ARI hasn't sorted themselves out 3 months from now, where would you put them?

Somewhere that’d be able to afford them long term. Houston is an obvious choice. But they aren’t moving in 3 months for sure. Maybe 3 years.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Somewhere that’d be able to afford them long term. Houston is an obvious choice. But they aren’t moving in 3 months for sure. Maybe 3 years.

Where do you think they'll be playing next year? If I had to bet between Arizona and anywhere else, I'd be leaning to the latter right now.

If Fertita actually wants them right now, then sure, Houston. I'm just not sure I see that deal coming together as quickly as something with QC...

These are strange times - we've seen the Raptors and Blue Jays play out of different cities. I don't know that the league would want to take an indefinite approach, but they could conceivably challenge QC to prove they can sustain a team without permanently committing.

At this point the biggest concern might be fear of Canadian health restrictions.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

Where do you think they'll be playing next year? If I had to bet between Arizona and anywhere else, I'd be leaning to the latter right now.

If Fertita actually wants them right now, then sure, Houston. I'm just not sure I see that deal coming together as quickly as something with QC...

These are strange times - we've seen the Raptors and Blue Jays play out of different cities. I don't know that the league would want to take an indefinite approach, but they could conceivably challenge QC to prove they can sustain a team without permanently committing.

At this point the biggest concern might be fear of Canadian health restrictions.

I am betting they play in some temp arena nearby. Either the Footprint Centre, where they started, or the arena where the University team plays. Plus a few special games elsewhere.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I am betting they play in some temp arena nearby. Either the Footprint Centre, where they started, or the arena where the University team plays. Plus a few special games elsewhere.

It's certainly possible, but without a firm plan in place for a new building I think the league's patience may finally run out.

Neither the owners nor the NHLPA can be pleased with the idea of a super low revenue team wallowing in even lower revenue for at least 3 years.


Not that it really matters, but Keller, Schmalts, Chycrun, Ghost, and Ladd are the only players under non-ELC contract beyond next year (Ghost and Ladd are only 1 more year at that). In a lot of ways its the ideal time to make a clean break.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I am betting they play in some temp arena nearby. Either the Footprint Centre, where they started, or the arena where the University team plays. Plus a few special games elsewhere.

My understanding is that the recent renovations to the Footprint Center have made it incompatible for hockey.

ASU currently plays in a tiny rink that holds less that 2,000 people. They're moving into a new arena next season but its capacity will only be about 5,000.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by powderjunkie

QC seems like the best market to tolerate a few years of suck...sophisticated fans who will be okay with the long game and happy enough to see good hockey from visiting teams...

For how much difficulty every single Canadian franchise has experienced in their efforts to properly rebuild, this is an interesting take. If anything, I am coming around to thinking that Canadian markets are much less patient and long-suffering than any US counterpart.


Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by getbak

My understanding is that the recent renovations to the Footprint Center have made it incompatible for hockey.

ASU currently plays in a tiny rink that holds less that 2,000 people. They're moving into a new arena next season but its capacity will only be about 5,000.

Neither are ideal, but assuming a new arena is planned, they’ll deal with it. I understand that Footprint could be used but it wouldn’t be great. The new ASU Andrea does only hold 5K but it’d end up. Being like the Corral for 2 years (the corral held 6500 plus standing room).

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Neither are ideal, but assuming a new arena is planned, they’ll deal with it. I understand that Footprint could be used but it wouldn’t be great. The new ASU Andrea does only hold 5K but it’d end up. Being like the Corral for 2 years (the corral held 6500 plus standing room).

I think the Corral may have actually been the last time an NHL team played full seasons in a sub 10k building

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o..._League_arenas

TBL, OTT, and SJ played their first few years in 10-11k arenas.

It looks like a team hasn't played in 6k or less since the 1920s!

[Bunk]

Austin seems a good market. Growing like crazy, wealthy. Does not have another competing pro sports team. Very Vegas or Columbus like in that respect. Houston is big, but saturated.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by Bunk

Austin seems a good market. Growing like crazy, wealthy. Does not have another competing pro sports team. Very Vegas or Columbus like in that respect. Houston is big, but saturated.

Austin would be very cool, but they've probably missed the boat since Oak View just partnered with U of Texas to build a new basketball arena that only seats 10k for basketball (and more for concerts, which is OakView's interest)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moody_Center