tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post8517960029419796572..comments2024-03-08T23:13:42.780-06:00Comments on Hockey Blog In Canada: Toronto Media = NHL Expansion CommitteeTeebzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00538474727022437837noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-46641742904208740572011-12-01T20:10:44.216-06:002011-12-01T20:10:44.216-06:00you pesky little winnipegersyou pesky little winnipegersAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-6317578103121034452011-10-02T06:31:25.302-05:002011-10-02T06:31:25.302-05:00great share. enjoyed reading your post.great share. enjoyed reading your post.Jets Ticketshttp://www.jettickets.org/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-21105063532102642382009-05-16T11:38:00.000-05:002009-05-16T11:38:00.000-05:00Much as I'd love to see a team back in Winnipeg, t...Much as I'd love to see a team back in Winnipeg, the Peg is really the one Canadian city that has scarcely grown at all in the past 20 years. The population base is, therefore, roughly the same as when the Jets last played there in 1996. <br /><br />I dug up one of my old Jets tickets stubs from 1991 the other day. It was $12.00. For a regular season game - not an exhibition game. To support an NHL team today, that ticket would have to be at least $75.00, and possibly much more. Will Winnipegers, who averaged just over 11,000 per game in 1996, be able to fill a 15,000 seat arena every night if tickets cost a minimum $75? I highly doubt it. <br /><br />Again, don't get me wrong. I'd love to see the Jets back in the Peg. I just really don't know if it can work. These annoying little facts (like previous poor attendance despite unbelievably low ticket prices) keep getting in the way of my enthusiasm.Raging Ranterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12171257301617212569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-20421056839128156262008-01-23T21:02:00.000-06:002008-01-23T21:02:00.000-06:00why would you expand more in the U.S.? When most o...why would you expand more in the U.S.? When most of the games you see on tv with a U.S. team have a half empty arena. Nova Scotia with a hockey NHL team sounds good to me. Nova Scotia is home to just a little less than 950,000 people, im pretty sure that Toronto doesnt only get support from people who live in Toronto, considering the fact that im going to Boston to see a game...and i live in Nova Scotia. Halifax would get support from fans from all over the province and the neighboring ones too. As for the Mooseheads i've been to some of their games, they don't get nearly as much advertisement as an NHL team, which means the Mooseheads have less attention then they would if they had better advertisement. Most of the people i know like hockey and love the NHL, even some of the people you don't expect to like hockey do. Halifax getting an NHL team would be great but, you never know what will happen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-78828521504121839092007-12-07T10:26:00.000-06:002007-12-07T10:26:00.000-06:00rwil26 - I'm going to word this carefully.St. John...rwil26 - I'm going to word this carefully.<BR/><BR/>St. John's Maple Leafs, Saint John Flames, Cape Breton Oilers, Moncton Hawks, Maine Mariners, Nova Scotia Voyageurs, Halifax Citadels, Prince Edward Island Senators. What's the common item about these teams?<BR/><BR/>All were AHL teams, and all moved or folded. 8 minor-league teams which require significantly less money to run than an NHL team, and none were making money. And now you want an NHL team?<BR/><BR/>Not going to happen anytime soon. Winnipeg will get a team before Halifax does. And Winnipeg should never have a team.Teebzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00538474727022437837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-65124784075612824682007-12-06T23:42:00.000-06:002007-12-06T23:42:00.000-06:00alright guys, im talking from canada and i can tel...alright guys, im talking from canada and i can tell you that the best market for a canadian team in the states is worse than any market in the united states. Putting another team into the united states is only going to lose money for someone that invests into it. expecially somewhere like LV or KC. Winnipeg has a better cance of supporting a team no matter where you think of putting one in the states. all the cities that have a fanbase are already taken, sometimes by more than one team. none of you have even thought about mentioning Halifax Nova scotia as a possible place for a team whether relocation or expansion. I also say that expansion is a bad idea, relocation is the key. the markets like florida (panthers not TB) need to be relocated to someplace northern where people have actually seen snow or ice on the ground. even thinking about putting another team in the states is a joke. Coming up in canada basically means that someone your with is obsessed with hockey. its is basically a religion in Toronto. Hamilton would have more support from New York than any of the NY teams have now. The league was afraid of taking some success away from toronto but that is imposible the fan base is too deep.<BR/>Teebz - when you say that half the people going to watch winnipeg games were from the away teams... think of an ottawa toronto game. When the leafs play in ottawa there are more toronto fans than there are ottawa.<BR/>Halifax is already a super successful QMJHL franchise city and the AHL used to be in fredericton moncton and saint john New Brunswick. SJ and Moncton both have successful Q teams now as well. The fan bases for hockey anywhere in the maritimes is astounding. its like an untapped market resource. so as for anywhere in the US being a better spot than winnipeg, hamilton, quebec or Halifax, everyone that has posted here is out of their minds.Rob Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07311785332764283504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-86123588702275066332007-11-12T18:33:00.000-06:002007-11-12T18:33:00.000-06:00See I disagree, as they have one of the most stori...See I disagree, as they have one of the most storied College programs in the country. I have multiple friends from Wisconsin and they were all some sort of hockey fans. If Milwaukee can support a pro basketball team, it can support hockey. <BR/><BR/>Besides the same could be said of Colorado before the Avs came to town. There were a few hockey teams, and the WHL team (the Grizzlies) were doing well but on one thought it would catch on... But it did pretty easily (a Stanley cup helps too)Jibblescribbitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17833352311064492403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-76267379511114520092007-11-11T15:14:00.000-06:002007-11-11T15:14:00.000-06:00Putting a pro hockey team in Wisconsin would be a ...Putting a pro hockey team in Wisconsin would be a joke. They have a semi successful AHL team, but they could NEVER support a NHL team. Hockey is not a thriving sport in the land where the Green Bay Packers are god. My dad had never really heard of/about hockey much less seen it until he married my mom and moved to Minnesota. He still isn't really sold on it, preferring dumb sports like football and basketball.Kirstenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08031186865983731569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-48254835053977675712007-11-10T18:16:00.000-06:002007-11-10T18:16:00.000-06:00Well the point was more or less, that expansion is...Well the point was more or less, that expansion is coming, and the NHL will have 2 more teams. Everyon's talking about Hamilton, Las Vegas, and KC, and to soem extent Winnipeg but I thought the two most successful locations for a franchise would be Seattle and Milwaukee. <BR/><BR/>That said, with international players coming, more or less the last 25 years, there are more teams, but there is more talent on the ice. You're right that there's probably nor need to expand, and that the current markets need to be cultivated more before the league is ready for that, but Betteman has always seen expansion as a way to make a quick buck, and has never understood what goes into expansion to make it successful.Jibblescribbitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17833352311064492403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-72575395664998832972007-11-10T01:36:00.000-06:002007-11-10T01:36:00.000-06:00Jibble - the difference between then and now is th...Jibble - the difference between then and now is the talent. Specifically, there was more talent on less teams, meaning the level of play was higher at any point of the game.<BR/><BR/>The problem is that the game has changed significantly. There is no comparison between then and now, and there never will be. Gone are the days when a player can score 200 points in a season. However, I firmly believe that expansion will only lead to mre problems before it leads to solutions.<BR/><BR/>As for Milwaukee and Seattle, Milwaukee has an AHL team that is somewhat successful. Why ruin that? And Seattle has the WHL's Thunderbirds. Why kill off a great CHL team for the sake of the NHL? The NHL would be wise to step back and make their product better before expanding again.Teebzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00538474727022437837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-25200905332991228262007-11-09T23:50:00.000-06:002007-11-09T23:50:00.000-06:00I don't think contraction is a good plan. Winnipeg...I don't think contraction is a good plan. Winnipeg is definitely not a good expansion place.<BR/><BR/>Expansions coming, whether we like it or not. The best cities for expansion would be Milwaukee, and/or Seattle. (Especially if/when they lose their basketball team).<BR/><BR/>I don't think contraction is really the option either. watch an old game and a new one and I think it's pretty obvious the skill level is better now than it was then.Jibblescribbitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17833352311064492403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-21370403786106103802007-11-08T11:49:00.000-06:002007-11-08T11:49:00.000-06:00Kirsten - you're absolutely right. In fact, I am p...Kirsten - you're absolutely right. In fact, I am preparing another long diatribe about how the NHL should abandon its US expansion idea, and go back to hockey the way it was in the 1980s before expansion. I'll have that posted soon.<BR/><BR/>Sarah - the NHL in Quebec and Winnipeg were suffering prior to the mid-1990s in terms of spending money. While the reasons were different, the results were the same: neither team could afford to bleed that much red ink any longer. The fans in both cities stopped showing up, and that was the major reason for the moves.<BR/><BR/>DLS - I have no problem with cities dreaming of becoming an NHL city. The problem I have is that everytime someone mentions expansion, Winnipeg comes up as "the perfect location". It's not. In fact, if I were the commish, I'd be taking a long look at contraction right now. As I said to Kirsten, more on that in the next few days. :o)<BR/><BR/>Great comments everyone, except that FireBettman joker. Love the discussion.Teebzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00538474727022437837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-32400198121456744162007-11-08T06:27:00.000-06:002007-11-08T06:27:00.000-06:00Two things bug me: any talk of expansion and those...Two things bug me: any talk of expansion and those annoying bastards at FireBettman.com spamming the hell out of blog comment threads.<BR/><BR/>Teebz, you're dead on in this post and I commend you for having the bravery to tell an entire Canadian city to shut the hell up already.Dear Lord Stanleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10000974760956373639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-29946131399833080962007-11-07T17:51:00.000-06:002007-11-07T17:51:00.000-06:00I'm always kind of mystified by that fact that act...I'm always kind of mystified by that fact that actual professional journalists keep making the argument that the high Canadian dollar means Winnipeg (and Quebec) are viable NHL markets again. Because they seem to be going on the assumption that the fact that the dollar is high now means it will be high forever, when a glance at exchange rates over the last 30 years shows that it's been volatile. They're essentially asking some franchise owner to bet the farm on the exchange rate staying around where it is now. I'm no expert in foreign exchange, but that's not a bet I'd take.<BR/><BR/>And weren't both Winnipeg and Quebec already in some difficulty before the Canadian dollar took its mid-90s plunge? I seem to recall talk of both teams possibly moving as early as around 1991-92, and I know the Cdn$ was still around 90 cents then, because we got so much cross-border shopping traffic around where I was in college at the time. I recall it being around 1993-94 when it fell from the mid-80s to the mid-70s, and a couple years later when it really bottomed out in the 60s. That may have been the final nail in the coffin for those teams, but as your analysis points out, that wasn't the only weakness in the market.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-46154807229056898642007-11-07T16:54:00.000-06:002007-11-07T16:54:00.000-06:00We need to have less teams in this league, definit...We need to have less teams in this league, definitely not more. There are many struggling franchises as is, the NHL doesn't need one more. The people of Winnipeg came out to support Canada at the WJC in Grand Forks, and that was pretty fun, but it doesn't constitute NHL level support.Kirstenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08031186865983731569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-47681494842997058992007-11-07T12:19:00.000-06:002007-11-07T12:19:00.000-06:00Um, in case you missed the entire post (which I am...Um, in case you missed the entire post (which I am going to assume you did, based on your comment), my argument was AGAINST expansion, not for it.<BR/><BR/>Winnipeg is not an NHL city. Its poor hockey track record stands for itself.Teebzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00538474727022437837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5906875144542272320.post-83941964477839338502007-11-07T11:55:00.000-06:002007-11-07T11:55:00.000-06:00Bettman is the one holding up expansion in Canada....Bettman is the one holding up expansion in Canada. He'd rather have a team in Las Vegas where no one knows what hockey is.<BR/><BR/>http://www.FireBettman.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com