FanNation - The Republic of Sport

thebasketballguru said 08/28, 09:32 PM
Well we desperatley need to get teams out of the Sun Belt and South desperatly(except for Dallas of course). So here are 3 Cities that sould make sense if the NHL decides to relocate/expand

1. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Well the last time we saw the NHL play in Winnipeg was back in the 90s when they had an inadequete facility and the owners wanted to move to the new frontier of Phoneix Arizona and gamble that there was enough senior citizens there from Canada that they could fill the joint. Well we know how that worked and now Winnipeg has built a new arena(the MTS Centre) and has grown in population, we know the citizens of that fine prairie town wantsw there team back, we should give it to them.

2. Quebec City, Canada

Well yet another Canadian team that relocated in the 90's. This fine Quebec town supported the IIHF World Champions this year and even the games without the prescence of Canada sold greatly. The Le Collise is still in great shape and they as well have a great fan bas as the Francophones love their hockiey and most dispise the historicly Anglophone Canadiens from Montreal.

3. Las Vegas, Nevada

Continued in second arguement

thebasketballguru said 08/28, 11:20 PM
So it is Windsor vs. Quebec

Here is the main problem with a team in Windsor:

There are teams in Toronto, Ottawa, and Detroit, so I do not see those three teams being pleased with that idea.

If you move a third team to Ontario, which never should happen by the way, it should be in Hamilton, they have Copps Colosieum and they have an owner in place who wants a team there. The guy CEO of Blackberry wants to move a team there.

Quebec City seems like the best option if they relocate two teams to Canada. The built in rivalry with Montreal is a bonus, plus they will have those killer powder blue jerseys that everyone would love.

If they find a way to make Vancouver to travel to Florida I am pretty sure the schedule makers will accomadate with Quebec City, maybe a Eastern Canada swing of Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto, extending to about a week in a half?

Windsor is just to close to 3 very popular NHL teams, I am sorry Windsor residents, but you will likely always have to travel to Detroit for your NHL fix.

thebasketballguru said 08/29, 08:44 PM
Windsor is not a great location for a NHL team either.

Think of it this way.

If there are 3 teams making serious dough in one general area of North America, why dilute the market with another team? I am sure Windsor loves hockey and the Spitfires are one of the biggest draws in the OHL, but is an OHL arena really up to NHL standards?

Le Collise was the home of the original Nordiques and just hosted the IIHF World Hockey Championships, one of the most succesful tourneys to date and they filled the seats.

Also Quebec City has a long hockey history and bad management was the downfall of the franchise not putting buts in the seats. I am fairly sure if Quebec City got its team back they would support it even more than the last reincarnation. There should be at least two teams in Quebec as there is two in Alberta and Ontario already.

Windsor is a great place for minor hockey and I am sure they love the sport and dream of an NHL team but they are behind such cites or states as:

Washington(state) or Oregon
Wisconsin
Hamilton, Ontario
and other pipe dreams

They are definitley not in the top 3 cities that make sense, but they are in the top 10 for sure.