Around the League - 2023 Offseason Edition

[UncleRisto]

Relocate the Ice Hogs to Honolulu. The logo is otherwise the same except this one is roasted with X's for eyes and an apple in its mouth.

 

[ABasin]

A Western team ain't going to the East. Quebec City's best bet is probably Florida Panthers, but they got stable ownership, which means that Columbus might be the next option, but I think the owner is very happy with the team (not the results obviously).

Meh, toss Columbus to the Western Conference (no one would care) and then relocate Arizona to Quebec and the balance is still in place. Could be Detroit moving West, but they'll never do that.

So the league would basically be A) The Eastern seaboard plus Detroit, and B) Everything West of there.

 

[BaconNater]

Bring the Coyotes to Green Bay

 

[The Abusement Park]

I want Quebec to have a team as much as everyone else but I just don’t think the NHL will let it happen. Obviously a rabid fanbase there but I imagine the league will want a market that has more opportunity for growth which Quebec seems limited compared to other places.

 

[The Kingslayer]

I want Quebec to have a team as much as everyone else but I just don’t think the NHL will let it happen. Obviously a rabid fanbase there but I imagine the league will want a market that has more opportunity for growth which Quebec seems limited compared to other places.

I can see why they wont want to but NHL hockey in Quebec City just feels right.

 

[Pokecheque]

I'm guessing we'll be seeing the Houston Aeros (again) someday but I still feel like Gary ain't gonna admit defeat just yet.

 

[Balthazar]

 

[Gruyeriev]

The Alabama Alligators has a nice ring to it

 

[The Abusement Park]

The Alabama Alligators has a nice ring to it

What about the Montgomery Mud Pies?

 

[Grackle Party]

Why can’t the Yotes play in the Suns arena?

 

[Pokecheque]

Naturally the Rangers would opt for the most recycled guy in the league.

I dunno...Babcock might actually be an okay choice for NY but holy shit if fans thought Gallant was hard on Lafrieniere...

If Rocky Thompson wasn't a complete moron he'd already have a head coaching gig.

 

[Pokecheque]

What about the Montgomery Mud Pies?

Bah, forget Alabama and bring back the Kentucky Thoroughblades!

EDIT: Once again, I f***ing hate this post merger bullshit.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

I'm guessing we'll be seeing the Houston Aeros (again) someday but I still feel like Gary ain't gonna admit defeat just yet.

Bettman calling the Leafs today: "I really, really, really need you guys to trade Matthews to ARI TODAY. I'll owe you one. Thanks."

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Yotes will go to Salt Lake City and I think it happens even before next year starts. They've got an arena that while it needs some reno's for sure, it would likely suffice for a year in the meantime to get the move done this summer and get that franchise back playing in front of 15000+ fans again.

The Utah Jazz owner mentioned not long ago that "Things are already in motion" for him to get an NHL team to Salt Lake and realistically the only thing that makes sense regarding him saying that was the Coyotoes relocation if/when Tempe failed.


That's where I'd hedge my bets. Arizona goes to Utah, and then within the next ~5-6 years we see expansion yet again with Houston and Atlanta getting brand new franchises. The expansion money is just too good for the league right now and both Houston and Atlanta have ownership groups that want in(A big difference for Atlanta this time around versus the last attempt).

 

[The Moops]

Yotes will go to Salt Lake City and I think it happens even before next year starts. They've got an arena that while it needs some reno's for sure, it would likely suffice for a year in the meantime to get the move done this summer and get that franchise back playing in front of 15000+ fans again.

The Utah Jazz owner mentioned not long ago that "Things are already in motion" for him to get an NHL team to Salt Lake and realistically the only thing that makes sense regarding him saying that was the Coyotoes relocation if/when Tempe failed.


That's where I'd hedge my bets. Arizona goes to Utah, and then within the next ~5-6 years we see expansion yet again with Houston and Atlanta getting brand new franchises. The expansion money is just too good for the league right now and both Houston and Atlanta have ownership groups that want in(A big difference for Atlanta this time around versus the last attempt).

Interesting take. I figured Houston would be in line first... I think SLC is more focused on getting an MLB team. Would be a huge heist to grab 2 pro teams in one year if they can pull off either

 

[S E P H]

Interesting take. I figured Houston would be in line first... I think SLC is more focused on getting an MLB team. Would be a huge heist to grab to pro teams in one year if they can pull off either

Nah, the owner of the Jazz has publically declared he wants an NHL team. Not sure how wealthy he is but Arizona being around 500 million is a lot easier to handle than other sports teams.

Milwaukee and Kansas City are others, but are more mentioned due to having NHL-level facilities. Houston is mentioned because the bloke who owns the Rockets also declared he was wanting to bring hockey to the area.

The one that gets severely underrated is Portland, Paul Allen is megalodon rich and mentioned multiple times he would love a hockey team but does not want an expansion team (which prevented him from being an owner in the past since NHL was more focused on expanding to 32 teams).

 

[LOFIN]

Some reasons for why the league would opt to go SLC now instead of Houston:
- The league wants this situation resolved quickly, and SLC might be willing to move now with the terms the NHL gives them.
- The league wants to retain the option for bigger dollars with an expansion regarding Houston.

 

[Avs_19]

Not too surprising because of the timing but as I said last night, I also wouldn't put it past them to try to keep them there going forward. This is the worst run league with the worst commissioner, whose ego may not allow him to admit defeat. He has an easy out too to just blame it on others who voted against it.

 

[Pokecheque]

Yeah they ain't giving up, of course they aren't. They won't until there's no other recourse.

They still have one more year at least in Mullett what the plans are after that, who knows.

 

[Markster]

Why can’t the Yotes play in the Suns arena?

They used to. But then they decided to stop paying their rent.

 

[Grigowski]

Get this team out of Arizona asap...and get Bettman out of the league...That bullshit is all on him....

 

[S E P H]

1. Opposition campaign booted out from the jump with the misinformation campaign. They had some extremely wealth California based Unions financially backing them, after said unions were not chosen by Meruelo to build the arena (Meuerlo wanted local union workers to build the arena district).

Minsinfo, combined with millions of dollars worth of money won out ... especially with Meruelo and co. only spending about $250k to activate the vote for the arena.

2. No. It's not suited for hockey. There were obstructed seats way back when they played downtown, which would come into play now. The franchise was barely breaking even when they played at America West the first few years they were here; same thing would happen now.

1. No real taxpayer money involved. This is the same city that built an old folks home next to a concert venue, the old folks complained and got the venue closed. Old people vote there and they like the idea that they're this quiet little community. Coyotes didn't spend enough to activate other voters

2. There's like 5k obstructed view seats there. Suns owner owns both the Suns and Mercury, its just not that great of a situation to go there. They probably could pay the Suns owner but that'd be a pretty raw deal more than likely. The Suns owner is new so it's possible he would be more open to something than the previous owner but it isn't likely

Asked some questions in the HFCoyotes and got these responses.

 

[Ceremony]

Mike Babcock did so well in the high pressure, high expectation environment of Toronto I'm sure he'd be just marvellous as coach of the New York Rangers in 2023.

 

[John Mandalorian]

Nah, the owner of the Jazz has publically declared he wants an NHL team. Not sure how wealthy he is but Arizona being around 500 million is a lot easier to handle than other sports teams.

Milwaukee and Kansas City are others, but are more mentioned due to having NHL-level facilities. Houston is mentioned because the bloke who owns the Rockets also declared he was wanting to bring hockey to the area.

The one that gets severely underrated is Portland, Paul Allen is megalodon rich and mentioned multiple times he would love a hockey team but does not want an expansion team (which prevented him from being an owner in the past since NHL was more focused on expanding to 32 teams).

Paul Allen died in 2018. Also, a potential roadblock to Portland is its geographic proximity to Seattle, San Jose, and Vancouver. There’s likely going to be a concern of the parties involved of cannibalizing one another’s fan bases and TV deals. This would especially be true with Seattle who was in year 2 and is still trying to cultivate a following.

 

[Reparlana]

How could Morales be outspent in a campaign when he has so much to gain by this.

By all intents and purposes this sounded like a slam dunk, yikes.