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NHL Planning to Expand to 32 Teams? (Article)


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This, my friend, is where the problem lies, within yourself.

People are proud from coast to coast and that need to be represented is what matters to them.

Saskatoon will get a team eventually, 1,11,22 years from now, it will happen, the sooner the better, lets get hockey on the prairies and move on.

All 4 Western Provinces should have an NHL team, cmon, is this not Canada's game?

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This, my friend, is where the problem lies, within yourself.

People are proud from coast to coast and that need to be represented is what matters to them.

Saskatoon will get a team eventually, 1,11,22 years from now, it will happen, the sooner the better, lets get hockey on the prairies and move on.

All 4 Western Provinces should have an NHL team, cmon, is this not Canada's game?

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Sure it would be nice for Saskatchewan fans, but what does it do for the league? Can a city of 220k make a team financially viable and competitive? What you completely ignore is that Edmonton struggles in that regard with almost four times the population. There's simply no point putting a team into a city that is certain to struggle without even the hope of expanding the fanbase.

There's only two reasons to put a team in a new city: Financial viability or grow the fan base. Saskatoon has neither. They have hockey fans already, but lack the population for financial viability. The result: no growth in fan base while adding a money sucker to the league.

The NHL is a business not a Canadian right.

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The only real mess in Columbus is the management. They had a good fanbase that has run out of patience. One playoff appearance in 11 seasons without a playoff victory to date. Their first season they averaged over 17,000 per game and over 18,000 their second season (more than Vancouver both years). Their 5th season was their first to dip just below 17,000. There's hockey fans there, but it can be tough to be a fan of a team that repeatedly misses the playoffs. Vancouver fans showed less patience prior to the WCE emerging.

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Perhaps my point went right over your head. I wasn't suggesting putting teams in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. I'm saying Halifax and Saskatoon lack the population and economy to support NHL teams any better than a southern non-hockey market city such as Louisiana.

Representation doesn't matter in Canada as there are already fans coast to coast. It's pointless putting teams in Canadian markets that will lose money. The whole idea of expanding into non-hockey markets was to expand the fan base.

Btw, 2011 census for Saskatoon 222,189. Edmonton has had struggles and they have 817,498. Quebec City is considered borderline with a population of 516,622. But they have an additional 250,000 in the metropolitan area. It doesn't matter if it's Canada. You still need the population to support a team.

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The bold part there certainly explains your desperately blind eye to the reality of putting a team there.

Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344. The 2011 Census, had the city population as 222,189,[4] and the census metropolitan area population as 260,600,[5] making it the largest city in Saskatchewan

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saskatoon

I guess like you, many others have moved away then.

As an added bonus, according to city-data.com as per last years census, of that population 23.3% are under 18 and 51.6 of the population are female. Which leaves an adult male population of approx. 82k.

Because Edmonton is a Canadian city and you seem to believe every Canadian city is entitled to a team and is a slam dunk for success simply because it's Canadian. Core population has an effect on franchise viability. Saskatoon lacks a core population.

Do you know why Toronto continues to sellout despite sucking? Population. They have 2.6 million in the city and a metro population of 6 million.

If they were indeed seeking a franchise there I would say they are idiots so desperate to own a team they're willing to go into a small high risk market. Off course there is another possibility. Get a franchise, show it's not making money, and move it to a better location.....such as Ontario.

Do you actually have anything at all that John Graham/On Ice Management "wants" to own a franchise in Saskatoon.?.....

When asked if he was seeking out potential local investors for a Saskatoon based team, Graham said, "You're surmising I have interest. I've never made a statement other than we are running exhibition games. Saskatoon has been a phenomenal market since we brought the Islanders to Saskatoon in 2009."

You see the difference is a single preseason game draws out the crowd as it's a novelty there. But a 41 game season year after year is a different beast entirely in a small market.

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LOL @ Wikipedia, not a good indicator or even close.

http://news.national...city-in-canada/

From July 2011

http://slam.canoe.ca...3/19497366.html

You go on about the population thing, but you fail to mention every time THIS IS HOCKEY OBSESSED SASKATCHEWAN, they don't need a million people to support a team.

The Carolina Hurricanes play in Raleigh, POPULATION 420,000, I checked, and used Wikipedia.

Whats your next argument Baggins, that it has a bigger metropolitan area than Saskatoon?

In a 50 mile radius from Saskatoon there is well over 350,000 people, in a 150 mile radius there is over 750,000 people;

So, Raleigh will support a team, in a city where every one hockey fan there is about 100 in Saskatoon, yet Saskatoon couldn't support a team?

Do you even know how big the companies like PCS or BHP Biliton are? Here, let me show you, and they are both already invovled in advertising in the WHL in Saskatchewan.

The corporate support is a slam dunk when they get a team.

http://www.thestarph...7801/story.html

That's the largest mining company in the world, and the 2nd largest company in the world, period.

Sorry Baggins, you can claim anything why this or that wont work, bottom line is, people ARE trying to lure a team there and in time it will happen....

John Graham would know more about where a team would succeed than you, so go back to the drawing board bud.

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what we really need is relocation and reduction

northwest

vancouver

calgary

edmonton

winnipeg

saskatoon

seattle

central

detroit

chicago

st louis

st paul

minneapolis

fargo (i know, never gonna happen)

northeast

ottawa

toronto

montreal

quebec

buffalo

hamilton

atlantic

ny rangers

new jersey

philadelphia

pittsburgh

washington

boston

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LOL @ Wikipedia, not a good indicator or even close.

http://news.national...city-in-canada/

From July 2011

http://slam.canoe.ca...3/19497366.html

You go on about the population thing, but you fail to mention every time THIS IS HOCKEY OBSESSED SASKATCHEWAN, they don't need a million people to support a team.

The Carolina Hurricanes play in Raleigh, POPULATION 420,000, I checked, and used Wikipedia.

Whats your next argument Baggins, that it has a bigger metropolitan area than Saskatoon?

In a 50 mile radius from Saskatoon there is well over 350,000 people, in a 150 mile radius there is over 750,000 people;

So, Raleigh will support a team, in a city where every one hockey fan there is about 100 in Saskatoon, yet Saskatoon couldn't support a team?

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This is a good example of how badly the North American Sports Leagues have F'd things up. Manchester United is one of the Richest sports franchises in the World, they have a 76,000 seat stadium filled nearly every game, they share the city with another top end team (Manchester City) population of Manchester? about 500,000. Sheffield England has THREE pro teams with a similar population, London has a LEAST a dozen teams. Personally I'd love the see the NHL collapse, and a new Canadian League structured like the EPL (start with two tiers of 10 teams with a promotion relegation system, no territorial restrictions so a city can have as many teams as the market will bear) the Stanly Cup is really the Dominion (of Canada) Challenge Trophy, time to return the Cup to what it was intended for, a Canadian National champion, no American team should have ever been allowed to play for it (does Real Madrid play for the English FA Cup?). Flame away I don't care, I am tired of big bucks and big attitude, and tired of seeing this country being sold out and taken over by the Americans one piece at a time.

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