When the NHL starts playing again, will fans comeback?

[Cascadian]

I can see the Canadian and established U.S. teams like Detroit, NY Rangers, Boston, or Chicago not having trouble getting people back but teams in places like Tampa Bay, Nashville, Phoenix, or Anaheim (which by the way have the most stupidest nickname in sports IMHO!) may not recover from this. I can see this impacting these teams in a big way that some of them may have to fold. This lockout is a disaster.

Gary Bettman should also do the right thing and step down. I also would like to see the NHL headquarters returned to Canada as well. Forget New York. Move the offices to Toronto. Ever since Bettman took over, he has hijacked the Canadian game and turned it into some crazy sideshow. Now he has ruined the game.


Just my two cents. Now your turn!


John

[TheMightyFavog]

1. Return Phoenix back to Winnipeg while they're at it.

Caorlina goes back to Hartford

Nashville moves to Milwaukee (Why they never got a team, I don't know.)

[Cascadian]

3. Why stop there?

Let's have Anaheim move to Montreal to become the Maroons. Have Tampa Bay move to Seattle and renamed the Metropolitans. Both actual hockey teams from the old, old days!



http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/trophies/winners/STC1935.jpg






John

[TheMightyFavog]

5. I dunno about Seattle...

That's Canucks territory, IIRC.

Then again, if you want a samll market team that would make Green Bay look like a megaopolis, bring back the Portage lake Flyers of Hancock/Houghton, MI



Then again, maybe not. Those Yoopers love their Red Wings, even though they're the only Michigan pro sports team that those Wisconsinite wannabes tend to root for.

[Cascadian]

6. Nah. Seattle is neutral territory but we do have a minor hockey team.

We have the Thunderbirds. Which are doing well right now. This area is not really Canucks territory. Though some are fans since it's the closest NHL team. As the NHL loses fans, the minor leagues are going to benefit big time from what is happening.




John

[sasquatch]

11. Question for you!

What Montreal ethnic group did the Maroons represent?

[Cascadian]

17. They were the team for the English speakers in Montreal.

The French speakers had "Les Canadiens".


John

[sasquatch]

20. Very good! You get a cookie!

[ElaineinIN]

15. Long live The Whale!

Brass Bonanza Forever!

And now that I'm in Indy, not even Hockey East and my Terriers!

The horror. The horror.

[kick-ass-bob]

32. Why Hartford?

They didn't pull in the people either.

[maxpower]

2. Chicago

Wasn't drawing fans before the lockout. Wirtz is the worst owner in sports. We have the Wolves (IHL) seeling out almost every game.

[evil_orange_cat]

10. amen...

I'm so sad, being a Blackhawks fan... it's terrible.

[maxpower]

27. At least we have the wolves

[strategery blunder]

23. Bad ownership=I become a Blues fan when in MO

After I started going to college here in MO, I became a Blues fan just so I could WATCH THE F***ING GAMES. A sad commentary on the Hawks' ownership, though now there aren't even any games to televise:(

[givemebackmycountry]

4. Sadly...There will be no NHL this year...Lord Stanley will go unclaimed.

After the NFL season ends, my attention turned to the NHL.

Big Colorado Avalanche fan.
Hockey would get me through until June, and then it's just a few weeks and camp opens in the NFL.

Pre-season games fire up in August.

The NHL drew lower ratings then a test pattern, and rabid fans like us are few and far between.

I knew we were in trouble when I read that the owners were losing less money with the players locked out, then if they were actually playing on the ice.

No one cares about the fans anymore. That's obvious.

[Cascadian]

7. That's the impression I am getting.

If they haven't settled this by the end of February, the season is pretty much gone.


John

[njdemocrat106]

16. They should award the Stanley Cup to an amateur team this year

Just like the old, old days! Besides, I don't think there's any stipulations saying the Cup HAS to be awarded to an NHL team.

[AngryAmish]

30. Lord Stanley's Cup is hereby claimed

By me. OK, hand it over, it's mine now. You can get it next year.

(BTW, the father of a guy I know stole the Cup in the 60s. He gave it back a few months later. That is why there are copies.)

[HEyHEY]

8. Hopefully the southern teams will fold

[givemebackmycountry]

9. uuhhhhh

One of those "southern teams" skated the cup early last summer if I remember right.

And I think I do.

Born in New York City the Rangers still pull at me but my team is in Colorado.

Get rid of SOME of the southern teams but teams like Dallas and Nashville and Tampa Bay have serious fan support.

Expansion did a lot for the game, it may also kill it for the foreseeable future.

If you guys are talking hockey, I'm all ears.

Maybe I'll break out game 7 tonight...
Av's v Devils.

Roy, Bourque, Broduer, Stevens, Sakic.

I miss hockey!

BETTMAN YOU SWINE!!!!

[SmileyBoy]

12. Read this story:

http://sophia.smith.edu/~jeue/John/sofar.html

[Cascadian]

18. Let some of the Southern teams fold or move.

I know a few northern U.S. and Canadian cities that would LOVE to have a team...

Portland, Oregon
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Hartford, Connecticut
Hamilton, Ontario
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Saskatoon (or Regina), Saskatchewan
Quebec City, Quebec
Halifax, Nova Scotia

Any other cities did I miss?

John

[DistantWind88]

25. That'll put a lot of

no front-teeth having Canadians, Minnesotans, and New Englanders out of work though, eh?

[devilgrrl]

13. With NHL ticket prices as high as they are, the fans should blow them off!

Send the greedy owners and players a message!

[CatholicEdHead]

14. In Minnesota they will

[KitchenWitch]

22. Yes they will

My son loves to go to Wild games, and I will bring him if and when they do come back. Of course I was at the home opener of the Twins then the strike of 1994-1995 postponed the opener until the middle of April 1995.

[drumwolf]

19. Bettman has the same amount of respect for NHL fans

as he did for NHL office employees when I worked as a web developer for their in-house online division, NHL.com, in the late '90s.

The NHL's executive management had a very cavalier and condescending attitude towards its rank-and-file employees. Even despite the red-hot job market at the time, Bettman and the other top execs there seemed to think, "We're the NHL. There's a long line of people who'd love to work for us, so you should be grateful that we'd even deign to hire you -- even with our lower-than-market salaries and a very stodgy, stagnant atmosphere with little room for career growth."

I love hockey, but the NHL is a bloated, arrogant organization, and it may just be needed bitter medicine for the sport if the NHL were to go under.

[MrsCheaplaugh]

21. The NHL can stay off until Kingdom come

They expanded way too fast and diluted their talent base way too much. I won't pay fifty dollars to watch trap,trap and more trap all night. One day maybe I will watch pro hockey again, but it better be much improved

[Cascadian]

26. Bettman must go! Bring the NHL front office back to Canada.

Give the NHL headquarters to people who truly care about hockey, it's players, and the fans!


John

[Allenberg]

24. As much as I love my Penguins...

Howard Baldwin's dealings have them too far in debt to be a worthwhile franchise, considering management has guessed wrong in nearly every draft, and nobody's going to the games in shoddy Civic Arena.

[Ravenseye]

29. What are you talking about?

I mean. Yeah Baldwin fucked stuff up pretty badly. The Penguins though were one of the few teams last year to actually be profitable. Sure they did it by having one of the lowest payrolls in the NHL but they made money. The debt has been restructured. They're better off financially than the majority of the teams in the league. The only reason teams in many other cities aren't complaining are the billionare owners. St. Louis lost something like 20 million last year? 40 million? it was alot of money they lost. Nobody talks about folding up St. Louis and they're not a worthwhile franchise.

Guessing wrong in nearly every draft? Granted they weren't drafting great for a few years they also had a number of superb draft picks. Some of the most outstanding players in the league are Penguins picks. Naslund, Straka, Lemieux, Jagr...not to mention their current crop. In the second half of the last season their 'draft picks' had the best power play in the NHL (without Lemeiux even), and were the second best team in the league for the last 3rd of the season. The only reason they finished last was because it took them till then practically to win a game. They got it together though.

As far as nobody going to Civic Arena....well it's Mellon arena now first of all, second of all people are going and more will go in the future given the teams play. Even though they were going to finish last attendance went up as the season ended, because the team was playing better. People just didnt' want to go see a JV team get beat up by say the Red Wings. Once they realized that wasn't the case people started coming back.

Lastly it may be old and it may not have all the niceties of a brand new arena but I love the Igloo. It's great. Even though they can't open the dome anymore (because of the scoreboard) it's really cool how the dome surrounds the stadium, but you can see all the steel supports etc. It's not hidden like at new arenas. It's very 'open' feeling and I like that. The reason they need a new stadium, they claim, is because of the need for more luxury boxes. There is nothing wrong with the arena itself, aside from maybe some more leg room in the E/F deck. :)

[ScreamingMeemie]

28. They will, just like baseball fans let themselves be duped into coming

back with phony homerun races and the like...It's a shame that we as a country are so gullible. I loved seeing empty baseball stadiums. I felt totally betrayed when they went on strike. It's a joke. Players should have to get jobs in the off season. Just my angry opinion. :hi:

[AngryAmish]

31. NHL cut their own throats

I am someone who should be a huge hockey fan, but have been driven away. I did not follow the game much as a kid, but in college when the Blackhawks were good I watch lots of games. I live ten minutes from the Stadium and have plenty of disposable income. But I will not give a dime to Wirtz (but will take free tix).

The owners expanded too fast. The owners were making $ from expansion fees and spending too much on free agents.

Especially on teams with rather small rosters (like hockey) a hard or soft cap makes sense. (I am a soft cap guy - so you can keep your own free agents.) It would impose fiscal discipline on teams.

There should be hockey on national TV even it just means very little revenue. The game is great, but there is a large learning curve. Locally, EVERY game should be on TV.

I understand that the Junior World Championship was just done without a red line. I did not see any of it, but did it cut down on the traps?