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Around the NHL XIII: Off Season Edition

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The Brooklyn hipster meme is overdone. Most Nets fans are people who have lived in Brooklyn their whole life who went to the Nets because the Knicks suck (and because the Nets have cool hats.) The Isles are awful and the Rangers have had their most success since the early 90s in the past few years, so I don't see many Brooklyners getting siphoned off to the Isles.
 
probably true, but the Islanders are tailor made for that demographic: obscure team in obscure sport; vintage look; huge 80's success; bright colors; have sucked for 20 years. :laugh:
 
Aufheben said:
probably true, but the Islanders are tailor made for that demographic: obscure team in obscure sport; vintage look; huge 80's success; bright colors; have sucked for 20 years. :laugh:
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But do you think they'll actually go to games? I don't think there are dudes from Williamsburg or the new-Bushwick who are gonna go down to Atlantic Ave to see the ****ing Islanders after the first season.

I think it's cool because I think the Barclay's Center is really nice and I'll be able to go see Rangers-Isles for cheaper than at the Garden and save 20+ minutes on commute. But if KC or Seattle came calling, the smart move would be to give the franchise to them.
 
BlueshirtBlitz said:
But do you think they'll actually go to games? I don't think there are dudes from Williamsburg or the new-Bushwick who are gonna go down to Atlantic Ave to see the ****ing Islanders after the first season.

I think it's cool because I think the Barclay's Center is really nice and I'll be able to go see Rangers-Isles for cheaper than at the Garden and save 20+ minutes on commute. But if KC or Seattle came calling, the smart move would be to give the franchise to them.
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No not really, I'm just havin' a laugh at the Isles' expense. :laugh:
 
One would have to imagine that the Islanders would have some appeal to the Russian community in Brooklyn. In fact, I think Kulemin mentioned this as one of the reasons for signing with the Islanders.
 
OverTheCap said:
One would have to imagine that the Islanders would have some appeal to the Russian community in Brooklyn. In fact, I think Kulemin mentioned this as one of the reasons for signing with the Islanders.
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I've yet to meet a single Brooklyn Russian that follows the NHL or even the KHL. I've given up trying to find one.

Russian communities are a draw for the players. But I'm not certain that teams are a draw for the communities.
 
What happens if the Isles are competitive and or fun ?

Also NBA Warriors are getting an arena in sizzling hot San Francisco. A team there wouldnt hurt the Sharks draw, though it would tv revenue.
 
ElectrocutedCat said:
Relocation or expansion?

Relocation: Islanders to Seattle. 15 East, 15 West. A team from the Pacific will have to move to the Central.

Expansion to 32: Seattle (Pacific) and Kansas City (Central). 16 East, 16 West. 32. More money for NHL. Expansion fees. Hype. 164 extra regular season games.

Kansas City has the arena, hosts Pre-season games. Has the NHL history (Scouts). Seattle will get an arena. Metropolitans. The history is there. Get an NBA team and NHL team.
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Really the only team that has any chance of relocating in 10 years is Ottawa, not the Islanders with Arizona as a close 2nd.
 
Ok upon further review it appears the Panthers may well be a candidate for relocation.
 
As long as Panthers ownership is tied with arena management, they aren't going anywhere. The team is basically a loss leader for big profits from other events.
 
ElectrocutedCat said:
Relocation or expansion?

Relocation: Islanders to Seattle. 15 East, 15 West. A team from the Pacific will have to move to the Central.

Expansion to 32: Seattle (Pacific) and Kansas City (Central). 16 East, 16 West. 32. More money for NHL. Expansion fees. Hype. 164 extra regular season games.

Kansas City has the arena, hosts Pre-season games. Has the NHL history (Scouts). Seattle will get an arena. Metropolitans. The history is there. Get an NBA team and NHL team.
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it'll be expansion...they set it up during reallignment to add 2 teams in the west in the next few years to make it 16 in each. they could have easily made it 15/15 by leaving columbus in the west.

as has been discussed a million times, the league could probably use less teams and would certainly benefit from moving teams out of bad markets to better ones...but it will all come down to the expansion fees. the owners won't pass on pocketing $1+ billion in cash for letting those 2 teams in
 
Aufheben said:
What if cats had opposable thumbs?
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Looking at the young talent they have and the vets they added, it's not that outlandish a thought. I could see them challenging for the playoffs this year given a healthy season.
 
Aufheben said:
probably true, but the Islanders are tailor made for that demographic: obscure team in obscure sport; vintage look; huge 80's success; bright colors; have sucked for 20 years. :laugh:
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The hipsters?

It's true.

But are they interested enough in hockey to spend the money on tickets?

My angle on this is that it was bad for the Islanders (and Nassau) to allow the Islanders to move a couple of miles outside of Manhattan and potentially alienate a portion of their fan base.

It's not just the 15K capacity. Its the 15K capacity plus other factors, are Islanders fans further east going to make the trek, are they going to steal Brooklyn hockey fans from the Rangers? No. Are they going to convert non-hockey fans? With a team that doesn't get to the playoffs? No.

Winnipeg had the fan base already.

Quebec City even has the fan base, even though that one is risky.

Seattle is a sports crazed city.

The Islanders are playing with fire, IMO. Once the shine of the Barklay's Center wears off, and they aren't packing an already low capacity arena, then what?

Winning talks.
 
ElectrocutedCat said:
Ottawa? Why?
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I could see them moving. They don't have a big fan base because they're an expansion team stuck between Toronto and Montreal. Plus, they appear to have financial issues, although that may be tied with ownership more than their market.
 
ElectrocutedCat said:
The hipsters?

It's true.

But are they interested enough in hockey to spend the money on tickets?

My angle on this is that it was bad for the Islanders (and Nassau) to allow the Islanders to move a couple of miles outside of Manhattan and potentially alienate a portion of their fan base.

It's not just the 15K capacity. Its the 15K capacity plus other factors, are Islanders fans further east going to make the trek, are they going to steal Brooklyn hockey fans from the Rangers? No. Are they going to convert non-hockey fans? With a team that doesn't get to the playoffs? No.

Winnipeg had the fan base already.

Quebec City even has the fan base, even though that one is risky.

Seattle is a sports crazed city.

The Islanders are playing with fire, IMO. Once the shine of the Barklay's Center wears off, and they aren't packing an already low capacity arena, then what?

Winning talks.
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Do you know how difficult it is to get to Nassau Coliseum? It'll be far, far easier for fans to get to the Barclay's, especially by public transportation, which is hardly even an option for the Coliseum.
 
ElectrocutedCat said:
The hipsters?

It's true.

But are they interested enough in hockey to spend the money on tickets?

My angle on this is that it was bad for the Islanders (and Nassau) to allow the Islanders to move a couple of miles outside of Manhattan and potentially alienate a portion of their fan base.

It's not just the 15K capacity. Its the 15K capacity plus other factors, are Islanders fans further east going to make the trek, are they going to steal Brooklyn hockey fans from the Rangers? No. Are they going to convert non-hockey fans? With a team that doesn't get to the playoffs? No.

Winnipeg had the fan base already.

Quebec City even has the fan base, even though that one is risky.

Seattle is a sports crazed city.

The Islanders are playing with fire, IMO. Once the shine of the Barklay's Center wears off, and they aren't packing an already low capacity arena, then what?

Winning talks.
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And fortunately for them, it looks like they are close to being a legitimate playoff team. Maybe not a contender...but they have talent and more on the way. What they did for the last 20 years is mostly irrelevant going forward...if they play well they'll draw.

Bleed Ranger Blue said:
Do you know how difficult it is to get to Nassau Coliseum? It'll be far, far easier for fans to get to the Barclay's, especially by public transportation, which is hardly even an option for the Coliseum.
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Exactly. People are counting them out...saying the franchise is done in NY. I've seen enough to now know that the opposite of what people think is just as likely to occur. Let's see what happens over the next couple of years...my bet is they do just fine in Brooklyn.
 
Islanders will draw fine against the Rangers, Penguins, Flyers, Blackhawks, Kings, etc.

The real challenge for them is, what happens when the Preds or Flames come in on a random weekday in early February? That will be the telling sign.

Barclays is a nice arena but the upper seats are very uncomfortable. People joked about Fenway Park, but Barclays upper seats are much worse. No fun and at a very weird angle.

That team does have talent though. They have a nice core. Halak is the biggest wildcard that he's the undisputed starter, as are Reindhart and Pullock.

As for Seattle..been saying it for years. There's history. First US team to win the Cup was in Seattle back in the early 1900s. They can build a museum about it. They've had a junior team in the Western league since the late 70s. Natural rival with the Canucks (think Rangers-Flyers) and Cali teams. They've been dying for a Sonics replacement. And throw in Gretzky as an ambassador? It makes too much sense.

It won't be the Islanders. It'll have to be either an expansion team (bad idea) or one of Florida, Arizona, Columbus, Nashville, or even the Devils.
 
McRanger said:
I've yet to meet a single Brooklyn Russian that follows the NHL or even the KHL. I've given up trying to find one.

Russian communities are a draw for the players. But I'm not certain that teams are a draw for the communities.
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I have a close friend who married a Russian and lives in Brighton. I've met a few Russian Rangers fans there as well as ones who follow the NHL more generally because of the Russian players such as Ovechkin, Malkin, etc.

But you're right in the sense that the area is not exactly a hockey hotbed teeming with fans. However, if the Islanders do a good job of marketing the team, continue to attract Russian players, and are fairly successful on the ice, I think there is potential for growth.
 
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