League Business

[Topper]

I read over the weekend something about the old Coyotes owner backing our of all land deals and stepping away from Hockey.

Looks like that shitshow is over, and the Utah Sister-Wives will be a long lasting franchise!

Did you not read the OP?

[Madcombinepilot]

I read over the weekend something about the old Coyotes owner backing our of all land deals and stepping away from Hockey.

Looks like that shitshow is over, and the Utah Sister-Wives will be a long lasting franchise!

Did you not read the OP?

I surely did not. I just figured you posted some anti Sedin stuff.

[Raile]

I read over the weekend something about the old Coyotes owner backing our of all land deals and stepping away from Hockey.

Looks like that shitshow is over, and the Utah Sister-Wives will be a long lasting franchise!

Did you not read the OP?

I surely did not. I just figured you posted some anti Sedin stuff.

[Cornuck]

Multiple sources tell Elliotte Friedman that the Tampa Bay Lightning have begun a multi-stage sale process that will value the team at close to $2 billion.

[Strangelove]

https://x.com/andystrickland/status/1836768357036568980

Andy Strickland
@andystrickland

NHL Owners will be meeting soon to approve the expansion opening. Leading candidates/ownership groups are believed to be Fertitta in Houston and Krause in Atlanta. #NHLexpansion #NHL

7:04 AM · Sep 19, 2024

Please no.

No more watering down the talent level.

Fucking billionaire owners just can't resist that easy money though.

I see people saying they don't mind going to 34-36 teams eventually.

[Strangelove]

^ Also, I HATE expansion drafts... and just when we were getting some depth too.

[BoS]

^ Also, I HATE expansion drafts... and just when we were getting some depth too.

No kidding. Losing any of Woo, Brisbois or Klimovich would be devestating.

Joking aside. I don’t want to see expansion for at least another 4-6 years. 2 teams per decade should be the limit.

[Blob Mckenzie]

Has Vancouver ever lost a decent player in an Expansion Draft? Garry Valk maybe??? I remember the hair fires a few years ago about the potential of losing Markus Granlund to Vegas. The bed pissers hair infernos had to be spanked out with their urine soaked jeans. ''Twas a messy time. They lost Kole Lind to Seattle. Big deal.

The league is the league I guess. They may be able to withstand it being a watered down product, but there's some teams that aren't exactly killing it in their markets. So Atlanta Part 3? They just bounced the Yotes after a dog and pony show for a decade. Winnipeg is struggling. Let's try and fix the teams that need fixing and relocate the ones that are unfixable.

But the players want the jobs, the owners want the expansion fees and they'll squeeze JSP for every last dollar from board and ice ads, to crests on the jerseys, to gambling. As Gordon Gecko said Greed is Good.

***EDIT***
Vancouver did lose Scott Walker and Steve Staois who were useful hard nosed players. They also for some reason had to hang onto Kay Whitmore and then traded for JVB and handed Florida an elite netminder. Pat Quinn bluffed himself off the stage. I think that's the same summer, or perhaps a year after where Paddy left Igor Larionov unprotected (even though he was playing in Switzerland, he was still Vancouver property), to protect Tom Fergus. Some dumb moves for sure.

Nobody is reporting this other than Strick. He's one of the best in the business so it's a bit concerning. He's no Dhaliwal or Friedman.

[Meds]

https://x.com/andystrickland/status/1836768357036568980

Andy Strickland
@andystrickland

NHL Owners will be meeting soon to approve the expansion opening. Leading candidates/ownership groups are believed to be Fertitta in Houston and Krause in Atlanta. #NHLexpansion #NHL

7:04 AM · Sep 19, 2024

Please no.

No more watering down the talent level.

Fucking billionaire owners just can't resist that easy money though.

I see people saying they don't mind going to 34-36 teams eventually.

^ Also, I HATE expansion drafts... and just when we were getting some depth too.

No doubt.

Just going by attendance, consider moving Winnipeg, Buffalo, or San Jose, to one of these other cities first. IIrc, attendance figures usually reflect sold tickets and don't factor the actual asses in seats.....

The Jets, a team with something of a cult following, cannot even fill a 16,345 seat arena. They averaged 13,490 last season, down from 14,045 the year before, and they boasted an embarrassing 12,716 in 2021-22. I think it's time to just accept that Winnipeg, while a hockey town, is economically incapable of being a NHL city.

Buffalo has shown steady decline since 2017. COVID kicked them in the ass and they haven't recovered. The Sabers are the Oilers of the USA, brutal development despite high picks that saw them take good players. They are below 16,000 in an arena that can handle 19,000. They've been in the league for over 50 years though, so pulling the pin now may be considered bad form, however the reality is that Buffalo is a city of 276,000 people, (smaller than Halifax and Quebec City) and in a state with 2 other NHL teams. Their owner has deep pockets and pull in the pro sports arena having been the longtime owner of the Buffalo Bills, and when he purchased the Sabers he also acquired the NLL Bandits as well as the AHL Rochester Americans. Moving Buffalo would be a tough sell.....however Terry is out and Kim is now in control, so who knows, she may want to divest of an underachieving brand.

San Jose hasn't hit 14,000 fans in attendance for the past 3 years. While they are a team that was in decline the past few years, and now starting their rebuild, that's subpar. They have steadily been declining in attendance since 2016. They were a big draw for a while though, and because of their current state (rebuilding) it's reasonable to wait and see.

[Strangelove]

Has Vancouver ever lost a decent player in an Expansion Draft?

***EDIT***
Vancouver did lose Scott Walker and Steve Staois who were useful hard nosed players. They also for some reason had to hang onto Kay Whitmore and then traded for JVB and handed Florida an elite netminder. Pat Quinn bluffed himself off the stage. I think that's the same summer, or perhaps a year after where Paddy left Igor Larionov unprotected (even though he was playing in Switzerland, he was still Vancouver property), to protect Tom Fergus. Some dumb moves for sure.

Yes...

Lost Pat Quinn in the 1972 expansion draft (Atlanta Flames) (you were still in diapers kid)
Lost John Vanbiesbrouck in 1993 (Florida Panthers)
Lost Scott Walker in 1998 (Nashville Predators) (I remember you and I complaining about that one)
Lost Steve Staios in 1999 (Atlanta Thrashers)


Yeah, I'd rather they moved a couple of teams instead, but the owners want those expansion fees.

Rumours saying that price has risen to $2B - $2.5B now.

Owners get to split all of that by the way, players get nada.

But as you said Blob, extra jobs are created for the players.

[Tciso]

Little lead hands Scotty Walker was a solid player. I wish we had kept him.

[BCExpat]

maybe one of the new expansion teams will take Huberdeau from the Flames

[Strangelove]

maybe one of the new expansion teams will take Huberdeau from the Flames

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6KC0PAvJZw

[BCExpat]

maybe one of the new expansion teams will take Huberdeau from the Flames

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6KC0PAvJZw

One can hope can't they?

[Hockey Widow]

maybe one of the new expansion teams will take Huberdeau from the Flames

Depends. Does he have a NMC? If so he has to be protected.