Penguins for sale - still and again

Ah, the Ak-Sar-Ben Knights...

 

As much as don't want to, I agree with you. And so does Stephen Brunt.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061222.BRUNT22/TPStory/Sports/columnists

Problem is, from a business point of view, Bettman's all wrong. The evidence is pretty clear: the majority of Americans willl never embrace hockey because the sport has no roots in most markets and most Americans have never PLAYED the game.

The idea that the NHL is better off in Kansas City, Houston, Oklahoma City or Las Vegas over Winnipeg, Quebec City, and even the Kitchener-Waterloo area is ridiculous and quite frankly, insulting.

 

Looks like it has a row of suites in this picture:

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/canada/manitoba/winnipeg_mts.shtml

 

I can honestly say that I am a fan of the game because I played it as a kid (not to mention my adolescent days were spent in the shadow of the Nassau Mausoleum during the Isles' Cup run in the early '80s), and would still love to find some nearing 40 who would be interested in lacing up the ol' rollerblades for a pick-up game.

But it will never work as a TV entity in the US probably because of that reason. How much cheaper is a basketball, as opposed to hockey equipment?

The reason I don't watch as much is because of a game where my favorite team blew a two-goal third period lead within a 21-second span.

 

Point is taken. Fortunately, up here, there are lot of second stores (Play it Again, Sports) where you can buy good used hockey equipment. But it's still essentially a game for the middle class when registration alone at the elite level can put your back three or four thousand a year.

I

 

pittsburgh paper says its down to Portland and Hamilton...Kansas City isn't an option unless the team is sold according to the paper because of the contract "boots" has with the Sprint Center.

 

Hamilton has no chance. Leafs won't give a shit, but it's the Buffalo Sabres who would raise holy hell. They sell plenty of tickets in the Golden Horeshoe.

 

I can say this because I was born there--Hamilton is a first class dump.

 

It smells like the world's biggest cheeseburger fart.

 

It's more than that. There's the issue of the exchange rate. There's also the matter of taking the NHL to TV and marketing executives while having franchises in places like Hamilton and Quebec City. For a sport that's desperate to be thought of as big league, that does nothing for the perception.

Frankly, Edmonton and Calgary are lucky to have made the cut. In Bettman's perfect world, the NHL in Canada would be restricted to Montreal, Toronto and (probably) Vancouver.

 

Smasher, the exchange rate is a non-issue now. It's almost 90cents

The Canadian teams are the healthiest of the thirty teams. All games are virtually sold out.

Sorry, there is a groundswell amongst serious hockey people that instead of taking the game to places where it MIGHT grow, take it to markets where the sport is a proven commodity. That's places like Winnipeg, Quebec City and Hamilton.

And Bettman's world is a joke. Hockey makes no or very little sense in Phoenix, Florida, Atlanta or Nashville. Attendance is a joke in the majority of the American markets. So why compound the problem by taking it to non hockey markets like Kansas City and Las Vegas?

The problem is Bettman isn't and never has been a hockey guy.

 

The Devils were winless in 20 straight games during that season (2 ties) and Pittsburgh still managed to finish with the worst record. I'm sure the Penguins were trying real hard.