Sorry to all the Hamiltonians that may have had high hopes (and I don't attend many games admittedly) but I do go, and am glad they are still here for at least one more season.

Hockey in the desert is a very good thing imo.

How many games did you go to last year?

How many do you plan on attending this year?

Hockey in the desert is ridiculous, Scott.

A team in Stratford (population 30,000) would do better.

.

I'm planning on going December 26th, figure watch the Kings play before they move.

I think we should pit Scott(Arizona) vs Rose(Hamilton) in a debate to see who wins the franchise

I think you should do this in GenPo.

good idea..when i get time later

I really wish Scott would come back and actually answer my original question.

I think they'd do better in Winnipeg

Well, not trying to dig or rub it in etc. but where else am I supposed to post this news? lol. This franchise is in trouble here for sure and I have a feeling it is only a matter of time before it will head back north.


Last season I only went to see the Red Wings. last Dec. and then again in Jan of this year. on a side note, I used to go to all the Wings games back in the day (1975 thru 80) when I lived just north of Detroit (Rochester). Dad was connected and we had box seats to every damn game. Moved away in '80 and never was near hockey anymore or a place that showed it on TV back then (Arkansas, then Arizona) so I slowly lost interest in the game. Then when we got the franchise it was cool again, but I was into many other things by then, and never into the Yotes really.

Went to several games each year when they got here in the late '90's and it's wained ever since. 07-08 I went to maybe 10 games? We used to go to a lot of the Roadrunners games here too a ways back. I don't know anyone anymore who is really into hockey here now. My brother and I used to go but he moved away, and I'm not going to go by myself. Typically it was the other teams that we used to go see.


I dunno...I really wasn't trying to be a dick or anything, I just think it is cool to have them here still.

it'll be sad to see them leave, but from a business standpoint I totally get it.

apparently the NHL doesnt see it that way..They turned away a boatload of money to stay and lose $35 mill a year.

I wasn't really implying anything for you personally, Scott. I wanted to make the point that you were a typical "hockey fan" in Phoenix. I forgot you were a Wings fan from before. Nonetheless, it's really easy to care about the team when they're about to move them, but where were "you" during the season, the seats were empty for years, but now everyone is all concerned about the Coyotes? It's bullshit. If there were fans that cared in the first place, this team wouldn't be losing $70 million per year in a salary cap era.

So what if the team is losing now? They're going through a rebuild and have a LOT of great young talent. That is a great team to go watch.

The fact of the matter is, this team has no support on the ice, and very little support off the ice now that there is the threat of moving. I don't understand why they're trying to keep them in Phoenix.

Makes you wonder how much teams (like the Leafs) are paying for territorial rights.

Agree and guilty as charged. I really should go more. Problem is I don;t really know many hockey fans here, and then the stadium moved over an hour away where it was before right downtown and very close to me. I know, sorta weak excuse but not so weak too if you've ever been in Phoenix traffic.

I think one of the main problems with Hockey here is the incredible weather here, the diversity of this area, and proximity to fun places like L.A., Colorado, Vegas etc. Point being, growing up in colder climates gets you much closer to the game in several ways. You can be coooped up alot and watching hockey is a great way to kill time, and then there are all the amateur hockey clubs and school teams back there. Getting outside and actually playing really cements a persons taste for the game way that is impossible to duplicate here. The whole dynamic is different. Not saying that a hockey club in a warm climate can't work obv, just that it is going to be much harder to be successful there.

But I think they did OK, for a while anyway, and I thought it have gone better than it ultimately has. I thought there were enough Canadian visitors (tons here in the winter) and transplants from places like Detroit, Chicago, etc. to keep it alive. But it seems like all the other distractions and competition for the entertainment dollars is much more formidable than anticipated. It is a tough sell out here clearly.

This is all stuff that takes a lot of time. That's the whole reason Bettman and Co. want to stick with these new markets for as long as possible. It takes a lot of time. The NHL expanded into areas like California in 1967 and we are just now finally seeing the first pro players from the area. It takes a lot of time to build up minor programs to the point where they can start developing local NHL stars, which in turn generates more interest locally, and so on.

Pittsburgh is a similar example, although they've had hockey for a hundred years. Once the Pens were created in 1967 it started the whole transition for that city into a hockey town, and now there are a handful of guys from Pittsburgh in the NHL, and minor hockey and men's leagues are thriving there.

It can happen in sunbelt cities, it's just something that needs to take a lot of time. The problem is, pro sports teams have a hard enough time making money in even good markets. There's only a handful of teams in all the major sports who will post profits even during their worst seasons. No owners want to suck up a bunch of losses to turn a team into a business that earns a profit on and off in a cyclical manner.

I don't really think it's the fans fault, though, as I implied earlier, I just think too many hockey fans in places like Phoenix are apathetic towards the team. I know the rink is in an awful location, we have the same problem here in Ottawa, but probably to a lesser degree given the sizes of our cities, and the fact that we're Canadian, so we're predisposed to spend an hour in traffic just to get to the rink.

Bottom line is, though, as I mentioned before, the way to grow the game, the sport in a new city is to start with the kids. Develop the minor league programs and get kids playing the game. That way they start to watch the NHL, start to root for the home team, develop heroes on the home team, etc. That, though, takes a lot of time, and it's tough to be patient enough for it to play out.

So, basically, I know what Bettman is thinking when he disagrees with all those who say the sunbelt experiments failed. I think he thinks it's too early to tell. It still might work, it might not, but it's a long term situation and the league doesn't want to give up on it a quarter of the way through the process.

I'm rambling, and a bit all over the place.

there is nobody at this game tonight in PHX. Pretty sad, this is a great team who are doing well and it is completely empty.

whoa whoa whoa

would of been sold out in Hamilton tonight.

sorry, didn't mean it that way, meant that this team has some good young talent and has the chance to be good. My bad.

haha hey I'm just giving you some good natured ribbing, I know what you meant, I've been waiting 3 years for the Coyotes to turn it around.