The NHL thread (Buffalo, well at least you are not Cleveland)

#4,926
#4,926
VolunteerHillbilly said:
Will they be like Atlanta with a huge population but not enough fan support to keep the doors open?
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In all likelihood, probably, but they could surprise us. Vegas obviously is a very transient town. I've heard some people say it can work because casinos will buy a bunch of tickets and comp them to gamblers. Casinos giving away things that take people outside of the casino? I don't buy it. You put high rollers up in your penthouse suites and make sure they stay on your property, not send them out to T-Mobile Arena.

If the league is questioning the staying power of a Vegas team that isn't a contender early on, then I wonder what they thought about a Nashville team that wouldn't be a contender for a while either.

There was a theory (some would say conspiracy theory) that Craig Leipold, when he initially brought the Predators to Nashville, never intended to keep them in Nashville long-term. After a few lean years, attendance would be awful, and the NHL would allow him to move them. Given how slim the pickings were during the Predators' expansion draft, perhaps that theory makes some sense - he wasn't worried they'd suck early on if he thought he could move them to a more traditional market later.
 
#4,927
#4,927
05_never_again said:
In all likelihood, probably, but they could surprise us. Vegas obviously is a very transient town. I've heard some people say it can work because casinos will buy a bunch of tickets and comp them to gamblers. Casinos giving away things that take people outside of the casino? I don't buy it. You put high rollers up in your penthouse suites and make sure they stay on your property, not send them out to T-Mobile Arena.

If the league is questioning the staying power of a Vegas team that isn't a contender early on, then I wonder what they thought about a Nashville team that wouldn't be a contender for a while either.

There was a theory (some would say conspiracy theory) that Craig Leipold, when he initially brought the Predators to Nashville, never intended to keep them in Nashville long-term. After a few lean years, attendance would be awful, and the NHL would allow him to move them. Given how slim the pickings were during the Predators' expansion draft, perhaps that theory makes some sense - he wasn't worried they'd suck early on if he thought he could move them to a more traditional market later.
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That's a bit on the Tin Foil hat side lf things re Leipold.

He called Balsillie out on his BS at a time when the league would sell a club to anyone with capital. For all the crap he gets, if he hadn't done so your team would likely be in southern Ontario.
 
#4,928
#4,928
Toujours Pret said:
That's a bit on the Tin Foil hat side lf things re Leipold.

He called Balsillie out on his BS at a time when the league would sell a club to anyone with capital. For all the crap he gets, if he hadn't done so your team would likely be in southern Ontario.
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I agree it is a bit tinfoil, and that theory was parroted by "traditional" NHL people who were upset the league wanted a team in Nashville and not in Canada or a northern city, so perhaps some sour grapes too.

But I'm not so sure he truly called out Balsillie out on his BS as a matter of principle. After the falling out with Balsillie Leipold wanted to sell to Del Biaggio, who is a rather unsavory character himself and also wanted to move the team. They'd be in Kansas City today if the city didn't rally around the team, convincing them to sell to the local ownership group (of which Del Biaggio was still a part).

Leipold is/was close with Bettman, and Bettman really didn't want another team in Southern Ontario (Leafs turf). Balsillie also didn't play the game by the NHL's rules; I believe he went ahead and started a season ticket campaign without even having an agreement to use an arena, etc. He rubbed a lot of people the wrong way and wanted to move the team to a city that the powers that be didn't want it to go to, so they kind of forced him out.

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/columnists/2007/06/23/nhl_calling_the_tune_in_nashville.html
 
#4,929
#4,929
Scott Hartnell would be a good fit for any team in the league if he's willing to make under $2m and is content with a dozen or so minutes a night
 
#4,935
#4,935
That McDavid contract is going to **** everything up, especially because the Canadian economy is really no different than a Persian Gulf state with a cheery exterior.

We're now in a world where Dmitry Orlov gets 5 million a year before a bidding war.
 
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#4,936
#4,936
Toujours Pret said:
That McDavid contract is going to **** everything up, especially because the Canadian economy is really no different than a Persian Gulf state with a cheery exterior.

We're now in a world where Dmitry Orlov gets 5 million a year before a bidding war.
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They also have to give Drisidel money also
 
#4,939
#4,939
Marleau not going to be in teal next year....... I don't know how to feel about this. Three years and a NTC is a steep price for a 38 year old. But he did score 27 goals last season.
 
#4,948
#4,948
I know it's an easy question to ask this morning, but is it fair to say that Mike Babcock is a little overrated?

Hasn't won a playoff series in 5 years, hasn't been beyond a conference semifinal in 10. He won his Stanley Cup with a team/franchise that had been good for a very long time and was put together by a great GM. He's won gold with Canada at the Olympics and the World Championships, which is a nice job, but we're talking about Canada. They are supposed to win those things.

That job he did his first year in Anaheim was incredible, I'll admit that, but it was a long time ago now. He's had success in his career, no doubt, but he's never really taken lemons and made lemonade outside of that first year in Anaheim.
 
#4,949
#4,949
I wouldn't say overrated. Ken Holland did him no favors in Detroit, favoring keeping their stupid streak alive as opposed to building a roster with a prayer of winning anything.

Toronto's back end is very bad, he's done well so far. I don't think you can judge his work in Toronto until the summer of 2020.
 
#4,950
#4,950
Toujours Pret said:
I wouldn't say overrated. Ken Holland did him no favors in Detroit, favoring keeping their stupid streak alive as opposed to building a roster with a prayer of winning anything.

Toronto's back end is very bad, he's done well so far. I don't think you can judge his work in Toronto until the summer of 2020.
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Holland also built the two teams that Babcock took to a Cup, winning one of them. There are multiple coaches who probably could have won a Cup with those Detroit squads.

IMO, the hallmark of a truly good coach is one that is able to get something out of a team that is more than the sum of its parts. Take a bad team and make it OK, take an OK team and make it pretty good, take a pretty good team and make them great. That's how someone like Belichick is so incredible; he's had Brady the whole time, but nearly everyone else around Brady over the years has been a rotating cast of characters, most of which aren't truly great players individually. Outside of his first year in Anaheim, his very first year as a head coach, I don't really think he's done that.

Not saying Babcock is a bad coach, just maybe overrated. Remember he also makes double more than any other coach in the league.
 
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