46 replies to this topic

[DevilMinder]

Do the players get a cut of the expansion fees? I can't recall

[Triumph]

Do the players get a cut of the expansion fees? I can't recall

No. But if the NHL expands to big markets, the players will see an increase in the salary cap.

[DH26]

If the Coyotes relocate, I think it will be to Seattle. The expansion teams, with higher price tags, will be reserved for Toronto and Quebec.

Key Arena's apparently only ready for 10-11K seats for hockey so they might wait on that so Quebec seems to be the only one w/ an arena assuming the Colisee is good enough

Seattle Not ready for relocation

[thefiestygoat]

Warning: Bumping this thread to post my own speculation because I'm bored.

 

Right now things appear fairly quiet out of Glendale and QC. Bill Daly (NHL deputy comish) denied Quebecor Inc. has begun negotiations for the Coyotes. This came after well connected journalist and employee of Quebecor, Réjean Tremblay, told a local sports radio station this news. Quebecor has also denied the report here and offered no comment here. As we all remember the NHL kept the Thrashers/Jets news quiet for as long as possible and the Winnipeg ownership group kept quiet for years leading up to it, despite talks with the NHL. I suspect that is what is going on right now. A look back at the Thrashers/Jets saga:

 

May  16 - Atlanta Journal-Constitution report talks for a sale to True North Sports and Entertainment underway.
May 19 - Globe and Mail report deal finalized to relocate.
May 31 - TNSE and NHL announce deal.

 

The newspaper reports came out during the Conference Finals and the deal was announced before the start of the SCF. The playoffs are running behind that schedule this year because of the late start with the lockout so we should be on the cusp of this period if relocation to QC was to happen.

 

I'm kind of rambling but here are the similarities I see going on between the Thrashers/Jets and Coyotes/QC situations:

1) Both sides are denying and/or no commenting on it.

2) A star journalist with ties to the relocating ownership group are leaking news. (Stephen Brunt reported the Jets deal for the Globe and Mail - owned by David Thomson of True North Sports....Réjean Tremblay reporting negotations underway and he is an employee of Quebecor Inc. who are trying to buy the Coyotes).

3) The time frame of when news started to come out and the deal was negotiated and signed was in mid-May to late-May in 2011, during the Conference Finals. We're about to get to that point in about a week and with the late start, a similar time frame would be late-May to early-June - just as long as it won't interfere with the late starting SCF.

 

I could be looking into all of this way too much and maybe the NHL will hold onto the team for another year. I wouldn't be shocked either way. Right now the NHL rejected Darin Pastor's bid for Phoenix Coyotes, Greg Jamison is appearantly trying to jump back into the mix but seems like a longshot, and the only other local group out there is led by George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc but I'm not sure how serious of players they are - they will have a ton of work to do with a relucatant City of Glendale mayor/council. Seems like a great oppurtunity for the NHL to rid itself of a headache and bring in some $$$ into the league between relocation fees and revenue by QC.

[Colin226]

Can't see it before next season since they went through the trouble of realigning the league and this would nix that.. I'm not even sure how they would do another realignment without moving someone from the eastern time zone to the western conference

[thefiestygoat]

Can't see it before next season since they went through the trouble of realigning the league and this would nix that.. I'm not even sure how they would do another realignment without moving someone from the eastern time zone to the western conference

I wouldn't be surprised if the league had a contingency plan for realignment and scheduling. The NHL did include both Winnipeg and Atlanta in their schedule drafts back in May 2011. If I had to give my gut feeling I'd say it's 55/45 the team ends up in QC.  Bettman seems hellbent on keeping a team in Glendale for some reason but at some point somethings gotta give.

[MadDog2020]

Can't see it before next season since they went through the trouble of realigning the league and this would nix that.. I'm not even sure how they would do another realignment without moving someone from the eastern time zone to the western conference
I wouldn't be surprised if the league had a contingency plan for realignment and scheduling. The NHL did include both Winnipeg and Atlanta in their schedule drafts back in May 2011. If I had to give my gut feeling I'd say it's 55/45 the team ends up in QC. Bettman seems hellbent on keeping a team in Glendale for some reason but at some point somethings gotta give.

The reason Bettman and the NHL want the team to stay in Glendale is because they don't want a relatively brand new building to be empty. It sets kind of a dangerous precedent for the league to have that kind of a situation, which is why Bettman has bent over backwards to find a local buyer/buyers to keep the team in Arizona. I would imagine if the franchise moves to QC, that maybe they would move Colorado to the Pacific to take the place of the Coyotes, but I have no idea what you do on the East side, seeing as how QC would slot into the Northeast Division with the Northeastern US teams and eastern Canadian teams (along with the Florida teams). They'd have to do some re-shuffling.

Edited by MadDog2020, Yesterday, 03:28 PM.