That would be awesome. I just don't understand why the lame ass fans in Winnipeg did'nt support the Jets. If we did get another franchise in Manitoba that would be one more rivalry I could go see the Wild play. But I gotta say, Winnipeg is kind of a lame ass town, as far as I remember it. Too bad there isn't another sizable metro area around there that would make it a better Province to visit.
NHL '09/'10 Season Thread
- Thread starter STDiva
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That would be awesome. I just don't understand why the lame ass fans in Winnipeg did'nt support the Jets. If we did get another franchise in Manitoba that would be one more rivalry I could go see the Wild play. But I gotta say, Winnipeg is kind of a lame ass town, as far as I remember it. Too bad there isn't another sizable metro area around there that would make it a better Province to visit.
So the league didn't let the players out yet so they could go to the opening cerimony? When does the hockey begin in Vancouver?
PlasmaTwa2
The Second-Hottest Man in my Mother's Basement
I'd love the Jets to return, but out of Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Quebec, Quebec is the biggest, and with their new arena plans I think that will put them ahead of the other two if they can get an owner. Winnipeg's arena is too small for a NHL team, and as long as Balsaille wants it, there won't be a team in Hamilton (thank god).
ugh. I'd love to slap you with my penis because of this post, but you're right. Hamilton shouldn't get a team. Winnipeg would be nice, but the fucked over a team. Quebec is a mystery to me. They might make a go of it second time around.
I don't know why they'd want another team in Ontario. Christ, three teams in one state/province? :dunno: Aren't there any sites on the far east coast of Canada that could support a team?
PlasmaTwa2
The Second-Hottest Man in my Mother's Basement
Outside of Quebec? Nope. Halifax is the largest city out there, and it is about 350,000 or so? All the four provinces out there are the smallest in Canada, as well; it'd make more sense to put one in Saskatchewan than out there. There is around a million people in the Quebec area, and obviously there would be huge support from the province if the Nordiques came back. In Hamilton, a team would end up hurting the Sabres, but in Quebec I doubt the Nordiques could do any serious harm to the Canadiens. Though, of course, one of the pluses of putting a team in Winnipeg is that you do not step on anyone's toes at all. Plus, if it is in Winnipeg, fans from places like Thunder Bay and Regina will drive to see their favourite teams - Saskatchewan fans in particular are rabid when we support our pro football team, and I think the entire province would rather cheer for a team in Winnipeg than either Calgary or Edmonton.
I love Thunder Bay. Of course, I was a little shit the last time I was up there, but it was cool. It's definitely "other country'ish" when you get there from America, that's for sure. It's a shame that Winnipeg isn't where TB is because that would be so much closer to both Duluth/Minneapolis and Detroit. Winnipeg is just so in the middle of nowhere. Do you (or anyone else) know how/why the Jets folded? Had to've been because they did'nt support the squad?
PlasmaTwa2
The Second-Hottest Man in my Mother's Basement
There were several factors that caused the Jets, Nordiques, and at one point almost the Oilers, to fold.
1. In the early nineties the Canadian dollar went through a severe decrease in value. For Canadian teams in the NHL, that was a huge problem, because, while earnings are made in Canadian dollars, the salaries of the players are payed in American dollars. This meant that these already small markets (Winnipeg and Quebec were the smallest in the league) faced severe financial problems.
A lot of Canadian fans claim Bettman was the reason they moved the teams to the United States. I might be wrong on this, but this isn't the case. Bettman actually created a wealth sharing program, where the American teams would give a share of their profits to the smallest Canadian teams. I believe that the only two teams to not receive aid were the Leafs and Canadiens. It was this that helped the Flames, Senators and Oilers stay in Canada.
2. I do not know much about the Nordiques, but in the Jets' case, there were no owners that wished to keep the team in Winnipeg. It is important to remember that Winnipeggers loved (and still love) the Jets, but unfortunately there simply wasn't an owner that came forward with the money to keep the Jets in Winnipeg.
3. In the nineties, the size of media markets in cities became much more important to all professional sports. Winnipeg and Quebec were the smallest and second-smallest markets in the NHL, respectively. No matter how good the Jets and Nordiques did in attendance, the amount of money they recieved from television and other media simply wasn't there.
4. I am not completely sure on this one, but the economies of Manitoba and Quebec were in severe trouble at the time. This means that things like merchandise sales would be low. This problem doesn't affect the Oilers and Flames because the Alberta economy is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, in all of North America.
5. Strictly speaking for the Nordiques, there was another problem; Quebec is a majority French-speaking city. While Montreal is too, technically, there is a metropolitan & international culture there, which allows the team to be marketed to both English and French. Quebec was deep in the heart of French-speaking Quebec, and as a result the organization itself was a French one. The problems with this were that the NHL is without question a English majority league; how do you market an all-French speaking team to fans outside of Quebec, and especially in the United States? On top of this, the Nordiques spent the majority of their years in the NHL in the shadow of the Canadiens; they were nothing more than an afterthough until later in the team's life.
I remember this. But I didn't think it was a factor
About the only think I'll give Bettman credit for: he has vowed to never move the Original Six. That is the nucleus of the league.
And why thee that was supposed to be the greatest of our generation - Lindros :eek: - would not sign with Quebec, thus resulting in maybe the greatest trade in the history of the game when the Nords get Forsberg, Nolan, Simon, Ricci, Hextall and Thibault. Colorado won the cup the next year.
The Lindros trade didn't lead Colorado to a Cup the next year, it was four years later, in 1996. The Canadian dollar WAS a factor, pretty much THE factor in Quebec and Winnipeg being moved. And the Oilers and Flames didn't survive because of collective bargaining, they survived because there was a "Save the Oilers" telethon, with donations being phoned in by Oilers and Flames fans to save their respective franchises, something almost all other franchises do not have the fan support to pull off. Some straightening of the facts for you.
PlasmaTwa2
The Second-Hottest Man in my Mother's Basement
I should have said it was a factor, instead of making it sound like it was the only thing, but without it I don't believe there would be teams outside the big three cities.
Well it was early part of the decade. I remember it being a HUGE deal on the networks about that trade and how Lindros was gonna be the shit.
Yeah, it was Score '00-91 I think. Don't Canucks collect cards up there or is that an American thing? My buddy Joe and I wanted that Lindros Score (French) rookie card. Dealers were selling that card for at leatst $100. I remember opening packs with my dad trying to get Lindros's rookie card.
Yeah, Lindros was dope, just got killed by Stevens that hit and that was it. I think that was the worst hit in history.
The subsidy wasn't anything huge, it was like $3.4 million. Speaking from an Oilers perspective the reason why they're still around is because at the time when all the moving talk started the fans stepped in to show their support as well as a group of Edmonton businessmen pooled some money together and purchased the team. If no one in Edmonton had stepped up the team would have been moving to Houston.
Of course during the 90s and the no-cap era we pretty much were a farm team for the rest of the NHL. Doug Weight, Bill Guerin, Curtis Joseph, etc. all left because we couldn't afford their salary. I mean $3.4 million isn't going to do anything when Doug Weight is earning $9 million a season, which is what he got from the Blues when he became a UFA.
I am so glad those days are behind us.
You know what the sad thing is, I bet you could find a box of Score cards for $10 somewhere and pull out a ton of Lindros rookie cards. I bought a box of Upper Deck cards from the early 90s out of nostalgia and out of one pack ended up pulling 4 Doug Weight rookie cards. Cards from those days are worth little for a reason and that is they were overproduced.
Of course. Cards aren't worth anything today. But it was fun when I was a kid to have the best card. It was a lot of fun.
PlasmaTwa2
The Second-Hottest Man in my Mother's Basement
Shit, back in the nineties, collecting hockey cards was the huge thing. Everyone used to say that, if you manage to find a Sakic or an Oilers-Gretzky, you should hold onto it because that is going to be worth thousands in twenty years.
Hockey cards really got ruined by McDonalds, I thinl. A dollar gets you three worthless cards, and kids get these things every time they go.
They need to win against the rangers today, that would put them in front of my hated Montreal canadiens and they would go to the olympic break in a playoff spot. So go Bolts , don't disapoint me.
Last game day until 'lympic break. I love that the league works it out, takes a break, and releases the players for the duration of the olympics. I think that's great.
wOOOhOOO! Go Canada.
wOOOhOOO! Go Canada.