FX: Are Canadian teams in trouble again

[FlyguyOX]

The USDCAD is getting very high again, and with escalating tariff wars, it is likely to go higher.

This was extremely bad business for Canadian nhl teams the last few times the exchange rate reached these levels.

Is a team like Winnipeg and other Canadian teams (ottawa) in a perilous position with the current political climate?

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[Golden_Jet]

Nope

 

[Voight]

Those were different economic times. I'm sure Canadian teams will be fine and can weather the storm.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Toronto will be fine, obviously, but it is less clear to me how this might affect a small market like Winnipeg that was killed by the exchange rate last time.

 

[dj4aces]

Is a team like Winnipeg and other Canadian teams (ottawa) in a perilous position with the current political climate?

Short term? No. I don't think any Canadian franchise is in any danger within the next four years. Remember, the CAD has been sitting at ~US$0.73 for CA$1.00 (currently US$0.69) for a little while now, and I don't believe Trump's trade war with allied nations will change that too dramatically.

The issue comes in the long term. Even the franchise owner with the deepest pockets in the league will sustain limited or no growth for only so long before he pulls the plug. Before any oversensitive fan quotes me in protest, telling me how wrong I am and that no team is in any danger, you're right... no team is in any immediate danger. The danger comes after 10+ more years of this economic disparity.

We here on these boards have already heard from other board members how they can't afford to attend a NHL game that, even a few years ago, they could. It is, very much, a warning sign, but the league does have protections in place that would trigger long before the word "relocation" is ever uttered -- even in secret -- by Thomson and/or Andlauer. Just my ~CA$0.03.

 

[FlyguyOX]

Short term? No. I don't think any Canadian franchise is in any danger within the next four years. Remember, the CAD has been sitting at ~US$0.73 for CA$1.00 (currently US$0.69) for a little while now, and I don't believe Trump's trade war with allied nations will change that too dramatically.

The issue comes in the long term. Even the franchise owner with the deepest pockets in the league will sustain limited or no growth for only so long before he pulls the plug. Before any oversensitive fan quotes me in protest, telling me how wrong I am and that no team is in any danger, you're right... no team is in any immediate danger. The danger comes after 10+ more years of this economic disparity.

We here on these boards have already heard from other board members how they can't afford to attend a NHL game that, even a few years ago, they could. It is, very much, a warning sign, but the league does have protections in place that would trigger long before the word "relocation" is ever uttered -- even in secret -- by Thomson and/or Andlauer. Just my ~CA$0.03.

True, and I think the expansion fees from those teams will also help

 

[JianYang]

The USDCAD is getting very high again, and with escalating tariff wars, it is likely to go higher.

This was extremely bad business for Canadian nhl teams the last few times the exchange rate reached these levels.

Is a team like Winnipeg and other Canadian teams (ottawa) in a perilous position with the current political climate?

It's not as bad as the last time because the cba has a revenue sharing system that wasn't around in 90s.

But, when things do get rough, a place like winnipeg is going to have questions first simply because it's a market with borderline nhl viability, regardless.

 

[LPHabsFan]

One other question I'd ask is if the NHL and/or the Canadian teams individually have a current reserve of USD that has been bought at better than current or future prices. I'd hope they would have as I know they've mentioned in the past that they're better prepared for declines in the value of the Canadian dollar.

Also, it's never that simple. Not all expenses are in USD, and not all revenue is in CAD either, so it's not as straightforward as saying they now they have to pay everything in USD while their revenue is in CAD.

 

[eojsmada]

There will be revenue sharing amongst the owners to compensate. I expect the CAD to go up over the next couple of years once there is a governmental change, as well.