Report: Balsillie gets deal in Hamilton

[Kp-Wings 3]

New York can't do it.

[/font]

Check attendance figures for New York teams not named Rangers.

The Islanders had goot attendance towards the end of the year. The main reason people weren't going is the whole Neil Smith and Rick Dipietro situations that went on over the summer. The fans were mad at the organization, and chose not to go. Once the team played decent, aquired Ryan Smyth, and made the playoffs, the fans slowly made their way back. The Islanders do have fans, contrary to what many believe.

The Devils are boring, and the arena is a ***** to get to. Plus they don't have that many fans to begin with. Even despite their success, the Devils have struggled with attendance more then Islanders.

[lfd250 1]

Well, not having Hamilton in the same division as Toronto and Buffalo would make zero sense.

True, however Hamilton is closer to Detroit then Nashville. I know, open a can of worms.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Atlanta is the most logical choice to move west though. In fact, they are actually further west then Columbus. It only makes sense to move them into Western Conference.

Atlanta's only rivalry in the south is probably Washington. Ovechkin smashes their face every game they play each other, and their was a brawl between the two teams in an early game this season. Other than that, most teams in the south don't really have a natural rivalry with Atlanta. They are expandable in that sense, and probably will move west when the Preds move east.

No, moving Atlanta makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Just because they're technically a couple miles west means crap-all nothing. Think about it. With Nashville gone, there would be no Western team within 500 miles of Atlanta. Detroit, Columbus, Chicago, St. Louis, Atlanta??? Atlanta will stay in the Southeast. GUARANTEED. If the Preds move to Hamilton and go East (which I think is quite possible but not a guarantee) then Pittsburgh will be the likely West mover, as it's in much closer proximity to the teams in the Central.

I swear to god I will stamp out the notion of Atlanta moving West if it's the last thing I do. Being three miles west based on longitude does NOT make it logical to move it OUT of a division where the furthest team is STILL closer than the closest team in the new division.

[Motown 0]

it doenst matter too much to me if they move but i would shake up the leauge & bettman (not like bettman does much anyway) up greatly and might get the Detroit to the East Conf move on the fast track.

[MonkeyGoalie 14]

There is a team in the West that has to travel more then 500 miles when ever they have to play any other teams away from home, Dallas. Long travels come with most the teams in the West. Even though Pittsburg is closer moving them would take away most of the in state team rival with Philly. Too much history between those teams when compared with Atlanta and any of the teams in the south, but hey anything is possible right now. Preds are still in Nashville and no changes are going on right now with any teams geographically.

[vangvace 12]

For curiosity's sake... if the sale of the team goes through, but with a stipulation that he couldn't move the preds, could he spearhead the move of another team to Hamilton while his team stays in Nashville?

Bring a team home, own the building rights of that team, while owning the Preds with the sweet deal they are(Owner gets all the revenue but none of the cost). Win, win, win?

[joshy207 156]

I don't think an owner is allowed to be involved with more than one team, but I may be mistaken. I can't remember if that's an NHL rule or if it was from another sport...

I would think Pittsburgh would move to the West if the Predators go to Hamilton. But the sale first has to be approved by the Board, then the move would have to be approved, and if Hamilton is in either Toronto's or Buffalo's territorial rights area, they would have to agree to a move and be compensated. There's a lot of things that would have to happen, and it might all take more than a year, so Nashville's around for now.

Ideally, I'd like to see the league abandon the East/West format and mix up the divisions so all teams have pretty equal travel.

[vangvace 12]

I don't think an owner is allowed to be involved with more than one team, but I may be mistaken. I can't remember if that's an NHL rule or if it was from another sport...

I would think Pittsburgh would move to the West if the Predators go to Hamilton. But the sale first has to be approved by the Board, then the move would have to be approved, and if Hamilton is in either Toronto's or Buffalo's territorial rights area, they would have to agree to a move and be compensated. There's a lot of things that would have to happen, and it might all take more than a year, so Nashville's around for now.

Ideally, I'd like to see the league abandon the East/West format and mix up the divisions so all teams have pretty equal travel.

yeah... I remember waaay back that either Norris or Adams where involved with the hawks and wings, but I don't know if it would fly today.

Bring back the old devision names! if for no other purpose than to dump geographical debates. (Ok that wouldn't stop them but I do miss the old name scheme over the generic one in use now)

[Guest DetroitIan]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS

[scotzman 29]

If I were Illitch I would be screaming about being in the West all the time... and if Hamilton gets a team just 3 hours up the road, I would scream even louder. While I would agree that a Hamilton team would belong in the East, there is no way in hell that should happen.

Hopefully someday in the near future two of these Eastern teams like Carolina, TB, Atlanta or Florida will end up moving out West and make a way for Detroit to go to the East where they belong.

From Nashville and to the West should be the Western Conference... Detroit & Columbus should be the in the Eastern Conference.

[Wings_Fan_In_Exile 3]

It's nothing more than speculation at this point, but I hope the speculation is right! I'mm all for an expansion team moving to Canada.

Although I grew up in AZ, so I'm glad it's Nashville that might be moving.

[evilmrt 636]

Just a few thoughts on this.

The man is a billionaire. You don't get to be a billionaire by not having good business sense...so for everyone who says this won't work....I think the man is a little bit more qualified than you are. Furthermore, it doesn't make sense to keep the Preds in Nashville if they have no corporate support and are losing millions of dollars. I'm sorry Nashville folks, but the point of owning a hockey team is to make money, not lose it.

Thats why I also think the Board will approve a move...it is in the common interest of the league to see a team succeed financially. If you're 60 million dollars in the red AND you have a good team....then obviously you're operating in the wrong location.

Buffalo and Toronto will most likely vote against the move....but you only need a 2/3 majority. 2 votes against won't change anything.

[BlueMonk 102]

toronto is a hockey hot bed, if new york can do it, we certainly can.

Maybe an NHL team would thrive in Hamilton, but this statement needs tweaking. Toronto is a Maple Leafs hot bed. There's a difference. The Hamilton Bulldogs have a dismal attendance record, and they've been a damn good AHL team.

[Dynamo 0]

I don't think an owner is allowed to be involved with more than one team, but I may be mistaken. I can't remember if that's an NHL rule or if it was from another sport...

I would think Pittsburgh would move to the West if the Predators go to Hamilton. But the sale first has to be approved by the Board, then the move would have to be approved, and if Hamilton is in either Toronto's or Buffalo's territorial rights area, they would have to agree to a move and be compensated. There's a lot of things that would have to happen, and it might all take more than a year, so Nashville's around for now.

Ideally, I'd like to see the league abandon the East/West format and mix up the divisions so all teams have pretty equal travel.

I'd like to see an EAST, WEST , and CENTRAL in the NHL. I know it's completely unconventional but it makes sense to me. There are just too many teams that have horrible travel schedules, Detroit has the worst (flying the length of around the world in the PO's) but consider Dallas in the Pacific??? and Minnesota in the Northwest???. There are enough teams in the central US to make it work.

[Normy P 0]

The Predators will only temporaily move to Hamilton's Copps Coliseum until the new arena in Balsille's hometown of Kitchener-Waterloo is built. He has the land purchased and is just itching to get it built there. The land is located just off the 401 and just outside the Toronto Maple Leafs zone. A team in Kitchener would affect the Sabres, Leafs, and Red Wings. Many fans of the Red Wings and Sabres are drawn from the Southwestern Ontario hotbed and Kitchener is within one hour of London ON, a city that sells 10000 seats to an OHL game. The league would have to think hard about the effects on Detroit and Buffalo as they are teams that have been selling out for many seasons now. Why shake the pot? I for one would love to see a team in Kitchener but not at the expense of my beloved Red Wings or the now surging Sabres! The Leafs would be minimally impacted as they have enough people on their season ticket waiting list to fill Ford Field every night!

[alienanxiety 23]

the Hamilton Blackberries.

[Legionnaire11 0]

lets just wait and see. It's a shame that it had to come to this, but it looks like the corporations and local government here are finally waking up and jumping on board with the Preds. I fully expect us to blow away the 14,000 mark next season, plus there was a huge price increase on season tickets. So that, combined with an increase in attendance means that the Preds become much more financially stable, maybe even turning a profit next season.

Also, take the HUGE losses with a grain of salt. While Leipold may have lost $70M in the last 9 years, Powers Management managed to make a $43M profit from the team. And while the $220M makes you say "dang, he has to move the team at that price" you have to note that Powers Management is also part of the deal. He's buying the Preds AND Powers Management. Plus Kansas City was in the running to buy the team, so that drove the price up as I think their final bid was up to $200M.

Now, am I going to say that Balsillie has no intentions of moving the team? No, that would be stupid. But I do think he's going to give Nashville more of a chance than most people believe he will.

Also, with the increase in attendance, if the team turns a profit, do you think the BoG is going to approve a move? no way. As part of Bettman's plan to get the league more exposure and grow the product in non-traditional markets, do you think he's going to approve a move? no way.

This team will be in Nashville for at least 7 more seasons and possible forever. The real shame is that, as if we haven't taken enough crap from other fans around the league about attendance, now we have to carry around this burden and i'm guessing that the trolling over the next several seasons on Preds boards will be at an all-time high and 10x worse content than ever before. You think it's bad hearing all the time about how Detroit bought the cup, and how old the players are, i'd gladly take that in exchange for constantly hearing about how much the dumb rednecks down here don't deserve a hockey team.

Edited June 1, 2007 by Legionnaire11

[OsGOD 3]

Looks like I better get a passport so that I don't get stuck in Canada

[Lidstrom5 D-Man 0]

Do you really think Bettman will allow three teams that close together?

Check out how close Philly, Washington, and NJ are.

[Wings_Fan_In_Exile 3]

Here's hoping for the Hamilton Mustangs!

[StaticWithABeat 0]

I'd rather see a team back in Winnipeg or Quebec City than Hamilton, but anything that involves more Canadian teams is ok by me. This whole thing is moving along awfully fast, it'll be interesting to see what other shenanigans Ballsillie will try to pull over the summer.

[scotzman 29]

Here's hoping for the Hamilton Mustangs!

Only if the "Hockey Hair" is mandatory... and Paul Kariya kicks Rackey's ass!

[Guest jaytan]

Atlanta is the most logical choice to move west though. In fact, they are actually further west then Columbus. It only makes sense to move them into Western Conference.

Atlanta's only rivalry in the south is probably Washington. Ovechkin smashes their face every game they play each other, and their was a brawl between the two teams in an early game this season. Other than that, most teams in the south don't really have a natural rivalry with Atlanta. They are expandable in that sense, and probably will move west when the Preds move east.

Well, I'm looking at establishing long-term regional rivalries. Assuming Atlanta, Carolina, Tampa and Florida manage to stick around for a significant amount of time, the Southeast Division clearly has the right teams in it. While I can see Washington possibly fitting in another division, it would be a stretch to place any of the four Southern teams (excluding Nashville for obvious reasons) with anyone else.

Atlanta is 5-600 miles away from Columbus and St. Louis and over 700 miles away from Detroit and Chicago. Meanwhile, Georgia shares a stateline with three of the four teams in the Thrashers' current division, and Atlanta shares the Southeast Conference cities' culture, and has deeplyl-established rivalries with teams from Florida and the Carolinas in other sports.

The other teams in the division are even farther away from the rest of us, so I don't see Bettman breaking up that division until some of its teams relocate.

Since the NHL probably won't either move the Wings and Predators East or keep the new Southern Ontario team in the Central (they would be fools to keep that team out of the Leafs' division), I'd still call for Pittsburgh to take Nashville's spot. It's about as close to Detroit as Chicago is, and basically in the same region as the Central Division teams, and it's even closer to Columbus.

And the way everyone seems to assume the Pens are going to be some sort of dynasty soon, it could help the NHL bring more attention to the West.

[Barrie 900]

I have to agree with betterREDthandead. Atlanta will stay in the South East. They are to close to Raleigh, TB, and Miami to move them to the Central. I would assume Hamilton would be/stay in the Central.

The dividing line between the Eastern and Western Conference looks like it may be my home town of Burlington Ontario . Check a map and you'll see what I mean.....

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Okay..somebody unconfuse me. I read all this and am still lost.

So basically the Preds have a new owner, and the owner wants them to play in Hamilton and not have the Nashville Preds around anymore? And if that happens..when? This season or is that too soon?