NHL NEWS Teams
Surely, we hope that Las Vegas will excel within the hockey market, but there’s always the likelihood of the NHL NEWS exploiting other huge hockey markets.
When the NHL NEWS announced that Las Vegas would be the upcoming expansion team, fans across the world were shocked at a number of the opposite possible expansion destinations that weren’t taken into consideration. Surely, we hope that Las Vegas will excel within the hockey market, but there’s always the likelihood of the NHL NEWS exploiting other huge hockey markets within the future.
There are current NHL NEWS teams who simply cannot hold a continuing attendance. These teams suffer financially because it is tough to generate revenue if the tickets aren’t selling. By taking some of these teams with little attendance and relocating them to a new city, the market for that particular team can grow exponentially.
A lot of factors need to be taken into consideration in determining future relocation or expansion. Firstly, the town of choice must have an appropriate NHL NEWS-ready arena so as for the team to truly play the sport of hockey. We have heard many complaints on the standard of the ice from certain players that play on a number of these low attendance teams, therefore, the stage would have to be fairly new or renovated thoroughly. Secondly, there needs to be some type of demand for a hockey team in that particular area.
The NHL NEWS doesn’t want another team with low attendance. Having more teams that can fill in 20,000 seats on any given night is beneficial for both the city, as well as the business side of things for the NHL NEWS. There is much potential, especially in North America where the sport of hockey is nearly sort of a religion for a few fans.
Back around 1983 or ’84, when Bob Johnson was coaching the Calgary Flames, he had a fascination with the town of Phoenix. He liked it for the climate, the warmth, and geography. Once or twice a year, Badger Bob would come up to me and George Johnson, my writing counterpart at the Calgary Sun – and in that big, booming theatrical voice of his, would loudly predict that at some point, there’d be an NHL NEWS team in Phoenix. Badger would then lean in close and – in a much lower voice – predict that he would coach the team and that he intended to bring George and me along as his writers. Usually, that would be our cue. The three of us would howl like the witches at the start of Macbeth, before collectively bursting out in laughter at the absurdity of the notion.
An NHL NEWS team in Phoenix? Dream on. And then we’d go back to our regularly scheduled business, trudging through a cold northern winter in a traditional hockey city.zx
Cities That Should Have an NHL NEWS Team
Hockey is not a regional sport. That’s an unfair label slapped on the sport in the United States.
Hockey is more than, say, Minnesota’s sport. More than Canada’s sport.
Case in point, the Vegas Golden Knights. In their expansion season, they captured the imagination of sports fans everywhere by going to the Stanley Cup Final. During the playoffs, Golden Knights games became the hottest ticket in Sin City.
At the instant, the NHL NEWS doesn’t have plans to expand after 2024. Vegas was the league’s 31st franchise, while Seattle is scheduled to hit the ice in 2024.
But the relocation of a pre-existing NHL NEWS team is usually an opportunity for future hockey hotbeds.
If the NHL NEWS is often a blockbuster within the desert, it is often popular anywhere. All you need is a fresh sheet of ice.
With that in mind, the NHL NEWS should consider putting teams in these 24 cities.
The NHL NEWS has not only failed once in Atlanta. It’s failed twice here.
The Flames played in Atlanta from 1972 to 1980 before moving to Calgary. The Thrashers lasted from 1999 to 2011 before moving to Winnipeg.
But Atlanta remains a top 10 North American metropolitan area population. That’s always going to be tempting.
It’s also worth noting that Atlanta has never enjoyed a successful NHL NEWS team. In 19 years of NHL NEWS action, the city has seen just two playoff victories.
