phoenix is a farce.

This is really great for the City of Glendale (Phoenix). They do have a great hockey team and with the right owner they could become a hot bed for hockey (in the desert of all places). However, I do think it's time for at least one more relocation. There are cities out there that I believe no longer deserve to have an NHL franchise. Based purely on attendance percentages it is obvious that teams like the Dallas Stars and the Columbus Blue Jackets just aren't cutting it for the standard level of attendance we would like to see league wide.

In 2011-12 Phoenix held the worst average regular season attendance record in the entire league with attendance just under the 12,500 range on average (72.5% of the Jobing.com Arena's capacity). Obviously Phoenix is not going anywhere and with there huge playoff run last year, and if Doan stays in Phoenix, I think the Cyotes should see a surge in their attendance in 2012-13. Also, if a new owner were to come in the mix I think Phoenix is staying put for a while. The NHL has also historically resisted the movement of the Phoenix Cyotes.

The second worst team in 2011-12 (attendance wise) was the Dallas Stars. I heard once while watching a Dallas game that the Stars were the team of players that no one else wanted. I don't necessarily agree with this because the Stars bolster some fine young talent such as Jamie Benn and Cody Eakin. However, their attendance numbers really leaves something to be desired. In 2011-12, Dallas averaged attendance of 14,226 (76.8% of capacity). It would really be nice to see the Stars shipped out of Dallas and moved to a place like Quebec city because a new Nordiques franchise, with the new arena and enthusiasm for a team, would undoubtedly do better than a Dallas based hockey team and it may recharge an old rivalry between Montreal and the provincial capital of Quebec city.

And the third worst team in the NHL (attendance wise) is the Columbus Blue Jackets. This is a dying hockey franchise as all the signs are apparent. Star player wants out of the franchise, low attendance, and a seeming unwillingness to win hockey games (as evidenced by the blunder that was their 2011-12 season). Columbus is without a doubt the most viable candidate for relocation. If they lose Nash the biggest names on their team will be R.J. Umberger and Jack Johnson . Not quite the star calibur names that will draw people to Nationwide Arena. Their attendance numbers last season averaged around 14,660 which is just above Phoenix (but 80.8% of their capacity because Nationwide is a small venue). I expect that these numbers will drop as a result of their awful 2011-12 campaign and the sheer fact that Columbus, Ohio does not sound like a hockey city to me. Not to mention they are in the Central Division with Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago, and Nashville (all of which are getting better while Columbus implodes in on itself.

I think the best option for relocation would be to move Columbus to Quebec city and do one of two things.

1. Place Quebec in the Northeast Division and relocate the Maple Leafs to the Central Division (likely won't happen because of the rivalries within the Northeast division). Or do what I think will happen

2. Give Winnipeg's spot in the Southeast division to Quebec City and move Winnipeg into the Central division where they belong. This would still allow Quebec to have a mini rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets would be in the division that they geographically should be in.

That's my two cents on this whole thing, but be careful cause soon Canada will be getting rid of the penny and two cents will be worth nothing. Maybe we'll call it my nickel for the day.

New Jersey is on the Bubble.

Dallas has new Canadian owners who would like to move north.

Colorado and St Louis were both rumoured to be in the tank... but new ownesr in St Louis so we will wait and see.

They are turning into a pyramid scheme.
- Beatle_john

source?

This is really great for the City of Glendale (Phoenix). They do have a great hockey team and with the right owner they could become a hot bed for hockey (in the desert of all places). However, I do think it's time for at least one more relocation. There are cities out there that I believe no longer deserve to have an NHL franchise. Based purely on attendance percentages it is obvious that teams like the Dallas Stars and the Columbus Blue Jackets just aren't cutting it for the standard level of attendance we would like to see league wide.

In 2011-12 Phoenix held the worst average regular season attendance record in the entire league with attendance just under the 12,500 range on average (72.5% of the Jobing.com Arena's capacity). Obviously Phoenix is not going anywhere and with there huge playoff run last year, and if Doan stays in Phoenix, I think the Cyotes should see a surge in their attendance in 2012-13. Also, if a new owner were to come in the mix I think Phoenix is staying put for a while. The NHL has also historically resisted the movement of the Phoenix Cyotes.

The second worst team in 2011-12 (attendance wise) was the Dallas Stars. I heard once while watching a Dallas game that the Stars were the team of players that no one else wanted. I don't necessarily agree with this because the Stars bolster some fine young talent such as Jamie Benn and Cody Eakin. However, their attendance numbers really leaves something to be desired. In 2011-12, Dallas averaged attendance of 14,226 (76.8% of capacity). It would really be nice to see the Stars shipped out of Dallas and moved to a place like Quebec city because a new Nordiques franchise, with the new arena and enthusiasm for a team, would undoubtedly do better than a Dallas based hockey team and it may recharge an old rivalry between Montreal and the provincial capital of Quebec city.

And the third worst team in the NHL (attendance wise) is the Columbus Blue Jackets. This is a dying hockey franchise as all the signs are apparent. Star player wants out of the franchise, low attendance, and a seeming unwillingness to win hockey games (as evidenced by the blunder that was their 2011-12 season). Columbus is without a doubt the most viable candidate for relocation. If they lose Nash the biggest names on their team will be R.J. Umberger and Jack Johnson . Not quite the star calibur names that will draw people to Nationwide Arena. Their attendance numbers last season averaged around 14,660 which is just above Phoenix (but 80.8% of their capacity because Nationwide is a small venue). I expect that these numbers will drop as a result of their awful 2011-12 campaign and the sheer fact that Columbus, Ohio does not sound like a hockey city to me. Not to mention they are in the Central Division with Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago, and Nashville (all of which are getting better while Columbus implodes in on itself.

I think the best option for relocation would be to move Columbus to Quebec city and do one of two things.

1. Place Quebec in the Northeast Division and relocate the Maple Leafs to the Central Division (likely won't happen because of the rivalries within the Northeast division). Or do what I think will happen

2. Give Winnipeg's spot in the Southeast division to Quebec City and move Winnipeg into the Central division where they belong. This would still allow Quebec to have a mini rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets would be in the division that they geographically should be in.

That's my two cents on this whole thing, but be careful cause soon Canada will be getting rid of the penny and two cents will be worth nothing. Maybe we'll call it my nickel for the day.
- TheDeez

I stopped at this bit of nonsense.

Concerning the original topic, though: sure, the Coyotes leaving would be sad for the fans in Phoenix (both of them), but if you can't support a team, you shouldn't get to keep a team. The NHL is a business, and successful businesses are seldom built on good intentions and pixie dust. Play me a sad tune after it's over, Ek, but it's time for this team to hit the ol' dusty trail.
- tryan83

This. Well said.
I believe this is just delaying the inevitable.
The Yotes have essentially struggled financially since their move down there...if it wasn't Bettman's baby, they would have been moved years ago...but he thought he was doing right moving them down there, and it has failed yet doesn't want to admit his mistake.
And on that Markham arena...they wouldn't have built that size of an arena if they didn't think they had a shot at an NHL team, may not be Phoenix, but I believe there will be a team playing out of there in the near future...
Leafs will let it go, and I believe they are out of Buffalo's area so don't need their permission...

This is really great for the City of Glendale (Phoenix). They do have a great hockey team and with the right owner they could become a hot bed for hockey (in the desert of all places). However, I do think it's time for at least one more relocation. There are cities out there that I believe no longer deserve to have an NHL franchise. Based purely on attendance percentages it is obvious that teams like the Dallas Stars and the Columbus Blue Jackets just aren't cutting it for the standard level of attendance we would like to see league wide.

In 2011-12 Phoenix held the worst average regular season attendance record in the entire league with attendance just under the 12,500 range on average (72.5% of the Jobing.com Arena's capacity). Obviously Phoenix is not going anywhere and with there huge playoff run last year, and if Doan stays in Phoenix, I think the Cyotes should see a surge in their attendance in 2012-13. Also, if a new owner were to come in the mix I think Phoenix is staying put for a while. The NHL has also historically resisted the movement of the Phoenix Cyotes.

The second worst team in 2011-12 (attendance wise) was the Dallas Stars. I heard once while watching a Dallas game that the Stars were the team of players that no one else wanted. I don't necessarily agree with this because the Stars bolster some fine young talent such as Jamie Benn and Cody Eakin. However, their attendance numbers really leaves something to be desired. In 2011-12, Dallas averaged attendance of 14,226 (76.8% of capacity). It would really be nice to see the Stars shipped out of Dallas and moved to a place like Quebec city because a new Nordiques franchise, with the new arena and enthusiasm for a team, would undoubtedly do better than a Dallas based hockey team and it may recharge an old rivalry between Montreal and the provincial capital of Quebec city.

And the third worst team in the NHL (attendance wise) is the Columbus Blue Jackets. This is a dying hockey franchise as all the signs are apparent. Star player wants out of the franchise, low attendance, and a seeming unwillingness to win hockey games (as evidenced by the blunder that was their 2011-12 season). Columbus is without a doubt the most viable candidate for relocation. If they lose Nash the biggest names on their team will be R.J. Umberger and Jack Johnson . Not quite the star calibur names that will draw people to Nationwide Arena. Their attendance numbers last season averaged around 14,660 which is just above Phoenix (but 80.8% of their capacity because Nationwide is a small venue). I expect that these numbers will drop as a result of their awful 2011-12 campaign and the sheer fact that Columbus, Ohio does not sound like a hockey city to me. Not to mention they are in the Central Division with Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago, and Nashville (all of which are getting better while Columbus implodes in on itself.

I think the best option for relocation would be to move Columbus to Quebec city and do one of two things.

1. Place Quebec in the Northeast Division and relocate the Maple Leafs to the Central Division (likely won't happen because of the rivalries within the Northeast division). Or do what I think will happen

2. Give Winnipeg's spot in the Southeast division to Quebec City and move Winnipeg into the Central division where they belong. This would still allow Quebec to have a mini rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets would be in the division that they geographically should be in.

That's my two cents on this whole thing, but be careful cause soon Canada will be getting rid of the penny and two cents will be worth nothing. Maybe we'll call it my nickel for the day.
- TheDeez

Phoenix has had terrible attendance for years...
And you think one playoff run will change that? They have had some good teams during this time, and same thing year after year (until playoffs). They don't care about hockey down there...
And if Quebec City got a team, you better believe it would be in same division as Habs...
Habs, Sens, Leafs, Quebec City, Sabres

This. Well said.
I believe this is just delaying the inevitable.
The Yotes have essentially struggled financially since their move down there...if it wasn't Bettman's baby, they would have been moved years ago...but he thought he was doing right moving them down there, and it has failed yet doesn't want to admit his mistake.
And on that Markham arena...they wouldn't have built that size of an arena if they didn't think they had a shot at an NHL team, may not be Phoenix, but I believe there will be a team playing out of there in the near future...
Leafs will let it go, and I believe they are out of Buffalo's area so don't need their permission...
- BoBBeR56

markham will have a team 100% guaranteed.
it will be sold out in 3 seconds.
the league has waited way too long for southern ontario to get another team.

This. Well said.
I believe this is just delaying the inevitable.
The Yotes have essentially struggled financially since their move down there...if it wasn't Bettman's baby, they would have been moved years ago...but he thought he was doing right moving them down there, and it has failed yet doesn't want to admit his mistake.

- BoBBeR56

Intentionally or not, when Bettman let the Thrashers move to Winnipeg, he might have covered his rear. Before, if he'd have moved the Coyotes, Jets fans would have been upset that he moved their team just to watch it founder and die in the desert before dragging its carcass elsewhere. But now they won't say "boo," because the Jets 2.0 are in town.

Phoenix has had terrible attendance for years...
And you think one playoff run will change that? They have had some good teams during this time, and same thing year after year (until playoffs). They don't care about hockey down there...
- BoBBeR56

Even if more people in Phoenix are interested now than before, just watch what happens as soon as the Arizona Cardinals win their first game of the season. "Coyotes? What Coyotes?"

Seriously. Not my best moment. I was at airport picking up my wife at the airport and seconds before she came out I figures out I screwed up. So I wasn't exactly great to see you!
- Eklund

how hammered were you when you posted this?

I don't like to see cities lose their team either but I have not seen anything that shows me hockey is thriving in Phoenix. Attendance alone shows that. over the last 5 years they have ranked 30th, 29th, 30th, 27th and 24th in capacity.

how hammered were you when you posted this?
- Fountain-San

markham will have a team 100% guaranteed.
it will be sold out in 3 seconds.
the league has waited way too long for southern ontario to get another team.
- Barx

Oh for sure!! Anyone who cannot get Leafs tickets will flock to this new team...it will thrive in southern Ontario.
You can almost guarantee top 10 attendance and revenues with another team in southern Ontario.

im soo sick of hearing of this team just move already

markham will have a team 100% guaranteed.
it will be sold out in 3 seconds.
the league has waited way too long for southern ontario to get another team.
- Barx

According to Wikipedia....Markham is a city in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 301,709 at..........If you read for starters it states WITHIN the greater Toronto area of Southern Ontario which obviously means Maple Leafs territory and just like Hamilton when the Sabres AND Toronto objected they both will have a say...your guarantee will not happen unless the Leafs move into that arena

so citizens who want nothing to do with a hockey team in their city are being forced to subsidize that team through increased taxes. do i have this right?
- DoubleDown

Yep, and it sucks. Using public money (taxes) to fund a private enterprise is complete bullpoop. Then not letting the public vote on it is a crime.

I don't care what team/sport it is - if you can't sustain yourself then you're doing it wrong and don't belong there. Holding your hat in your hand to take public money so you can be "viable" is wrong.

Rangers fans may have a hard time swallowing Semin's contract. The load of Semin's cap hit may be tough to stomach. His season production only comes in spurts. There is also a chance Semin may get in Tort's face too.
- Tee-Dot

best post of the day

Yep, and it sucks. Using public money (taxes) to fund a private enterprise is complete bullpoop. Then not letting the public vote on it is a crime.

I don't care what team/sport it is - if you can't sustain yourself then you're doing it wrong and don't belong there. Holding your hat in your hand to take public money so you can be "viable" is wrong.
- Scoob

Especially in a city with an average family income of $41,000 when all the hockey fans are coming from richer places like Scottsdale or Phoenix and when the city is laying off staff and closing services

This is really great for the City of Glendale (Phoenix). They do have a great hockey team and with the right owner they could become a hot bed for hockey (in the desert of all places). However, I do think it's time for at least one more relocation. There are cities out there that I believe no longer deserve to have an NHL franchise. Based purely on attendance percentages it is obvious that teams like the Dallas Stars and the Columbus Blue Jackets just aren't cutting it for the standard level of attendance we would like to see league wide.

In 2011-12 Phoenix held the worst average regular season attendance record in the entire league with attendance just under the 12,500 range on average (72.5% of the Jobing.com Arena's capacity). Obviously Phoenix is not going anywhere and with there huge playoff run last year, and if Doan stays in Phoenix, I think the Cyotes should see a surge in their attendance in 2012-13. Also, if a new owner were to come in the mix I think Phoenix is staying put for a while. The NHL has also historically resisted the movement of the Phoenix Cyotes.

The second worst team in 2011-12 (attendance wise) was the Dallas Stars. I heard once while watching a Dallas game that the Stars were the team of players that no one else wanted. I don't necessarily agree with this because the Stars bolster some fine young talent such as Jamie Benn and Cody Eakin. However, their attendance numbers really leaves something to be desired. In 2011-12, Dallas averaged attendance of 14,226 (76.8% of capacity). It would really be nice to see the Stars shipped out of Dallas and moved to a place like Quebec city because a new Nordiques franchise, with the new arena and enthusiasm for a team, would undoubtedly do better than a Dallas based hockey team and it may recharge an old rivalry between Montreal and the provincial capital of Quebec city.

And the third worst team in the NHL (attendance wise) is the Columbus Blue Jackets. This is a dying hockey franchise as all the signs are apparent. Star player wants out of the franchise, low attendance, and a seeming unwillingness to win hockey games (as evidenced by the blunder that was their 2011-12 season). Columbus is without a doubt the most viable candidate for relocation. If they lose Nash the biggest names on their team will be R.J. Umberger and Jack Johnson . Not quite the star calibur names that will draw people to Nationwide Arena. Their attendance numbers last season averaged around 14,660 which is just above Phoenix (but 80.8% of their capacity because Nationwide is a small venue). I expect that these numbers will drop as a result of their awful 2011-12 campaign and the sheer fact that Columbus, Ohio does not sound like a hockey city to me. Not to mention they are in the Central Division with Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago, and Nashville (all of which are getting better while Columbus implodes in on itself.

I think the best option for relocation would be to move Columbus to Quebec city and do one of two things.

1. Place Quebec in the Northeast Division and relocate the Maple Leafs to the Central Division (likely won't happen because of the rivalries within the Northeast division). Or do what I think will happen

2. Give Winnipeg's spot in the Southeast division to Quebec City and move Winnipeg into the Central division where they belong. This would still allow Quebec to have a mini rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets would be in the division that they geographically should be in.

That's my two cents on this whole thing, but be careful cause soon Canada will be getting rid of the penny and two cents will be worth nothing. Maybe we'll call it my nickel for the day.
- TheDeez

I'll assume this was just a pun...

Look..... The Coyotes franchise is a joke it is not sustainable in Phoenix end of story.. This whole situation is pathetic, Bettman along with Glendale politicians are bankrupting this city, over what a (frank)ing pos hockey team? The real losers are the residents of clearly do not care about hockey.

Move this team to Canada already, demo that useless building and get on with life.

According to Wikipedia....Markham is a city in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 301,709 at..........If you read for starters it states WITHIN the greater Toronto area of Southern Ontario which obviously means Maple Leafs territory and just like Hamilton when the Sabres AND Toronto objected they both will have a say...your guarantee will not happen unless the Leafs move into that arena
- Skeezix459

nope.
they will have a team.

(frank) am I hung....
- The-Dalai-Lama

According to Wikipedia....Markham is a city in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 301,709 at..........If you read for starters it states WITHIN the greater Toronto area of Southern Ontario which obviously means Maple Leafs territory and just like Hamilton when the Sabres AND Toronto objected they both will have a say...your guarantee will not happen unless the Leafs move into that arena
- Skeezix459

I don't think the Sabres will have any say if the team is in Markham...
Leafs will, but I believe something can be worked out...Leafs won't lose much revenue if ANY...and the ACC will still be packed...
You can't even just include that population, cause you have a large population outside Markham that will go there as it's closer than going to the core of Toronto...

im happy for the 8 yotes fans

Is it just me or is this Phoenix bullpoop carrying on way to long. Reminds of Foppa gate.

Is it just me or is this Phoenix bullpoop carrying on way to long. Reminds of Foppa gate.
- KABLOOEY

It's just you...