NHL 2021: I Pledge Allegiance to Gritty

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

I'm not shocked.

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

Evander Kane's wife has just publically accused him of gambling on his own games...

https://twitter.com/Bradm14/status/1421593324734099463

Whew it’s getting messy. She’s accused him of cheating on her and has named his mistress, says he’s not paying for stuff for his own kids, and the wife is preggo.

yowzers

[aparch]

He's now come out and said he's been working on divorcing her and she's just bitter.

[joecct]

Quebec City???

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/glendal...-season/sn-amp

[Jimjamesak]

Quebec City???

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/glendal...-season/sn-amp

Houston.

It’s why they moved them to the Central.

[RaceBoarder]

Quebec City???

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/glendal...-season/sn-amp

Portland to give Seattle a whipping boy/rival?

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Yeah, they aren't moving east. Least of all to Quebec.

[MinnesotaNorthStar]

Yeah, they aren't moving east. Least of all to Quebec.

They may move east...just not that far east. Portland or San Diego would really be the only options west of them...

[Jimjamesak]

Portland to give Seattle a whipping boy/rival?

Vancouver will likely fit that role already.

(Poor Vancouver, always the third wheel in the Cascadia rivalry)

[RaceBoarder]

Is the talk about Houston legit? I do not see that working out long term. It'll be very similar to the Panthers I think.

Were the Aero's decent draws when they were there?

[Kepler]

Portland to give Seattle a whipping boy/rival?

I do not believe Portland has the size to support a team at NHL prices, merch sales, and general folderol. It's an extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable market and hockey has deep, deep roots there, but there just are not enough people to make it cost effective.

If we did get a team it would complete an extremely cool corridor from Vancouver to San Jose, rivaling the Acela Corridor in rivalry. The 2 SoCal teams are their own thing and not connected to the PNW culture -- they are spiritually connected to Vegas.

Do you agree, Jim? If we did have that corridor maybe someday we could add Anchorage. It's only going to get more attractive and larger as the heat rises. Who knows, it could be > 1M by 2100.

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Is the talk about Houston legit? I do not see that working out long term. It'll be very similar to the Panthers I think.

Were the Aero's decent draws when they were there?

Similar to Florida, I don't think Texas can support two NHL teams without lots of league welfare. All of the transplants from cold states that continue to pour into Texas every year does help a bit, but obviously they tend to continue to support the teams they grew up with and only show up for games involving their team. Football is king in Texas and you're never going to change that, even if you build a perennial winner there.

If you're looking for a city with a pro sports market that has not yet been fully tapped, a reasonable interest level in hockey (WHL Winterhawks have a good history there), and a built-in rival (Seattle), then I think Portland is it. The problem is that the only suitable arena that I'm aware of is the Trail Blazers' venue, Moda Center, which is owned and operated by the same company that owns the Trail Blazers (all part of Paul Allen's estate/trust). So even if you could work out a tenancy agreement, the Blazers are likely going to insist on having top billing and first rights for scheduling.

I do not believe Portland has the size to support a team at NHL prices, merch sales, and general folderol. It's an extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable market and hockey has deep, deep roots there, but there just are not enough people to make it cost effective.

If we did get a team it would complete an extremely cool corridor from Vancouver to San Jose, rivaling the Acela Corridor in rivalry. The 2 SoCal teams are their own thing and not connected to the PNW culture -- they are spiritually connected to Vegas.

Do you agree, Jim? If we did have that corridor maybe someday we could add Anchorage. It's only going to get more attractive and larger as the heat rises. Who knows, it could be > 1M by 2100.

If the glaciers keep melting at their current pace, Anchorage will be underwater by 2100.

[Kepler]

Similar to Florida, I don't think Texas can support two NHL teams without lots of league welfare. All of the transplants from cold states that continue to pour into Texas every year does help a bit, but obviously they tend to continue to support the teams they grew up with and only show up for games involving their team. Football is king in Texas and you're never going to change that, even if you build a perennial winner there.

If you're looking for a city with a pro sports market that has not yet been fully tapped, a reasonable interest level in hockey (WHL Winterhawks have a good history there), and a built-in rival (Seattle), then I think Portland is it. The problem is that the only suitable arena that I'm aware of is the Trail Blazers' venue, Moda Center, which is owned and operated by the same company that owns the Trail Blazers (all part of Paul Allen's estate/trust). So even if you could work out a tenancy agreement, the Blazers are likely going to insist on having top billing and first rights for scheduling.



If the glaciers keep melting at their current pace, Anchorage will be underwater by 2100.

I thought it was one of those cities like Honolulu where the land rises fast as you move from the beach and most of the city is safe.

I guess they can all move inland to Fairbanks when it was Virginia's climate.

[Kepler]

Similar to Florida, I don't think Texas can support two NHL teams without lots of league welfare. All of the transplants from cold states that continue to pour into Texas every year does help a bit, but obviously they tend to continue to support the teams they grew up with and only show up for games involving their team.

Reminds me of my favorite Kings story. After a couple years of expansion novelty, their attendance plummeted despite some decent teams. The NHL was upset because one reason they chose the city was it had the largest population of ex-pat Canadians in the US, even larger than Chicago. So they did a survey and the result was essentially, "did it ever occur to you why we left?"

[Kepler]

The problem is that the only suitable arena that I'm aware of is the Trail Blazers' venue, Moda Center, which is owned and operated by the same company that owns the Trail Blazers (all part of Paul Allen's estate/trust). So even if you could work out a tenancy agreement, the Blazers are likely going to insist on having top billing and first rights for scheduling.

That building also truly sucks for hockey -- is has everything bad about a modern super-arena and nothing good. Memorial Coliseum, their true hockey venue, is way too small. And the people of Portland are far too smart to support corporate welfare to build some TD Garden eyesore.

I think Portland gets MLB before NHL and never gets MLB.