USA to Canada. Who Should it Be????

Question

which NHL team would benefit the most from a move from the the US to a hockey town in Canada?? i think the florida panthers would. too little of a hockey market in FL and tampa bay is usually the dominant team there

pitch your ideas!!

Answer 1

You can make an argument for any team, I guess. I even saw St. Louis on someone's list for crying out loud. That's a team that's been around for decades and made the playoffs 20+ years in a row until their recent tough patch. They should move? So basically any team that loses 3 years in a row should consider pulling the plug?

Success in the NHL -defined as attendance and support in the local community- is predicated on victory and entertainment. The Devils have shown us that winning alone is not enough. The team needs to play an exciting style that captures the fancy and wallets of potential fans.

Certain teams (Rangers, Leafs, Canadiens) are exempt from that formula. These teams will sell out their games no matter what. Conversely, that guaranteed gate revenue can serve as a disincentive to assemble the most competitive roster.

Now, look at Florida, the team you suggested should pack its bags. When they made a run to the finals in 96 three years after entering the NHL, no one would have thought relocation would be a suggestion.

10 years later, ill-advised transactions, general mismanagement and poor results on ice have rendered the franchise stagnant. With that said, the Panthers are one good run away from getting their fans back. That is the case with most teams in the league and the nature of sports, in general.

The one team that seems to be the exception to that rule is Nashville. The Preds have put a competitive product on ice. They even have/had big names like Kariya and Forsberg in the lineup with no sustained stimulating effect in attendance.

This may simply be a community that will not embrace hockey, unlike other non-traditional hockey markets like Tampa, Carolina, San Jose, Atlanta et al where winning has worked as the galvanizing factor for support and recognition.

The change in ownership there clearly signals a potential for relocation. Whether the new home will be in Canada or the US remains to be seen.

Answer 2

Florida and Tampa actually arent that horribly bad because especially in the winter months a lot of snowbirds (canadian retirees) are down there and might be catching some hockey games.

Right now the talk is the Basille (owner of RIM) is purchasing Nashville. I think Nashville would be a hard market as far as hockey goes, it is a music town, not hockey.

Plus it all depends on where in Canada they would move the team to and how the market is looking in that area.

Answer 3

Nashville is most *likely* to move; if they can get
out of their lease they're gone. As for which team(s)
should move...

Panthers (to Halifax!)
Islanders (to Winterpeg)
Nashville (to Waterloo/Hamilton)
Coyotes (to Vegas?)
Kings (to KC?)

Maritimers will turn up in Halifax, we'll drive four
hours to see the games if we need to (heck, we
drive to Montreal, Boston and Toronto to see
games already). Snowbirds can go to TB.

Winnipeg *deserves* a team back, they were
screwed under the previous system because it
was a smaller market. Maybe switch around the
Isles and Coyotes moves, give them back the Jets.

The Isles are the weak sibling in NY and draw no
crowds, the Preds have a hardcore but SMALL
fan-base and no corporate support, and nobody in
LA will miss the Kings, so give the team to someone
who might be interested.

It doesn't matter if they all move to Canada or just to
markets where someone will care. I get sick thinking
of how few people give a d*** in places like LA, when
I'd give my firstborn (don't tell my wife) for a team four
hours away!

With the cap and revenue-sharing, the playing field
is leveled (somewhat) for smaller markets. More
importantly, the loonie is just about on par with the
dollar right now, not at 2/3.

Answer 4

I like that Isles idea. Everyone (including me) focuses on the teams like Nashville, Atlanta and Florida, but the Isles play in a crappy arena in front of small crowds and the only reason they won't move is because they have a "tradition" which includes 4 cups so they get cut some slack. And if you look at 2006-07 NHL attendance both the Isles and the Devils are in the bottom 5 so it's not like the New York market is supporting it's 3 teams.

Answer 5

What happened to all the hockey teams in Canada, Oh yeah They got moved because there wasn't enough support for them up there. Corporate season tickets make up 60 to 70 % of season ticket holders in all of the major markets, such as New York, Detroit, even Ottawa. Now that only leaves 30 to 40% of tickets left to fans. Yet Nashville's season ticket base is the exact opposite of that. I'm tired of these people on here that don't know what they are talking about. The attendance problem in Nashville is due to the luxury suites not being sold out. That would come from Corporate money. Not the every day fan.

Answer 6

Nashville, they already proved they aren't a hockey market. The ticket sales of this year will be short-lived and only being done because the sale of the team to a Canadian. I agree the Panthers would be a good move. The Coyotes would be a good move. The LA Kings would be another good move.

Answer 7

moving the panthers to canada would be ok if you can find a hockey market at least a 1/3rd more profitable than florida as the canadian currency is 2/3rds the value of the u.s dollar also belfour and pelotenen might find more friendly drinking establishments lol that would just require the realingment of a few team though but it is feasable

Answer 8

Reality suggests that a move to Canada would be financial suicide, but I'll take a stab at this sans realism.

The New York area can afford to lose a team. It won't be the Rangers, and I'd hate to see the Devils move. The Isles to Winnipeg sounds like a good move to me.

I don't think there should be teams located south of the Mason-Dixon line, so any of these teams will do to place franchises in Hamilton, Halifax, Regina/Saskatoon, Quebec City:

Washington
Atlanta
Carolina
Florida
Tampa Bay
Nashville
Dallas
St. Louis
Phoenix
Los Angeles
Anaheim

Answer 9

I think the Predators will be the Waterloo Blackberries within a season or two. Jim Balsille recently purchased 25 hectares of land in the area. Balsille's partner at RIM gave 100 million $ to the U. of W.-I think maybe Balsille thinks it's time he did something huge for his hometown as well. If the league doesn't like it, their lawyers can have anti-trust law explained to them by Ballsille's lawyers.

Answer 10

AwesomeBill you really think they should move the Blues, Dallas, and Los Angeles? thanks for saying something so blatantly stupid and uninformed so I know to ignore everything you say from now on.