[peg_city]

Personally I feel the NHL will stay in Pittsburgh and will be extremely suprised if they move. But there are other possible teams that might be relocated. Rumored besides the pens are the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers and Atlanta Thrashers. Looking at the NHL attendance......... ESPN.com - NHL - NHL Attendance there are a few teams who don't draw enough fan support for their repective NHL team (keep in mind the #'s are tickets sold not how many people show up at the games). In my opinion they are the New York Islanders (12 322), New Jersey Devils (13 970 and Nashville Predators (14 917). All these teams are playoff bound and should draw more fans. Teams such as St. Louis, Chicago and Washington have had horrible teams for such a long time (including this year) and therefore have a reason not to show up to the games.

Rumoured cities for possible relocation are Kansas City, Las Vegas, Houston, Southern Ontario, Winnipeg, Quebec City, Portland, Seattle. Resently rumoured Oklahoma City has withdrawn its name from a possible site due to a very strong chance they will get a NBA team. Out of those cities who do have an AHL team, attendence is as follows in order of highest; courant.com | sports (7 510 4th in league), Houston (6 060 10th in league), Portland (5 162 12th in league), Hamilton (4 513 15th in league). Kansas City has offered the NHL an arena for rent free if the Pens deside to move (which they won't). Those cities who have had a NHL team previously drew around the following amount per game; Quebec City 14 500, Winnipeg 13 000. Anyway since so many people from different parts of North America log on to this site I was wondering what is the most likely city for possible relocation?

[legend]

Here in Connecticut, Hartford is always being mentioned as getting a team back, but I don't think they will draw any better than they did in the days when the Whalers were here.

[blazinsabrez61]

arent the leafs southern ontario?
put an NHL team somewhere in new england - all they have to cheer for is the bruins, which isnt fair
maybe hartford? idk
but there has to be some real big hockey fans up there

[blueandwhite]

Yeah the Leafs are in southern ontario but we've got fans to spare - hamilton Ontario deserves the team, if you ask me.

[chilltown]

What about Milwaukee or Green Bay? The only thing that is for sure is, no more teams in the southern U.S. The cities of Atlanta, Nashville, and Florida never freeze! Let them have their NASCAR.

[MJHMarc]

How could they not have a team in Green Bay?

[blueandwhite]

Originally Posted by chilltown

The only thing that is for sure is, no more teams in the southern U.S. The cities of Atlanta, Nashville, and Florida never freeze! Let them have their NASCAR.

I totally agree.

[blazinsabrez61]

Originally Posted by chilltown

What about Milwaukee or Green Bay? The only thing that is for sure is, no more teams in the southern U.S. The cities of Atlanta, Nashville, and Florida never freeze! Let them have their NASCAR.

me 2
those rent real hockey fans
they have 80 degree weather all year
not fair
another team up north would be nice
how about the return of the minnesota north stars???

[simple simon]

why was the poll closed ....... were the dates set wrong for it by accident ?

i dont see a team going to Hartford ..... not a big enough market and i still love the Bruins even though they suck right now

i grew up loving Terry O'Rielly

[peg_city]

Yeah I not sure why it closed. If I could re do it I would. In Winnipeg there has been alot of talk about the possibility of a team coming here. Winnipegers love there hockey and the Jets where ingrained the heart of Manitobains. It sounds poetic and stupid but its true. The Bottom line is the City of Winnipeg can support and NHL team under the new agreement but there is no person in there right mind who would buy a team for $180 million and then move it here understanding there won't be a profit. The MTS centre seats 15 000 but Mark Chipman who owns the Moose as well as the Arena says it can be expanded. It really depends on which was the NHL goes in the next 10 years. The Coyotes have lost around 10 million a year since moving to Arizona. If the NHL and players rep desides that places such as Atlanta, Arizona, and Florida aren't worth keeping around hoping for a profit then the NHL will look North. Otherwise any Canadian market will not have any opertunity.



The ALL NEW HOME of the Return of the Jets Campaign

2004 Forbes #'s
http://www.forbesinc.com/newsroom/re...904NHLRank.doc

[Lefty Noob]

Okay, poll is re-opened. Vote away!

[ThePundit]

Houston? Are you nuts? How about a team in the Dakotas? It's cold enough there.

I say bring back the Whalers. The NHL is hurting, attendance figures are inflated and quite a few teams are losing money. The NHL should go back to its roots and Bettman should take a hike. Hartford is hockey country and deserves another chance.

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I say bring back the Whalers. The NHL is hurting, attendance figures are inflated and quite a few teams are losing money. The NHL should go back to its roots and Bettman should take a hike. Hartford is hockey country and deserves another chance.

Why did the Whalers leave Hartford in the first place? Poor attendance? Wanted a new stadium?

[blueandwhite]

wikipedia says the main factors in the Whalers' departure from Hartford were market size and the lack of a modern playing facility.
"The Hartford Civic Center had a capacity of 15,635, and was attached to a downtown shopping mall. As teams in the NHL began moving into larger, corporate-sponsored stadiums with luxury suites and other amenities, it became apparent that a team playing in an aging municipal facility with limited revenue streams could not compete."
So Peter karmanos bought the team in 94 and promised to keep the team there for 4 more years - except no one was buying tickets and there was little corporate sponsorship.
"In early 1996, negotiations between the Whalers and Connecticut Governor John Rowland to build a new $147.5 million arena seemed to be going well. However, negotiations fell apart when Rowland and the state refused Karmanos' demand to reimburse the Whalers for up to $45 million in losses during the three years the new arena was to be built."
Then they moved to carolina.