CreaseAndAssist Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 On 8/1/2020 at 5:34 PM, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: Probably. But then again, think of all the "drinking angles" they could market as well... Well I thought I saw an add that has already stated that the Kraken black spiced Rum is already a sponsor of theirs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WordsOfWisdom Posted August 9, 2020 Share Posted August 9, 2020 1 hour ago, CreaseAndAssist said: I think everyone but the Panthers know this. The Panthers and Mr. "I choose to make less than max money for the league" Gary Bettman. If you look at the cities that either didn't have teams until very recently or that still don't have teams: Quebec City, Seattle, Minneapolis, Hartford, etc...... and you look at the places that currently have teams (or had teams very recently): Phoenix, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Nashville, Florida, Carolina, etc..... it really seems as though the commissioner wants to put NHL franchises everywhere that doesn't have snow in the winter time and where people can't find skates in retail stores and can't find a rink anywhere to save their life. IF hockey is going to work in the long run, it's going to work in locations where the climate is suitable to playing hockey outdoors, not just indoors. It needs to be in the culture. Everywhere else it's just a short term gimmick. Fans watch because it's like Circue de Soleil. It's a show. It's something new. It's entertaining for a year or two, and then you get tired of it because it doesn't stick. (Not in the culture.) Why the league doesn't try as hard to make hockey work in Quebec City or Hartford as they've done in Phoenix and Florida is beyond me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Quebec IMO is still the obvious choice. Hartford would be a 2nd choice. A reboot of the Nordiques or Whalers would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 2 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said: Quebec IMO is still the obvious choice. Hartford would be a 2nd choice. A reboot of the Nordiques or Whalers would be great. Though I'm living in QC City and that would be fine to have NHL games back there, I don't think it does make sense for the League to have a team back here for several reasons. Franchise market The NHL would not only have the smallest market in the League, but a french one which is a serious drawback when it comes to market the franchise. The amount of revenue would quickly reach the ceiling with little to no room for improvement. I know the Jets also have a small market but they have a more centered location with passionate fans. In Québec we are not only isolated on the side of the taiga, the mentality is quite different. If the team isn't immediately competitive, the interest will quickly fade in a population that has already turned into Canadiens or Bruins fans, especially for the new generation. Politics There is no other franchise in the NHL that is more glued to politics as a potential one in QC city. I t was already the case back in 1995 when the government was directly asked to fund a giant project that would have kept the Nordiques in Québec (for how long? Not much IMO) but the deal fell apart. I'm not comfortable with the idea of taxpayers saving their pro sports team at 100%. Now the boss of Québécor (the owner of the new arena and the eventual franchise) is a pro Québec sovereignty, ran for prime minister and is the direct concurrent of TVA and Rogers, who have the broadcasting rights of all NHL games. Like Pepsi vs. Coca-Cola. Not an ideal situation. And the least thing that the League wants is political involvement. Rivalry The return of the Habs-Nordiques rivalry was often mentioned at a time when the NHL wants to build as much rivalries as possible, but both teams have only met for 16 years. The true natural rivalries are Habs-Leafs and Habs-Bruins as part of the original 6 teams. Again, these games would only draw attention in the QC province and not elsewhere, which again means less money in the League's pockets. Marketing When The Golden Knights and more recently the Kraken were announced. The amount of merchandising efforts and items are generating millions of dollars. Seattle won't play before 2021-2022 but they are already selling a lot of stuff. Would it be the same for an eventual Nordiques 2.0? I doubt it. Outside of the Québec province, they won't draw much of attention and enthusiasm except for some nerds and nostalgic hockey fans. And the objective of the League is, for and foremost, make as much money as possible. Buttman & Co. of course didn't say it that way, but it was obvious from the very beginning of the expansion process that they were cold as ice with the idea for having QC City back in the League, and for a lot of good reasons. I think they correctly did their homework on that folder. Unless an extraordinary set-up of circumstances beyond any logic, QC City won't have the NHL back. With Seattle, all four divisions will be perfectly balanced and from now on, any potential move will be avoided as much as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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