Should the NHL give up on America?

[bedir than average]

So Chad Cordero, obviously not the pitcher, spelling errors on message boards are you justification for taking teams away from communities? Which nations English should be required? If you say you like the new "colous" does that mean the teams should all leave Canada?

I guess this is a long way of saying, WHY should those teams leave?

[Drury77]

Originally Posted by I'mChadCordero

Fixed. I just find it offensive when its spelled wrong. Nashville, Tampa Bay, Florida and Atlanta should all be contracted.

I spelt it the way I'm used to, Montreal Canadiens, not the official spelling, my bad.

But you join a conversation about the health of the NHL and you say contract three teams, yet you give no reasoning why you feel this way.

I'm sure you must have more to say than that, if your willing to bash a poster over spelling issues.

[Habsfan84]

I have my opinion on this matter and so does everyone else but will the NHL ever look at this problem or will it Continue. I like to think that the NHL will at one time decide that a franchise is ready to be moved to Canada. Then again its the ownership of the team and the NHL that have to make a decision together. Florida in my mind should be the first to go.

[WingsForDinner]

It'll definitely continue, at least for the time being. Owners want to stay in the US, so until Canada becomes more appealing, that seems to be how it's going to stay.

I like one of the comments posted on Digg.com regarding the Atlanta -> Calgary move. I've got to say, that's a very good point, the Flames have become a great team in Calgary.

I doubt the Panthers will be the first to move, but it'd be nice...well, or the Coyotes. Perhaps a move back to Canada for them?

[Habsfan84]

Originally Posted by WingsForDinner

It'll definitely continue, at least for the time being. Owners want to stay in the US, so until Canada becomes more appealing, that seems to be how it's going to stay.

I like one of the comments posted on Digg.com regarding the Atlanta -> Calgary move. I've got to say, that's a very good point, the Flames have become a great team in Calgary.

I doubt the Panthers will be the first to move, but it'd be nice...well, or the Coyotes. Perhaps a move back to Canada for them?

Ya It would be nice to see the Coyotes move back to Canada.

[bedir than average]

Why would abandoning a beautiful, new stadium in a top 15 market in NorthAmerica be a positive for a league? Why would Wayne Gretzky failing as an owner be a good thing for the league?

[Habsfan84]

Why would letting a team with low attendance sit there be a good thing for the league. Gretzky wouldn't fail the city failed.

[MtAvsfn]

Originally Posted by I'mChadCordero

Fixed. I just find it offensive when its spelled wrong. Nashville, Tampa Bay, Florida and Atlanta should all be contracted.

Give me a break. The NHL spells it that way, their website has it spelled that way. It's a lot more offensive when someone comes to a thread like you did, doesn't give any reasoning for their post and then leaves.

[WingsForDinner]

Originally Posted by bedir than average

Why would abandoning a beautiful, new stadium in a top 15 market in NorthAmerica be a positive for a league? Why would Wayne Gretzky failing as an owner be a good thing for the league?

You've got me on the arena, it would be a shame to see them give up on that, but I don't see how they could possibly be a top 15 market. There's just no...well, anything...here for hockey. In the heart of the season when races are on and tensions are mounted, there's not a single crimson-y/brick-y coloured jersey or Yotes logo in sight. Surely a top 15 market should have fans outside of the arena, right? Perhaps I'm biased, having been in the Dallas market prior to this, where hockey is relatively large, but there just doesn't seem to be any support for the team here.

I fail to see how a move for the 'Yotes equates to a failure for Gretzky, outside of his apparent shortcomings behind the bench. No one can ever deny what he did on the ice, but he hasn't exactly been "Great" in the other aspects of the game.... Back to the point, I don't see how it could be a failure for Gretzky, as there's every possibility for him to remain with the franchise even if it did move and his role became less official...

[bedir than average]

Market Size. The Valley of the Sun is a top 15 radio/tv market. Losing that to a sub40 market isn't going to help the NHL's already poor TV ratings. While a new team in say Winnipeg might get 20,000 a night v 15,000 it isn't going to add tens of thousands of TV households.

[WingsForDinner]

Ah, the size of the market, sure. But that market is largely devoted to the Arizona Cardinals and the Phoenix Suns (both of whom get great exposure and TV time, whereas the 'Yotes see very little), and even the Diamondbacks when they're performing well.

I still think Hockey can do much better than Phoenix at the end of the day. As we all saw with the Nashville/Hamilton bit earlier, there are still very large hockey markets that aren't being tapped at the NHL level, that could bring in those tens of thousands of TV viewings. Yes, Phoenix has the size for it, but nobody really cares about the team here. I feel rotten saying that, as I really do hope to see them improve (well, not too much ), and while they may eventually put a formidable team on the ice, I don't see Phoenix really caring...

I'll admit I'm no marketing genius (have taken some courses on marketing in college, though ), but it just seems like a waste, even for a massive market. If they're not buying into it by now, a decade later, they're not going to buy into it...

[I'mChadCordero]

Originally Posted by MtAvsfn

Give me a break. The NHL spells it that way, their website has it spelled that way. It's a lot more offensive when someone comes to a thread like you did, doesn't give any reasoning for their post and then leaves.

Yes, the team name is Montreal Canadiens, but if you're talking about people, it is spelled Canadian. I don't particularly like it when someone misspells the name of my country. The four teams I stated should be contracted because the people who live in that city are more interested in watching cars drive around in circles for hours on end then go to a hockey game, it never snows there and hockey is not meant to be played in 30 degrees Celsius type weather and there is the issue of having players like Cam Janssen, Colton Orr, Brad May and Scott Parker (just to name a few) in the league. The league needs to contract because it has diluted the talent pool....

[Timberwolf]

The NHL now draws talent from the entire world. There is no talent shortage, there is an imagination shortage. Taking away the goalies' exoskeletons was a good first step. Actually calling penalties was a strong second step.

The history of hockey in the parts of the US that are more than a two hour drive from the Canadian border was bush league hockey with cheap tickets and lots of fighting. NHL tickets are expensive for people who are NOT very serious about very good hockey.

Winnipeg deserves an NHL team more than many of the US cities that currently have them, but I am hard pressed to name another deserving Canadian city.

[Drury77]

I would whole-heartedly agree that Winnipeg deserves a team, and I too would have a hard time saying what other city truly deserves a team.

I used to be one of those who believed that the League had expanded too much, and in one sense they have, but to say that the talent pool is heavily diluted is just not correct. The NHL has players in the ranks from all over the world, and some of those players are the best in their respective countries.

Yes Canada has produced the best of NHL, but talents like Forsberg, Jagr, and on and on are not CANADIANS.

I think that argument is a rather weak one for contraction.

[MtAvsfn]

Originally Posted by I'mChadCordero

Yes, the team name is Montreal Canadiens, but if you're talking about people, it is spelled Canadian. I don't particularly like it when someone misspells the name of my country. The four teams I stated should be contracted because the people who live in that city are more interested in watching cars drive around in circles for hours on end then go to a hockey game, it never snows there and hockey is not meant to be played in 30 degrees Celsius type weather and there is the issue of having players like Cam Janssen, Colton Orr, Brad May and Scott Parker (just to name a few) in the league. The league needs to contract because it has diluted the talent pool....

Then maybe you should take it up with the Canadiens, who misspelled your country's nationality when they were naming the team. It makes it easier for us non-Canadians. We know when they're talking about the team or just the people of Canada. I really don't think it's something to get offended about, but to each his own.

Even before the league expanded, there was a place in the game for goons. Those were the better old days.