2013 Stanley Cup Final: Blackhawks win

[Qazox]

Damn it.. Was flipping back and forth between the Chicago-Minnesota and STL-LA games... and I missed both OT game winners...

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Damn it.. Was flipping back and forth between the Chicago-Minnesota and STL-LA games... and I missed both OT game winners...

I understand how it feels.
Happy to have the Blues win, even though I didn't like the fact that Wild lost

But, it's just Game 1, so yeah.

[Shofercia]

BTW, is anyone here planning on watching the IIHF World Championship?

[United Kingdom of Poland]

well good to see that the leafs are back to normal.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

well good to see that the leafs are back to normal.

We'll see how this series will go. If it goes and ends horribly for Leafs, then you're right. If they win the series, I guess they just had a bad opening night.

[United Kingdom of Poland]

well good to see that the leafs are back to normal.

We'll see how this series will go. If it goes and ends horribly for Leafs, then you're right. If they win the series, I guess they just had a bad opening night.

I don't know, their power play seemed to spend more time in their end then in bostons end.

[Shofercia]

We'll see how this series will go. If it goes and ends horribly for Leafs, then you're right. If they win the series, I guess they just had a bad opening night.

I don't know, their power play seemed to spend more time in their end then in bostons end.

You expect the Maple Leafs' powerplay to make sense?

[Eliasonia]

Kudos to Kelly for not going off on Kamarov when he went headless horseman.

[Shofercia]

Gotta love the SJ-Van commentary: "if that's allowed, this game will be brutal!" - in response to one of Van's hits on SJ.

Also, anyone paying attention to the Coyotes sale? You guys have any opinions on it? Methinks that as long as they continue to run a loss, they're worthless, so they gotta cut expenses to NYI's level, and then they should become profitable.

[Camicon]

Gotta love the SJ-Van commentary: "if that's allowed, this game will be brutal!" - in response to one of Van's hits on SJ.

Also, anyone paying attention to the Coyotes sale? You guys have any opinions on it? Methinks that as long as they continue to run a loss, they're worthless, so they gotta cut expenses to NYI's level, and then they should become profitable.

Send them to Quebec. I'd love to see the Nordiques back in the league, and I'm sure the players would appreciate playing in a city that wants them.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Gotta love the SJ-Van commentary: "if that's allowed, this game will be brutal!" - in response to one of Van's hits on SJ.

Also, anyone paying attention to the Coyotes sale? You guys have any opinions on it? Methinks that as long as they continue to run a loss, they're worthless, so they gotta cut expenses to NYI's level, and then they should become profitable.

Send them to Quebec. I'd love to see the Nordiques back in the league, and I'm sure the players would appreciate playing in a city that wants them.

Seconded. Ask Sakic or Stastny.

[Shofercia]

Send them to Quebec. I'd love to see the Nordiques back in the league, and I'm sure the players would appreciate playing in a city that wants them.

Seconded. Ask Sakic or Stastny.

SJ wants them, and there are no issues with that franchise. I think NHL should expand to 32 teams, especially with the new realignment. The question becomes who should get the teams. I want to see more Canadian Teams, but I'm thinking that one should go to Quebec/Hamilton, and another to Seattle. Additionally, which franchises should be moved? I'm thinking maybe Coyotes, and maybe Panthers, not sure about that though. What do you guys think?

[Camicon]

Seconded. Ask Sakic or Stastny.

SJ wants them, and there are no issues with that franchise. I think NHL should expand to 32 teams, especially with the new realignment. The question becomes who should get the teams. I want to see more Canadian Teams, but I'm thinking that one should go to Quebec/Hamilton, and another to Seattle. Additionally, which franchises should be moved? I'm thinking maybe Coyotes, and maybe Panthers, not sure about that though. What do you guys think?

'Yotes need to go. Phoenix doesn't want them, and they're bleeding money like there's no tomorrow. Drop 'em into places that actually want teams. Quebec, Hamilton, Seattle. Those are all good picks.

Other than that, no teams really jump out at me as needing a move. More than that though, there are no other locations that really jump out at me as being better than those where the weakest (in terms of popularity and money) teams already are. I mean, you could try one in Regina. Lord knows they'd love to have one, but the question becomes one of money. Can the team make enough money to stay afloat?

[Jello Biafra]

Penguins are off to a good start. Let's hope every other game goes that well.

[Eliasonia]

Seconded. Ask Sakic or Stastny.

SJ wants them, and there are no issues with that franchise. I think NHL should expand to 32 teams, especially with the new realignment. The question becomes who should get the teams. I want to see more Canadian Teams, but I'm thinking that one should go to Quebec/Hamilton, and another to Seattle. Additionally, which franchises should be moved? I'm thinking maybe Coyotes, and maybe Panthers, not sure about that though. What do you guys think?

I'd honestly like to see Saskatoon with a team. Doubt it will ever happen though.

[Camicon]

SJ wants them, and there are no issues with that franchise. I think NHL should expand to 32 teams, especially with the new realignment. The question becomes who should get the teams. I want to see more Canadian Teams, but I'm thinking that one should go to Quebec/Hamilton, and another to Seattle. Additionally, which franchises should be moved? I'm thinking maybe Coyotes, and maybe Panthers, not sure about that though. What do you guys think?

I'd honestly like to see Saskatoon with a team. Doubt it will ever happen though.

I don't think Saskatoon is large enough to support an NHL team. You'd have to get, what, about a fifth or more of the population to be active fans, i.e. buying tickets to games, buying merchandise, etcetera. And Saskatoon isn't exactly a rich city. It's a university town. Local businesses are built around the cash flow coming out of the UofS.

It would make more fiscal sense to drop a team into Regina. You already get Roughriders fans driving from Saskatoon to watch CFL games. You'd probably have more people willing to make the trip and cheer on their provincial NHL team. Plus you've got the local economic power of Regina, which makes it a much more stable environment for an NHL team.

[Shofercia]

SJ wants them, and there are no issues with that franchise. I think NHL should expand to 32 teams, especially with the new realignment. The question becomes who should get the teams. I want to see more Canadian Teams, but I'm thinking that one should go to Quebec/Hamilton, and another to Seattle. Additionally, which franchises should be moved? I'm thinking maybe Coyotes, and maybe Panthers, not sure about that though. What do you guys think?

'Yotes need to go. Phoenix doesn't want them, and they're bleeding money like there's no tomorrow. Drop 'em into places that actually want teams. Quebec, Hamilton, Seattle. Those are all good picks.

Other than that, no teams really jump out at me as needing a move. More than that though, there are no other locations that really jump out at me as being better than those where the weakest (in terms of popularity and money) teams already are. I mean, you could try one in Regina. Lord knows they'd love to have one, but the question becomes one of money. Can the team make enough money to stay afloat?

Maybe, let's analyze it. Here's what a Canadian Team's Revenue Budget would look like, and you need to be able to raise roughly 90 million in revenue, (55 million in salaries, 35 million in other costs, although some teams might get away with 25 mil,) courtesy of the Winnipeg Jets: http://www.jetsowner.com/revenuecrunch.htm

Although the poster got a little excited, (there are 41 home games, not 44,) that's roughly what it looks like. The national and local TV Revenue would be at $13 mil, and in terms of VLT Gambling, I'm not sure about Canada's Gambling Laws, and people gambling at hockey games, you know that better than me, $15 mil in merchandise - does that sound reasonable to you for Regina? That's also something that you know better than me, $4 mil in local advertising seems plausible, $1 mil in parking revenues is definitely feasible, so we're up to $33 mil. That leaves $57 mil in ticket sales, namely gate revenues and luxury suites. He has $49 mil in ticket revenue, and $8 mil in luxury box revenue, for a total of $57 mil. That would make it worth the effort of moving the team there, since you can drop operation costs in order to make a profit.

According to Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/teams/winnipeg-jets/ the Jets generate a profit of $13 mil. However, their gate receipts and club seats were only $53 mil, or $4 mil short of the target. On the other hand, the Sponsorship and TV Revenue made it to $52 mil, thus overshooting the $33 mil target quite nicely.

Other Canadian Teams had something similar: Vancouver had $73 mil in ticket revenue, and $70 mil in other revenue, but that includes playoff revenue. Calgary was at $61 mil, and $56 mil. Edmonton at $60 mil and $46 mil. Toronto at $88 and $112 mil. Montreal at $83 and $86 mil. And Ottawa at $50 and $63 mil.

So if you think that Regina could handle that, they should give it a try. In terms of non-player salary operating income: excluding Toronto and Montreal, since they can afford it, and they spend a lot on advertisement and promotion, understandably so, the numbers are: $44, $38, $25, $42 and $34 million. That averages to $37.2 mil, so Regina can get away with a $90 mil budget. The question is - can they raise the revenue?

[Qazox]

Gotta love the SJ-Van commentary: "if that's allowed, this game will be brutal!" - in response to one of Van's hits on SJ.

Also, anyone paying attention to the Coyotes sale? You guys have any opinions on it? Methinks that as long as they continue to run a loss, they're worthless, so they gotta cut expenses to NYI's level, and then they should become profitable.

Send them to Quebec. I'd love to see the Nordiques back in the league, and I'm sure the players would appreciate playing in a city that wants them.

Or Hartford... or Seattle.

[Camicon]

Send them to Quebec. I'd love to see the Nordiques back in the league, and I'm sure the players would appreciate playing in a city that wants them.

Or Hartford... or Seattle.

If you've not figured it out yet, I'm a Canadian. I'd rather see a Canadian team return, than an American one.

[Qazox]

Or Hartford... or Seattle.

If you've not figured it out yet, I'm a Canadian. I'd rather see a Canadian team return, than an American one.

Ok, but other than Quebec City, there's not really any other city in Canada that can host an NHL team. Move the Panthers to Quebec and the Coyotes to Seattle or Hartford.

If they do move an 8th team to Canada; then I'd suggest the NHL create an 8-team Canadian Division.

[Camicon]

If you've not figured it out yet, I'm a Canadian. I'd rather see a Canadian team return, than an American one.

Ok, but other than Quebec City, there's not really any other city in Canada that can host an NHL team. Move the Panthers to Quebec and the Coyotes to Seattle or Hartford.

If they do move an 8th team to Canada; then I'd suggest the NHL create an 8-team Canadian Division.

Seriously? An eight team Canadian division. That makes less sense than cross-continental US North/South divisions. What an awful idea.

And your lack of knowledge regarding Canadian demographics does not mean there is only a single market for any NHL team moving to Canada.

[Shofercia]

Send them to Quebec. I'd love to see the Nordiques back in the league, and I'm sure the players would appreciate playing in a city that wants them.

Or Hartford... or Seattle.

I know there's Hamilton, and Quebec City. Camicon suggested Regina, but I'm not sure if they can handle it, as roughly 8-10% of their population will need to attend 41 games at pricey tickets. Not sure if there are more cities though.

I prefer Seattle and Hamilton as expansion teams, because they can handle it, and maybe Coyotes or Panthers to Quebec.

[Camicon]

Or Hartford... or Seattle.

I know there's Hamilton, and Quebec City. Camicon suggested Regina, but I'm not sure if they can handle it, as roughly 8-10% of their population will need to attend 41 games at pricey tickets. Not sure if there are more cities though.

I prefer Seattle and Hamilton as expansion teams, because they can handle it, and maybe Coyotes or Panthers to Quebec.

Taking into consider that Regina would be pulling in a (comparatively) modest fan base from Saskatoon as well, I think Regina would be reasonably equipped to run an NHL team at a small profit. So long as someone was willing to invest in facilities and such, up front.

"Residents of Saskatchewan" and their sports...

[Qazox]

Or Hartford... or Seattle.

I know there's Hamilton, and Quebec City. Camicon suggested Regina, but I'm not sure if they can handle it, as roughly 8-10% of their population will need to attend 41 games at pricey tickets. Not sure if there are more cities though.

I prefer Seattle and Hamilton as expansion teams, because they can handle it, and maybe Coyotes or Panthers to Quebec.

Hamilton, I could see; but basically wouldn't a team in Hamilton be overshadowed by Toronto in terms of media coverage?

[Qazox]

RE: the 8 team Canadian division, why would that be such a bad idea? besides the travel.