What NHL teams could be re-located, and where?

[Eric Vail]

Saskatoon is at least 50 years away from having a population to support a team.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Sakari

I think we have to remember that for whatever reason, the Maple Leafs are the ultimate bandwagon, and many of those bandwagon fans won't take a lot to stray away from the Leafs. Also, I'd suspect many of the people that go to the ACC are just there for the game, not for the team. Not the majority, but some probably are, and I'm sure they'd watch two teams.

Eh?

Leafs fans are about loyal and fanatical as you will find in sports. Thats what happens when you have a team that has been around for almost 100 years. Christ, when they come to Calgary there are still hundreds of their jersies in the stands....and thats after the Flames have been here for over 30 years.

[Sakari]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Eh?

Leafs fans are about loyal and fanatical as you will find in sports. Thats what happens when you have a team that has been around for almost 100 years. Christ, when they come to Calgary there are still hundreds of their jersies in the stands....and thats after the Flames have been here for over 30 years.

That's what causes the bandwagon. Girls grow up in homes with hockey fanatic dads, they like the team but they don't know the sport, so when they go to the games, they just cheer the team on because its fun. Most hockey fans are leafs fans, regardless if they are serious about the sport or not. But since some of them aren't so much loyal as they are just.. following the trend.. they might be intrigued by another team in Toronto.

Not denying Torontos fanbase as the biggest and most loyal fanbase in sports, but they have a lot of fans that are just leafs fans because that's the only team they know that's in the NHL.

[csnarpy]

Originally Posted by Northendzone

i have heard rumours that the Yotes are in trouble and may be relocated

[timun]

Originally Posted by Joborule

Don't count on both of those things happening. Columbus is a market that will work once the management gets their crap together and ice a team that makes the playoffs more than once during their whole tenure there.

Not to mention their lease at Nationwide Arena is locked in for a loooooooooooooooong time.

NHL would really prefer to keep Florida around and not leave Tampa Bay alone in the state; as well make sure hockey can touch each corner of the continent. That's another team that has struggled to be competitive so low attendance is not surprising. Give them a chance to be a playoff team for multiple seasons and they could gather decent coin and viewership.

Plus Florida's parent company, Sunrise Sports & Entertainment, makes plenty of money off the BB&T Center. While the Panthers may lose money the parent company's other division, the one that manages the events at the arena, makes a healthy profit. The Panthers aren't going anywhere.

QC and Toronto aren't going to get relocation teams. Too much money to be made via expansion fees, so they will be added teams to the league.

The league can charge whatever sort of 'relocation' fee it wants. Witness the Jets: TNSE paid the Thrashers' owners $110 million for the team and paid the league $60 million to relocate to Winnipeg.

Chances of the NHL expanding in the near future are remote.


Anyway, I wouldn't put much stock into using attendance numbers alone to justify relocating teams willy-nilly. After all, the league's second most profitable team is only 20th in average attendance.

What matters most to the successful operation of an NHL team is revenue. The Islanders for instance have many revenue streams other than butts in the seats. In particular they have a fantastic local TV deal that will pay them about half a billion dollars over the next 18 years. Don't be fooled, they make plenty of money.


The only team that's in serious and immediate trouble is the Coyotes, who generate very low revenue and are estimated to be losing upwards of $30 million every year. They don't have an owner, their tickets are sold at a deep discount, they don't have much of a local TV deal, they have very poor sponsorship deals, etc. Every season the Coyotes continue to exist in Phoenix (/Glendale) will be a surprise and defy all logic. If there's any chance of a team relocating it's the Coyotes.

Where they will go is another matter altogether. Quebec seems to be the most likely location, given that there are shovels in the ground to build a suitable arena and there's an existing arena that would suffice until the new one is finished. Kansas City is a possibility by virtue of having an existing arena, but there are no indications anyone is looking to bring NHL hockey back to Kansas City. Seattle is a remote possibility. Hamilton, Toronto 2 and anywhere else in Canada is not likely at all.

[Derek Sutton]

Las Vegas. Read that MGM is planning a 20,000 seat arena in behind NY,NY. Comps alone could darn near sell out the building, not to mention all the Canadian and Northe Eastern tourists. This would do more for the NHL then FLorida, Nashville, Atalanta, and Phoenix combined. I hope the NHL beats the NBA to Vegas.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by transplant99

No they couldn't.

maybe 1 team...just because of the population density.

But look at it this way...if Calgary was awarded a second team would you all of a sudden drop allegiance to the Flames, watch only the new teams games when both were on TV, buy all new merchandise for the new team, attend only the new teams games?

Now transfer that same thought process to another team IN TO. Sure there is likely enough people that 1 team can exist and sway enough to change allegiance, but even at that I would suggest it will take years to solidify a strong base of new team only fans.

London, population 12-15 Million, depending where you stop counting, supports how many pro soccer teams? Dozens?

Not everyone in TOR is a Leaf fan. And some people can cheer for more than one team. The demand for tickets there is immense. People will support a winner.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by troutman

London, population 12-15 Million, depending where you stop counting, supports how many pro soccer teams? Dozens?

Not everyone in TOR is a Leaf fan. And some people can cheer for more than one team. The demand for tickets there is immense. People will support a winner.

There definitely is room for another team there. Leafs fans are loyal... but there are tons of anti-Leafs who latch on to Detroit or Montreal. Add to that the loads of businesses in town who can't get tickets/suites for Leafs games.

[calgaryred]

There is a market for a second team, tickets for leafs have to be hard to come by. Lots of hockey fans would love NHL season tickets, a second Toronto franchise is a win win.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by troutman

London, population 12-15 Million, depending where you stop counting, supports how many pro soccer teams? Dozens?

Not everyone in TOR is a Leaf fan. And some people can cheer for more than one team. The demand for tickets there is immense. People will support a winner.

Do those soccer teams need to charge an average of 100 bucks a game?


I mean...lets get real here.....soccer? LOL

As I said the area could likely support one more team, but that would be it and even then it will take years and years for them to become firmly entrenched.

[troutman]

Any new teams in GTA will sell-out immediately. That is why the NHL can charge a huge expansion fee. A team there is a licence to print $. We won't see more than 2 teams there in our lifetimes, I'm just saying GTA could support more, easily. There is already a huge media infrastructure there, and a hockey-mad population. Tons of corporate head offices.

Soccer ain't cheap (to see the top franchises):

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...expensive.html

Arsenal have the most expensive adult matchday ticket at £126

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Derek Sutton

Las Vegas.

Doubt it. You're not going to have a huge local fan base and most tourists would rather go down for other reasons than hockey. And with most of the fans there are cheering for other teams.

Don't remember why magazine/paper I was reading it in, but last time I was in Vegas I read a pretty lengthy article on how the NHL brand has no desire to place a team in Vegas as that's not in line with the image they want to present.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

Sort it by Home PCT for a more realistic look at which teams can put asses in the seats.

[Badgers Nose]

Originally Posted by transplant99

Do those soccer teams need to charge an average of 100 bucks a game?


I mean...lets get real here.....soccer? LOL

As I said the area could likely support one more team, but that would be it and even then it will take years and years for them to become firmly entrenched.

Cheapest seats to Spurs v Fulham that I could find was $120.

Not sure what arsenal and Chelsea charge. Hate them too much to look at their websites

Not sure what your point is, but teams like Chelsea by rights to single players worth more than most NHL franchises cost.

When Spurs sell Gareth Bale to Real Madrid this summer will likely be in the 150-200 million range.

[Sakari]

Soccer is by far, the cheapest sport to play and the most expensive to watch and maintain. You can't argue that.

[Wronskian]

Coyotes to Seattle (E5)

[Badgers Nose]

NHL in Seattle makes sense, pacific division would have very intense rivalries IMO.

Edm, Phx, Cgy, Wpg, Col with Kansas or las Vegas would be great too.

I would rather see expansion.

[Badgers Nose]

Also, FLA is almost selling out. Not sure why they should be on a move list.

Sure, maybe the tickets are cheap or free, but I bet beer isn't.

[Wronskian]

Originally Posted by Badgers Nose

Also, FLA is almost selling out. Not sure why they should be on a move list.

Sure, maybe the tickets are cheap or free, but I bet beer isn't.

If they are quoting that their stadium capacity is 100 people I might believe that. The stands are basically empty when you see their games on TV. I still find it hard to believe that FLORIDA has two hockey teams and Washington state has none.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Wronskian

If they are quoting that their stadium capacity is 100 people I might believe that. The stands are basically empty when you see their games on TV. I still find it hard to believe that FLORIDA has two hockey teams and Washington state has none.

The knock on Toronto getting another team is that they've been called Leaf fans and not hockey fans as shown by their non support of junior teams. I think they wouldn't have any trouble supporting another NHL team though, even if they had poor attendance.

I'd really like to see Phoenix moved to Seattle. Phoenix seems to have improved their attendance this season but it's probably too little too late. On the other hand I'd like QC get a team as well but looking at the new NHL re-alignment plans, it doesn't look like they are going to expand or move a team to the East. I also read somewhere that the QC prospective owner and Bettman don't get along and we've seen how that turns out.

The rest of the teams that look weak in terms of profitability such as Florida won't move as long as their owners are satisfied. Something could surprise us such as the Atlanta move but I think the NHL tries to keep problem franchises on the QT.