89 replies to this topic

[HockeyTownHouligan]

See: '98 Wings road to the cup

I remember their arena was packed during that series and the fans were crazy. Of course, those were the days Tkachuk and Roenick were a force together and Khabibulin made a name for himself.


Anybody remember in that series when Fedorov shot the puck (to dump it in) and it hit perfectly off the back boards to Khabibulin's skate and in the net? It was insanely good luck.

Dude i remember that it was in game 6 and i think the kick plate came loose and it deflected it perfectly. I think its on youtube under game 6 wings vs yotes 98 or somethin

[titanium2]

Why no NHL franchise in Utah? Mormons don't like hockey?

[Kabrok]

Why are people so insistent on a team in Winnipeg? Quebec City was far more supportive of the Nordiques than Winnipeg was of the Jets. The Nordiques were drawing very well when they moved to Colorado. The other problem with Winnipeg is that it is surrounded by wheat fields! There are no other feeder cities to draw from. There is a much larger population base in Quebec, and they have a track record of supporting an NHL team better than Winnipeg. Even Winnipeg didn't see itself with the NHL in its future, otherwise they would have built the MTS Centre 6 rows taller. And if we want to get silly about this and "hockey crazed" is your criteria, lets put six new expansion teams in Canada in the prarie provinces. How about Red Deer, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Lethbridge, Brandon, and how about a big market team like Saskatoon?

Quebec City is too francophone-centered to be a big draw, plus it dosen't have an adequate arena. Neither does Red Deer, Moose Jaw, Swift Current, Lethbridge, Brandon, or Saskatoon. MTS would need an expansion but it's far more NHL-ready than any kind of facility any of those locations you so sarcastically referred to. To say nothing of the kind of money that could be brought in by the pockets of someone like Thomson. Sorry, replying to a question that exploits a logical flaw in your argument with a snarky, sarcastic reply dosen't cut it. Especially when the snarky sarcastic reply is in and of itself easily refuted.

Edited by Kabrok, 01 April 2010 - 12:21 AM.

[Drake_Marcus]

Why no NHL franchise in Utah? Mormons don't like hockey?

They should love hockey... I mean Mormons are so white they're borderline albino.

[adubs]

Hockey doesn't belong in San Jose either, right? What about Dallas?

Edited by adubs, 01 April 2010 - 12:41 AM.

[cusimano_brothers]

[stevkrause]

BRING BACK THE JETS!

[cusimano_brothers]

Q: What do Phoenix fans and NBC have in common?
A: Neither knows that the season schedule starts in October.

[F.Michael]

Q: What do Phoenix fans and NBC have in common?
A: Neither knows that the season schedule starts in October.

...and both are getting NHL calibre hockey on the cheap!

[cusimano_brothers]

...and both are getting NHL calibre hockey on the cheap!

Are they ever!!!

[haroldsnepsts]

As much as I remain unconvinced that Phoenix will be a sustainable market, I think they should at least get more than one season of icing a decent team so the fans have time to catch on. If after a few good seasons no one is showing up, then it'll really show just how unlikely it is to ever catch on there.

And I'm not super familiar with the Phoenix area, but playing in Glendale probably isn't helping. It says it's only 9 miles from downtown, but feels a lot further. And there's only the 101 to get there. My memory of it is it's not really a fun area to hang out.

[TheWestWing]

Just moved to the area but been watching the team for awhile - initially just to watch Gretz blow-up once a week, but surprisingly the team became interesting to watch. Ironic that throughout this mess they became a better team - Tip gets the majority of the credit for such.

Not sure if Ice Edge will takeover or not, but the chatter here is that if Reinsdorf gets involved, he wants an out with Glendale if the team doesn't meet certain numbers. Which I think is fair currently. The playoffs probably are not gonna be the best gauge. What will be is how deep they go and if they're competitive next year - then attendance can be gauged appropriately. If what's true elsewhere - that a winner brings out fans - can\will be applied here. They show up for the Suns who play downtown at US Air Arena which I understand had problems with its config for hockey. So off to Glendale they went. It's not a bad locale for 'fans' and the arena itself is nice and new if not a lil sterile. I think they should be given another year to see what happens. Course the specter of 'giving them one more year' could be a double-edged sword to the fans.

[ogreslayer]

As much as I remain unconvinced that Phoenix will be a sustainable market, I think they should at least get more than one season of icing a decent team so the fans have time to catch on. If after a few good seasons no one is showing up, then it'll really show just how unlikely it is to ever catch on there.

And I'm not super familiar with the Phoenix area, but playing in Glendale probably isn't helping. It says it's only 9 miles from downtown, but feels a lot further. And there's only the 101 to get there. My memory of it is it's not really a fun area to hang out.

this ^^^

I work with a number of people who are very familiar with the Phoenix area or are there currently. From what they say, the hike to Glendale can be absolute murder, especially if you live on the other side of the city. The move & general lack of other things to do in the Glendale area has done a lot to kill off interest in going to games in that market.

[RedArmy]

I'm not too sure about that. Look at the Devils. They still can't sellout playoff games.

yea I don' tknow about that... since they moved to Newark they have had better attendance... their old stadium was awful...

[F.Michael]

As much as I remain unconvinced that Phoenix will be a sustainable market, I think they should at least get more than one season of icing a decent team so the fans have time to catch on. If after a few good seasons no one is showing up, then it'll really show just how unlikely it is to ever catch on there.

And I'm not super familiar with the Phoenix area, but playing in Glendale probably isn't helping. It says it's only 9 miles from downtown, but feels a lot further. And there's only the 101 to get there. My memory of it is it's not really a fun area to hang out.

this ^^^

I work with a number of people who are very familiar with the Phoenix area or are there currently. From what they say, the hike to Glendale can be absolute murder, especially if you live on the other side of the city. The move & general lack of other things to do in the Glendale area has done a lot to kill off interest in going to games in that market.

I don't buy the "it's too far away, and there's nothing to do in Glendale" excuse pertaining to the attendance woes...Right next door is the home of the Cardinals; are they having attendance issues as well?

They've been down there since the 1996-1997 season so it's not as though this is something new here...My brother who lives in Scottsdale says that people just don't care about the team, and the "incentives" needed to draw in crowds is pretty sad...IMHO the Coyotes need to be relocated.

[Wings_Fan_In_Exile]

I don't buy the "it's too far away, and there's nothing to do in Glendale" excuse pertaining to the attendance woes...Right next door is the home of the Cardinals; are they having attendance issues as well?

I grew up in AZ and can attest that it is a bit of a beyotch to get to Glendale on a weekday. And it really is pretty much just suburbia out there too, other than the two pro teams, all I can think of is a mall... (been a few years)

I'd argue three reasons the Cardinals have had less issues with attendance:
1: Recent success (a minute or two away from being champs) vs missing the playoffs for 8 years)
2: They only play 8 home games vs 41 (most if not all on on Sundays vs fighting rush hour on a Tuesday night)
3: Football vs hockey - just about anywhere in the US, football is gonna "win" -sad but true for most of the country I'd guess

They've been down there since the 1996-1997 season so it's not as though this is something new here...My brother who lives in Scottsdale says that people just don't care about the team, and the "incentives" needed to draw in crowds is pretty sad...IMHO the Coyotes need to be relocated.

While I won't argue that a lot of people don't care about the team as your brother mentioned there are a few reasons... As mentioned previously, put out a garbage product for a decade and see what happens. Buffalo and Pittsburgh were both in danger of moving away too...
What I've noticed with sports fans in general is that there is a HUGE chunk of casual sports fans always ready to jump on the next bandwagon. And I bet this is especially true in "melting pots" like Phoenix where just about somebody is from somehwere else. I'd be curious to compare attendance of the semi-successful 90's Coyotes attnedance vs the last few years of the Gretzky Era disaster.

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros]

Just another 1 of many poor decisions made by the NHL...No wonder the league is looked upon as a joke by it's rivals.

Move the "Yotes" back to Winnipeg, and the Thrashers to Hamilton as all will be well.

Makes sense.i really wanna see this done before next season.No matter how bad the team plays,there will always be hardcore fans in a Canadian market that will support the team and sellout.
See:Toronto Maple Leafs

[TheWestWing]

OK let's put summin to bed here - I'm generlizing that 'some' of you live N of 8 Mile (again, I'm generalizing). What's it take to get down to Jerry Lewis - 30 to 40 minutes? I'm in Scottsdale (nice place they say) bout 25-30 miles away and I can get to Jobber in about 35 minutes. Its located on the 101 Loop which is about a 45 mile or so loop (natch) that half-circles PHX proper. It's not downtown but it's not that hard to get in and out of. Much easier for a hockey game than 70K+ for football right next door (and they had that many for rasslin there the other night - go fig).

So the 'it's too far' is just poo - somewhere is always too far for somebody.

[edicius]

yea I don' tknow about that... since they moved to Newark they have had better attendance... their old stadium was awful...

I won't argue with that. Continental was a hole. The Rock is phenomenal, though. I've only been to one game there, but I'm very tempted to check out some playoff action this year, especially if the Devils go up against the Penguins.

[miller76]

The Coyotes have essentially given away the entire arena's tickets for various games this season in order to put up 'sellouts' - even though even with a packed house the event is still probably rung up as a financial loss. Anyone know if the game in question was such a game?

Makes you wonder, if the overall average attendance is 11000-12000 a game, how bad does it get when lower-bowl tickets DON'T cost 20 bucks?

This is complete non-sense. Every team including the Red Wings have had ticket deals and giveaways all season. My friend, who happens to be a sales associate for season tickets for the Coyotes, said there are more deals than ever, but they are still making money due to the improved product on the ice.

And to just let you know, that the March 27th home game against Colorado was a sell out, not too mention 1700 walk ups, at the arena. All were turned down.