Stanley Cup

[auximenes]

Gary Bettman can go DIAF.

[LordMond63]

Well, being a hockey fan here in Alabama (one of six allowed under our state constitution...you can join the group only if someone on the list moves or dies), I can certainly understand the frustration of not having a team nearby to root for. We haven't had one here since the ECHL Bulls departed many years back. I've gone to a few Nashville Predators games and it sure seems like they have an energetic and sizable fan base, so maybe they are going to escape the fate that befell Atlanta and may yet befall Phoenix.

I suppose that, from a strictly business standpoint, what Bettman did made sense at the time. I'm guessing he was looking at population density rather than fan intensity. which is why places like Phoenix, Tampa and Atlanta got teams while Winnipeg didn't (a wrong soon to be corrected, I hope). The problem, as I see it, is that, if you have a million people in a city and way less than 1% are hockey fans (which seemed to be the case in Atlanta), the team is not going to make it for long. But if you have 200,000 people in a city and 25% are hockey fans, the team should do fine. How Bettman would not understand the intensity with which Canadians follow hockey I can't understand.

[auximenes]

Tampa/St. Pete was a good area to place a hockey team, with the large population of transplanted northerners and great weather. Sometimes the arena is half-full with Boston, Detroit, or Philly fans, but the attendance is almost always towards the top of the league charts.

Miami theoretically should also attact the northerners, but there aren't nearly as many permanent transplants anymore. Miami has changed a lot since hurricane Andrew hit in '92.

[Elation]

Look I am all for teams being in places where they will be supported unfortunatly the places listed quebec and winnipeg already lost teams do to the fact they could not support them. What has changed to ake it seem like a good idea to place another team there? I miss some of the old teams to i miss hartford whalers and some of them but i am not seeing a place o add a new team at the moment.

[CrushingInklings]

Look I am all for teams being in places where they will be supported unfortunatly the places listed quebec and winnipeg already lost teams do to the fact they could not support them. What has changed to ake it seem like a good idea to place another team there? I miss some of the old teams to i miss hartford whalers and some of them but i am not seeing a place o add a new team at the moment.

Most of the places you listed had ZERO problem supporting a team. They were rushed out of the area by Bettman to fulfill his southern hockey idea. He used the excuse that the arenas those teams were using were out dated and didnt have enough seating.(revenue) Now those new teams bring in fractions of fans that even those old arenas held.

[Khanyth]

Look I am all for teams being in places where they will be supported unfortunatly the places listed quebec and winnipeg already lost teams do to the fact they could not support them. What has changed to ake it seem like a good idea to place another team there? I miss some of the old teams to i miss hartford whalers and some of them but i am not seeing a place o add a new team at the moment.

Negative. Winnipeg is one of the few places in canada to not get effed in the hoop by the economic clusterf$$k. In fact, Winnipeg has grown in spite of it. Winnipeg's arena is better and most importantly, we have the richest man in Canada bankrolling the show.

As for Quebec, they'll whine their way to get more $$$ and they'll get Phoenix. They just need to put down the poutine and the Fin de Mond and start building their stadium.

Most of the places you listed had ZERO problem supporting a team. They were rushed out of the area by Bettman to fulfill his southern hockey idea. He used the excuse that the arenas those teams were using were out dated and didnt have enough seating.(revenue) Now those new teams bring in fractions of fans that even those old arenas held.

Clearly you have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to Winnipeg. As a Winnipeger, let me set you straight on this so you don't say these things out loud and save some face:

1. The old Wpg arena was a heap of s$$t, rusted metal beams, and concrete. It's sole benefit was that when the Jets did make the playoffs, it was a freekin' LOUD building.
2. No one wanted to buy the Jets from Shenkarow locally and someone wanted them in Phoenix. The Jets were also hemoraging $$$ because the arena couldn't provide new sources of revenue for the Jets.
3. The Jets were a **** team pre-Coyotes days. They finally caved in due to poor drafting, poor trading, and cheapness. Winnipeg's attendance was in the bottom 5 for the last 5 years of the Jets' life. Teemu was one day a hero, the next, a worthless bum that needed to be traded.

So: you take a **** building plus a owners desire to sell to anyone plus a team that can't achieve success..... it's no wonder the Jets left in 95

[Khanyth]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Out of curiousity..... is Daniel on top or Henrik? I can't tell the two apart for the life of me