Penguins Moving?

[bob_sauve28]

VS's intermission report just had a segment on how the Pens owners are fed up with the negotiations and are about ready to up and move to Kansas City of all places. Oh well, another step backwards for the NHL

[Spandrel]

It is tough enough to have the league's most marketable player playing in a small market like Pittsburgh, at least that is a decent hockey town. What are you going to do having him in the middle of "hockey nowhere" in Kansas City?!?!

[bob_sauve28]

It is tough enough to have the league's most marketable player playing in a small market like Pittsburgh, at least that is a decent hockey town. What are you going to do having him in the middle of "hockey nowhere" in Kansas City?!?!

Imagine Kansas City vs Carolina in the Finals? They will be giving away tickets for free

[PromoTheRobot]

Kansas City couldn't support the NHL Scouts or the IHL Blades. WHy give them another franchise to lose? I can name 5 cities that would be better NHL cities: Portland/Seattle, Las Vegas, OK City, Houston, Salt Lake City.

 

PTR

[apuszczalowski]

A guy at work was mentioning today he heard reports Houston is the front runner for the pens now. Texas has the most Pro hockey teams in the US (NHL and minor hockey) and are one of the highest watchers of hockey on TV

 

They also have av areva ready for an NHL team

[bruceleeroy]

I live in KC and the sports radio guys are talking about this. I hope it happens, i miss going to hockey games so much and having an exciting team like the pens here would be great. They would instantly become my second favorite team. Alot of people are disregarding kc as a hockey town but this town loves its sports. There are alot of teams near here that would become instant rivals like colorado, st louis, and chicago maybe even dallas that would add to the draw. In my opinion pittsburgh had its chance to keep its team and they failed its time to move and try something new. Also the arena they would move into would be a brand new state of the art facility in a brand new downtown revitalization. This town would throw all its resources for this team to work because it would need the team to work. Just look at the deal the arena offered the pens. I honestly think the team would succeed here and it would not become another carolina.

[Supersabre]

I live in KC and the sports radio guys are talking about this. I hope it happens, i miss going to hockey games so much and having an exciting team like the pens here would be great. They would instantly become my second favorite team. Alot of people are disregarding kc as a hockey town but this town loves its sports. There are alot of teams near here that would become instant rivals like colorado, st louis, and chicago maybe even dallas that would add to the draw. In my opinion pittsburgh had its chance to keep its team and they failed its time to move and try something new. Also the arena they would move into would be a brand new state of the art facility in a brand new downtown revitalization. This town would throw all its resources for this team to work because it would need the team to work. Just look at the deal the arena offered the pens. I honestly think the team would succeed here and it would not become another carolina.

 

See post#4. Its true, sadly its so true. KC is not a hockey town. Too many bluebloods who watch a hockey game like its a tennis match.

[Taro T]

Kansas City couldn't support the NHL Scouts or the IHL Blades. WHy give them another franchise to lose? I can name 5 cities that would be better NHL cities: Portland/Seattle, Las Vegas, OK City, Houston, Salt Lake City.

 

PTR

Colorado couldn't support the Scouts either. It took that franchise 14 years to play at/above 0.500. It seems to me that the Avs have done OK attendence-wise since they've been there.

 

KC won exactly 20 games at home in 2 seasons and dropped from 41 to 36 points in their 2nd and last season. I'm not saying the Pens should move there, I don't think they should, I'd like to see them work out a deal to stay where they are. But, what city could/would support a team whose best year was barely over 0.250? (Of course they looked like Stanley Cup champs compared to their sister expansion team.)

[jerryg]

Didi anyone catch the little piece in the NY Times Sunday. Apparently the Preds have an escape clause that they can buy their way out after this season if they don't average 14,000 PAID attendance per game, and at this point they're not there.

[sabreman]

Kansas City couldn't support the NHL Scouts or the IHL Blades. WHy give them another franchise to lose? I can name 5 cities that would be better NHL cities: Portland/Seattle, Las Vegas, OK City, Houston, Salt Lake City.

 

PTR

ya know what else would be nice?

winnepeg. they were good back in the day

[Sabretooth73]

i hope they do leave, and to where, i could care less, anywhere but that dump of a town $hittsburgh, i detest everything about that filthy city.... and there ridiculous dialect..."yins, hos, gum bands"

 

wtf....f em

[frisky]

I read they are meeting with LV officials today. I remember a discussion I heard on the radio about moving them to Winnipeg. They were mentioning that they could run into attendance problems there since it's pretty small. And, there isn't alot of rich people there and such for selling luxury suites or something like that. How about putting one back in Quebec City and call them the Nordiques :P .

[Hawerchuk]

I live in Las Vegas, former Buffalonian transplant. Anyway, as much as I don't like the PENS being a Sabre fan, the city still deserves to keep the team. They are a good hockey city. I keep hearing Las Vegas and trust me, this town has so much $$$ that a stadium could be built in a flash. Its possible to lure them out of PITT. I'd love a team here, but don't know if the town can support it with attendance. I'm being greedy because I'd love to have hockey here but I'd feel bad for PIT fans losing the team. I mean, it was only yesteryear when we almost lost the Sabres.

My opinion is KC and Houston don't give a crap about hockey and the NHL would make a terrible choice by relocating there.

Well, if the PENS don't come to the desert, maybe we can lure the PREDs outta Nashville, another city that could care less about hockey.

Don't give up on Vegas!! We have TONS of moola for any team that wants it!$!$!$!$!$!$!

[hopeleslyobvious]

Colorado couldn't support the Scouts either. It took that franchise 14 years to play at/above 0.500. It seems to me that the Avs have done OK attendence-wise since they've been there.

 

KC won exactly 20 games at home in 2 seasons and dropped from 41 to 36 points in their 2nd and last season. I'm not saying the Pens should move there, I don't think they should, I'd like to see them work out a deal to stay where they are. But, what city could/would support a team whose best year was barely over 0.250? (Of course they looked like Stanley Cup champs compared to their sister expansion team.)

 

Some would argue that Scouts current home isn't exactly supporting them.

[wjag]

I for one am dead set against franchises moving....

[apuszczalowski]

I for one am dead set against franchises moving....

You would think that as Sabres fans, going through the same things a couple years ago after the Regas Fiasco that we would all feel the same way

[sabreman]

if they leave what team should they move to?

i think that it should be winnepeg

[carpandean]

I guess you're not alone:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Winsuncoverlarge.jpg

[Hard Rain]

I've been to Winterpeg several times and always saw someone wearing old Winnipeg Jets gear. The town loves hockey and really supports their Manitoba Moose. I'm just not sure the NHL is willing to sponsor another small market.

[Rabbit151]

They may as well move to Suckskatoon instead. To hear someone from that city tell it, they're the best thing since........well, ....since Toronto!!!

[FogBat]

Well, if the PENS don't come to the desert, maybe we can lure the PREDs outta Nashville, another city that could care less about hockey.

Isn't that the truth! The diehard hockey fans that are in Nashville will really be angered that their city didn't come out and support them.

 

I just have to wonder what Craig Leopold was thinking when he sought to bring an NHL franchise there.

 

Oh, let's not forget that the Florida Panthers are struggling as well in the Miami market.

 

I've been to Winterpeg several times and always saw someone wearing old Winnipeg Jets gear. The town loves hockey and really supports their Manitoba Moose. I'm just not sure the NHL is willing to sponsor another small market.

Scott Arneil would be a happy camper! He'd get promoted from AHL head coach to NHL head coach eventually.

[Chief Enabler]

Heres my master plan after Bettman goes. Florida to Winnipeg, Penguins to Quebec, Nashville to Hartford (loved the shopping mall, it was great). Did you hear about the Devils building in downtown Newark! yes Newark! I think Winnipeg and Quebec would be fine. Politically Pittsburgh is worse than Buffalo. Sad...

[ajflutie]

Kansas City couldn't support the NHL Scouts or the IHL Blades. WHy give them another franchise to lose? I can name 5 cities that would be better NHL cities: Portland/Seattle, Las Vegas, OK City, Houston, Salt Lake City.

 

PTR

 

x-buffalonian, sabre fan in Houston here - I would suggest that this would not support NHL, too many damn Texans here....they would want to use a bigger net, bigger puck, bigger rink, bigger goalie pads, bigger sticks so they would be the biggest.....no one is even sure what ice is here..... :wallbash:

[Hawerchuk]

Heres my master plan after Bettman goes. Florida to Winnipeg, Penguins to Quebec, Nashville to Hartford (loved the shopping mall, it was great). Did you hear about the Devils building in downtown Newark! yes Newark! I think Winnipeg and Quebec would be fine. Politically Pittsburgh is worse than Buffalo. Sad...

 

You can't leave a city and then come back years later! Yes, that means you Hartford. However, I'd consider Winnipeg because Canada needs another team. But the NHL won't take another chance on a small market ever again.

[Seth Greenstein]

I for one am dead set against franchises moving....

That's a great sentiment. Then I assume you'll also be OK with either paying $5000 per ticket to go to the games or be OK with a team salary of $18mil, filled with one good player and a bunch of AHLers who end up with 45 points each year.

 

Let's face it, we may not like it, but professional sports are a business, there is no doubt about it. And at the end of the day, just like any business, you either support the business or move on.

 

In the perfect world, that's a great sentiment about being dead set against franchises moving. But that's just not reality, it's a theory that has a nice ring to it. Would you say the same thing if it were your business that were losing money big time?

 

Let's say that you are a Sabres fan who ended up buying the team. That would indicate that you must have been pretty smart to make that much money. How many years of bleeding money would you take before you gave up and started thinking about moving? For me, it'd be something you have to think about.

 

I don't like the Pens moving because I went to college in Pittsburgh and although I never liked the Pens, it's a great hockey town with a lot of passion for the team. But if the municipality and fans won't support the team, it's time to move.

 

Look at even other small markets like Edmonton. Rexall Place, although old, is a nice facility and one in which the Oilers can compete within the new salary cap era.

 

And ajflutie, I disagree with the fact tha because there are too many Texans, they won't catch on. I was a high school senior in Dallas when the Stars moved there. I went to about 5 games, and the people sitting around us kept asking me how I knew so much about the ball. When I mentioned to them that it's called a puck, they would Beavis giggle.

 

About 8 years later, I was at a game. Similar type people are now pissed when the Stars were doing the left wing lock. Yes, the same people that didn't know how to spell puck were able to identify the left wing lock. Not a grand concept, but the fact that they knew, and knew about the history of players, etc. means that a winning franchise that does things right will succeed.

 

Dallas was successful so that helps. But the reason they were successful is that they recognized that they needed to build excitement among kids, the kids that become paying customers in 10 years. They have built so many ice rinks that now, about 30 or 40 high schools have varsity hockey! That would have been unheard of when I moved to Dallas in 1987. If the Pens move to Houston and use the Stars blueprint (and they have a player better than Modano already), from both an on-ice and off-ice standpoint, you will have rednecks who want to discuss the intracacies of cycling the puck in 10 years. I promise - I've seen it in Dallas!