No interested ownership group that’s willing to pay the inflated price tag on the Coyotes and sustain potential day-to-day, tickets-vs-expenditures losses for the golden goose that is the yearly increase in a franchise’s equitable value.  We’re talking Great-West Life insurance or Willes’ employer, the CanWest Global corporation, which just happens to be in bankruptcy…

Posted by George Malik from South Lyon, MI on 03/12/10 at 11:18 AM ET

As someone stated in the comment section at the end of the article, like that person I grew up in Winnipeg. I was a season ticket holder to the Jets in their early days. I would love a team in Winnipeg but the reality is, I doubt the city could support an NHL team. The arena size barely makes the NHL minimum. The arena has no parking lot so there is no parking concession. The city, as the person commented on the paper, does not have the demographic or the rich corporate community needed to support an NHL team. Everyone’s heart is in the right place and would love to see Winnipeg once again have a team but the parts needed to be successful are not there and if the dollar goes down again which it could it would be a bad situation.

Posted by Bo from FL. on 03/12/10 at 11:39 AM ET

In the end, it’s all about the money. With the Canadian Dollar trending up against the U.S. dollar, if an owner/league stands to make more money in Canada, don’t be surprised if other Canadian options, besides Winnepeg come to light.

Posted by Simian from Land of the Free, Home of the Brave on 03/12/10 at 12:16 PM ET

Here’s a reference about the Canadian dollar:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100310/wl_canada_afp/canadaeconomyforexus_20100310191857

Posted by Simian from Land of the Free, Home of the Brave on 03/12/10 at 12:23 PM ET

Now let’s think about what happens if you move two of those problem franchises to Winnipeg and to the Toronto area. You strengthen your league. You make the governors happy. And you look like a hero for returning to the game’s heartland.

Ed Willes forgot one important reason why those two teams aren’t going anywhere:
Gary Bettman looks like an idiot for putting 2 teams in horrible markets.

The man’s ego supersedes any amount of logic.

Also, lets not forget that the NHL would look even more foolish for preventing a rock-solid owner in Jim Ballsillie from buying the team and moving it to Southern Ontario last summer.

Posted by Hank from Kingsville, Ontario on 03/12/10 at 12:44 PM ET

As someone stated in the comment section at the end of the article, like that person I grew up in Winnipeg. I was a season ticket holder to the Jets in their early days. I would love a team in Winnipeg but the reality is, I doubt the city could support an NHL team. The arena size barely makes the NHL minimum. The arena has no parking lot so there is no parking concession. The city, as the person commented on the paper, does not have the demographic or the rich corporate community needed to support an NHL team. Everyone’s heart is in the right place and would love to see Winnipeg once again have a team but the parts needed to be successful are not there and if the dollar goes down again which it could it would be a bad situation.

I lived in the ‘Peg for a year and sadly everything Bo says is true.
My brother still lives out there and according to him the economy is a lot better than it once was. Some big companies have moved their HQ to Winnipeg due to the low cost of operations and living. So maybe there are some corporations that can help sustain the Jets.

But if the CDN $ ever gets back to where it was in the early 90’s the Jets would be right back in the same hot water they were before.

I believe that Quebec City and Toronto are more viable options. Heck, even Saskatoon is a better town for an NHL team.

It pains me to say that because I love Winnipeg and the people there are great hockey fans. But in today’s NHL you need big corporate support. Just ask Nashville.

Posted by Hank1974 on 03/12/10 at 12:54 PM ET

If Bettman had half a brain there would be teams in Winnipeg and Saskatoon.
I dont know about Manitoba, but in Saskatchewan the potash and/or uranium giants would make excellent corporate sponsors, plus Credit Union Center in Saskatoon already hosts pre-season games and can be expanded to NHL seating capacity, and unlike other provinces, people are crazy enough to drive hours to attend an NHL game.
A good percentage of Canadian born NHL players are born in SK, and you would be hard pressed to walk into any bar in Regina or Saskatoon on a Saturday night and not find HNIC on a TV screen.

Posted by PuckHound61 from Speckville USA on 03/12/10 at 12:57 PM ET

@Hank from Kingsville, Ontario

I hear what your saying, and probably is the only way to understand why it’s the way it is.

But when you have owners that are corrupt and going bankrupt, then that seems like a good reason for Gary to use and lead the team to a better market. Blame it on the owners not the people.

Not that i agree with that strategy - i’m just sayin’.

Posted by Simian from Land of the Free, Home of the Brave on 03/12/10 at 01:53 PM ET

@Puckhound61: I find that hard to believe. I know people in Saskatchewan come from all over to see Roughriders games, but that’s a dozen or so days per year depending on pre-season and the playoffs, and most of them are in good weather.

I find it hard to believe that an NHL team is sustainable over the long-term if you’re depending on even half of your customers to come from out of town for 41 home dates (plus pre-season and playoffs) per year. And half is being generous: Saskatoon’s population is in the 200k range, meaning that if 10,000 from Saskatoon were at a game, 1/20th of the town would be there. And then you’d have to depend on another 6-10k people coming from out of town for each game, driving through prairie winter weather on a lot of nights?

Hockey may be popular in Saskatchewan, but long-term, it just can’t work. The population simply isn’t there.

Posted by Josh from Whitehorse, Yukon on 03/12/10 at 03:16 PM ET

@ Simian.

I agree and I hope that strategy results in more Canadian teams.
Cheers!

Posted by Hank1974 on 03/12/10 at 03:22 PM ET

It’s a legitimate question: Why not Winnipeg?”

Yet as someone who loves the fact hockey came from the Great White North, and also as someone that loved the 21-team NHL, it’s time for reality to grab hold.

If the NHL truly wants to be a serious major league it cannot have teams in places such as Winnipeg, or Quebec City, …or Phoenix, Atlanta …

The difference is obvious. Yes, those smaller market Canadian cities could try their best to hold a team, while Bettman and Co do their best to keep teams in US cities that are obviously uninterested ….and that is wrong.

But the NHL cannot afford to have teams in relatively small markets (Canada). Yes, those small markets would sell well…but does the NHL really want five or six ‘Green Bays’ on its hands?

The day the NHL becomes the CFL is the day professional hockey dies, like it or not Gold Medal winners.

Posted by Red Winger from Sault Ste Marie on 03/12/10 at 11:34 PM ET