For starters ....
Get a team back to Winnipeg and bring one to Hamilton. Then fold 4-5 teams that we really dont need. As said above ... 1/2 the league is made up of 3rd and 4th line players.
Hold it right there buddy. Believe me when I say that a team in Hamilton would not fly. The Leaf Nation spreads too deep into the boundaries of Ontario to the point where most Sens fans are still really Leafs fans at heart. Sure it would make for a nasty rivalry with my buds but no thanks...everyone in Hamilton loves the Leafs and that would never change.
I say out in the maritimes if anything or maybe but Winnipeg is a must.
For starters ....
Get a team back to Winnipeg and bring one to Hamilton. Then fold 4-5 teams that we really dont need. As said above ... 1/2 the league is made up of 3rd and 4th line players.
The NHL is never going to fold a team. Being a fan is nice but this is business. Imagine Bettman saying hey Florida Panthers owner thanks for pumping in 100's of millions of dollars into a hockey team but we decided to shut down your team. The union isn't going to sign off on it either because of the loss of jobs.
Hamilton....please they may fill the 20 year old building but there isn't the corporate money behind it to make a team profitable unless Tim Horton's buys every skybox in Copps Coliseum.
What defines success in the NHL eyes is what Americans think cause let's face it Canadians are always going to support hockey so having teams in Winnipeg and Hamilton however great there fan base may be (great in Winnipeg, Hamilton well not so great) isn't what the league wants cause it just makes the NHL look minor league in the eyes of the US sports fan.
The NHL is never going to fold a team. Being a fan is nice but this is business. Imagine Bettman saying hey Florida Panthers owner thanks for pumping in 100's of millions of dollars into a hockey team but we decided to shut down your team. The union isn't going to sign off on it either because of the loss of jobs.
Hamilton....please they may fill the 20 year old building but there isn't the corporate money behind it to make a team profitable unless Tim Horton's buys every skybox in Copps Coliseum.
What defines success in the NHL eyes is what Americans think cause let's face it Canadians are always going to support hockey so having teams in Winnipeg and Hamilton however great there fan base may be (great in Winnipeg, Hamilton well not so great) isn't what the league wants cause it just makes the NHL look minor league in the eyes of the US sports fan.
Either way, I was at the ACC on Tuesday and I have to admit being an instrumental starter of the McCabe booing (I was hammered but conscious of what I was doing) and the Raycroft booing. It was deadline day and I had had enough. Also sick of all the fans who left during the second period or early third.
I still make sure to go down to Montreal with the guys about twice a year for a Leafs-Habs game and there is nothing better in the world. Crescent street after the game, crazy atmosphere at the Bell Centre and always a great game. Can't wait for the March 17 weekend where they are retiring Patrick Roy's #33 before the game, it's St. Patty's Day weekend and US Spring breakers are coming to Montreal since they only have to be 18 to drink there.
PARTY WEEKEND AND GO LEAFS GO