Same. That town is still hockey crazy even this many years after the Noriques left.
Too funny. I guess the governor of Connecticut will get a meeting with Bettman and a VIP trip to the conference championships or Stanley Cup, but the Whalers ain’t coming back.
Good on the people of Arizona for turning down more stadium pork. We just built a new stadium for the Oilers, and the city kicked in a huge amount of money from taxpayers. Then they raised ticket prices so high to pay for it all that 99% of taxpayers can’t afford to go.
Tickets in the lower ice section for an Oilers game are now close to $1,000 each. Tickets in the nosebleeds are still a couple hundred bucks. Gone are the days a middle class family could take their kids to a hockey game.
When players are making millions, the league can afford to build their own damned arenas.
They always could. They refuse to because, historically, one city of another has always been willing to get bent over.
One would like the Coyotes saga, happening at the same time the Oakland A’s can’t find anyone to give them a stadium, to maybe signal the end of this bullshit. I doubt it though.
I don’t grasp why Milwaukee isn’t being talked about more, if the team absolutely has to be in the Western conference. Wisconsinites love hockey, and you have built in rivalries with Chicago and Minnesota.
I completely agree. As you know, serious efforts were made to establish an expansion team in Hamilton, and possibly elsewhere in the GTA as well. The Hamilton initiative got no support from Bettman, and I strongly suspect that his cozy relationship with the Leafs organization had a lot to do with it. Bettman has always been obsessed with expansion in the US, anyway, and we see the results today.
I don’t really, either. The University of Wisconsin has long been one of college hockey’s top programs, and has a big following in the state.
If I had to make a guess, it’s that Milwaukee isn’t a big market – its “metropolitan statistical area” (MSA) is only the 40th-largest in the U.S., making it smaller than three of the other ones that dalej42 named: Houston is #5, Kansas City is #31, Portland is #25. Salt Lake City is a smaller market than Milwaukee (it’s at #46).
That said, like the Packers, Brewers, Bucks, and Badgers, a Milwaukee NHL team would have a statewide fan base.
Yeah, when I compared the metro areas, it was immediately evident that it was due to the size of the markets involved. Even if you could have a convincing pitch for a statewide fan base, the whole state of Wisconsin’s population is smaller than the population of the Houston metro area. A successful hockey team could pull fans from the Austin/San Antonio and New Orleans metro areas.
It’s also likely that SLC will draw viewers and fans from far outside the metro area. But, it isn’t a very big corporate headquarters city, perhaps making it hard to fill those luxury suites.
I will have to refresh my knowledge of how the Thrashers ended up in Winnipeg. Great hockey market for fans but I can’t see it adding as much to the NHL bottom line and that’s all that matters.
Getting back to the playoffs, Panthers are now up 2-0. Being a Saturday, I could have stayed up for 4 OT but this one ended early in the 1st OT
The first four games of the conference finals go to overtime, which is probably how it should be. Exciting games, even if I don’t like the outcomes.
And so glad the NHL started the game where the whole country could see it.
Ugh, and so many bad penalties taken by the Stars so far. This game isn’t over, but it sure looks like Dallas’ and Carolina’s job is going to be to do what no one else has done.
I don’t even know what to think about Benn. I was kinda groggy last night but watching it again this morning shows he’s lost his mind.
Benn gets a hearing in front of the Department of Player Safety.
I’m thinking he will be out some games at the start of next season as well as the rest of this series.
Yep, and Domi gets the maximum fine for his slash.
Yeah, we all had the Panthers, who only snuck into the playoffs due to the ineptitude of the Penguins, heading to the Cup Final.
I’ve got to think the Knights win tonight. Let’s get the Finals started.
Well, that was night and day from the last game. The Stars live another day, and it was an excellent game.
I went into last night pretty sure that the Stars were going to be swept. I was a bit deflated by the early Vegas goal but the Stars showed some focus and played a great game.
Winning one is a start. Hopefully some doubts start creeping into Vegas’ game. I’d love it if they win again in Vegas so Benn has a chance to comeback and make up for his stupid brainfart from game 3.
Wow, and again, the Stars live another day. A tight, disciplined game for both sides, but Dallas came out in the luck department. I’m hoping that holds, of course.
And Benn gets his chance at redemption. Another huge game from Robertson. Making sure to get the puck out of the zone late in the game was important.
Dellandrea shows his knack for scoring and along with Glendening, the Stars got some much needed secondary scoring.
Coming home to Dallas with Benn coming back and big MO on our side…It’s going to be great.
Looks like the end for the Stars unless something changes drastically.