HisIceness
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I'd like to see AHL end up in Boise, Idaho. I know Seattle will probably do Palm Springs in the long run, but Boise could potentially have lots of Kraken fans.
But Calgary should be the team to really look into it as Boise/Abbotsford would be a decent rivalry.
Salt Lake City might like to get back into it, but the big issue is that there's mostly Golden Knights fans there and Henderson is bound to look like they're in it for the long-haul.
Anywhere "could potentially have lots of [insert team name here] fans. Just because it's one of the closest major markets doesn't mean people will be fans. Look at Milwaukee and Chicago.
You mean because the fans and pro sports teams in Milwaukee and Chicago hate each other in general?Don't forget the Packers and Bears rivalry! The Admirals and Wolves came together for their mutual benefit.
You could update that Palm Springs will start in 22-23 giving the Pacific Division TEN teams unless Grand Rapids and Colorado each shift one division to the east.
They certainly hate each other more than Abbotsford would hate Boise. Then again, I'm pretty sure an animated toaster fighting an ostrich would develop a more heated rivalry than Abbotsford and Boise or whatever other nutbag market @DudeWhereIsMakar suggested as the home for a rival for Abbotsford.
I think that Abbotsford is doing just fine building rivals with the Pacific Division.Boise would be another outpost city, like Charlotte. The Eagles or the Heat would be the closest teams. The AHL would still end up with 10 teams in the Pacific Division. They would be marginally less compact than having Abbotsford and Palm Springs.
I think most die-hard fans of the old IHL would be sad to see GR/Milwaukee/Chicago broken up. This trio has been together forever. TBH I hope the AHL never breaks them up. There's a reason their games have been so intense for years.I think that Abbotsford is doing just fine building rivals with the Pacific Division.
As too having ten clubs in the Pacific Division, if it happens it's will only be short term, depending what happens with Stockton Heat.
The AHL has been a lost cause in Stockton, consider this season, they have one of the best teams in all the AHL, yet they are only averaging 1,500 fans in a 12,000 capacity arena. In addition to moving players between Stockton and Calgary can't be easy. They would do better to relocate them to Saskatchewan, where it would be a 6 hour drive or a short one hour flight. In addition, I believe the Heat would definitely hold their own with attendance at SaskTel Arena. It would also allow for balancing the AHL divisional alignment by moving Grand Rapids to the North Division. Then move Colorado and Saskatchewan into the Central Division. Giving the league 4 divisions of 8 clubs. A Central Division made up of Chicago, Colorado, Iowa, Manitoba, Milwaukee, Rockford, Saskatchewan and Texas, with a Pacific Division with Abbotsford, Bakersfield, Coachella Valley, Henderson, Ontario, San Diego, San Jose and Tucson, makes all the sense in the world.
Two more seasons
I don't think that ship will ever leave the port... #1 where would they play? The building the bucks are in was never intended for hockey thus why the admirals had to find a new place...#2 Where would teams stay? The NHL CBA specify's that the teams stay in a specific type of hotel etc without going into details, not sure milwaukee has enough of those to make a go of it...and before somebody brings up the whole well the Brewers are there etc...MLB hotels are less stringent as far as the class of hotel goes.Note to Board Members with dreams of Milwaukee becoming an NHL expansion city: Tuck that fantasy away for at least two years.
I saw the Badgers playing hockey at Fiserv Forum in December. The Bucks owners don't want a hockey team in the building where they are the primary tenant. That is why the Admirals left the BMO Harris Bradley Center a season before it closed and went back to their old arena, the one now named as the UWM Panther Arena (formerly MECCA). The Bucks owners would not even reply to Harris Turer about a meeting, so the team moved across the street a year early.I don't think that ship will ever leave the port... #1 where would they play? The building the bucks are in was never intended for hockey thus why the admirals had to find a new place...#2 Where would teams stay? The NHL CBA specify's that the teams stay in a specific type of hotel etc without going into details, not sure milwaukee has enough of those to make a go of it...and before somebody brings up the whole well the Brewers are there etc...MLB hotels are less stringent as far as the class of hotel goes.
Two more seasons
In all the years I lived in Cleveland we were affiliated with the Pens, Lightning, Avs and Sharks (maybe there was another one in there somewhere). I always thought Columbus would be the no-brainer win-win affiliation and it's been great for both organizations.Monsters, Blue Jackets extend affiliation
theahl.com
Multi-year extension