The Franchise Shuffle

Winnipeg is southeast…of something. At least I think so.

Hadn’t thought about it in terms of Atlanta now having two chances and coming up short but I refuse to think that a big city like Atlanta can’t support a hockey team, even if it is in the south. I realize that hockey doesn’t have tremendously deep roots in the southern half of the country but a good team that is well run will bring fans in no matter where it is (excluding active volcanoes and/or the tundra… and underwater).

My feelings about the move are very mixed but certainly lean towards sadness and sympathy. I can’t imagine how it feels to be a Thrashers fan right now… it must be gutting. What makes it all the more frustrating and painful is that the team showed a lot of signs of improvement and is starting to move in the right direction.

The fact that Winnipeg gets a second chance is something I like, but I don’t like that it comes at the expense of another team. I don’t think the NHL can support many more teams, perhaps two more? Who knows. The fact of the matter is that the NHL is a business and it can be a cruel one sometimes. Should be wacky for the Southeast teams to travel so far so often next season, going to be tough on a lot of the guys… but you know what they say about toughness and our sport… don’t worry, they are hockey players.

I know it maybe a bit early to ask this question or even answer it with any definite answer. Either way, I’m sure it will be a question asked and answered many times over and not just by the Bolts, but by all teams in and out of the southeast division. (especially with the long hockey-less summer looming)

Still though, it’s a question you can’t help but think about since the rumor mill layed the first real egg several weeks ago… when it looked like it would be the Thrashers in the frying pan as opposed to the Yotes.

Certainly it can’t mean that every time the Bolts were set to play the Thrash, they will fly to another country.. instead of say.. Atlanta?? Being that the schedule is already likely in the process of being made, this has to be a nightmare. Worth the huge “relocation fee” the NHL charges to make the move? Probably not. Not the first time this has happened though.. so their should already be, at the very least, an idea of what will result. Then the next question… good or bad for us?

I’ve seen a picture on HockeyBuzz of Atlanta when they made the playoffs, the building was jam packed. A winning team will work in most places. People don’t want to pay to watch a losing team (except Edmonton and Toronto).

Now I’m from Niagara Falls, Canada and I refuse to cheer for the leafs because the normal family or father can’t take his kids to a hockey game. I was one of those kids growing up. I was raised to like Toronto, but as soon I could I jumped ship and I loved Marty & Vinny and I’ve been a die hard fan since 2003.

Tampa went through the rough years, but look at us now, we went from a “why there is there still hockey in tampa” to what we are now. The Atlanta team is just coming back together, Ladd, Kane, Little, Big Buff, Enstrom, theres a core to grow around. They surprised us all this season with their mid-season run, and with the proper coaching/drafting/signings this team could definitely work in the South East.

I feel terrible for Atlanta fans, cause I don’t know what I would do if Tampa were to relocate. It’ll take some time but I think a lot of ATL fans will start to cheer for Tampa once their done “Giving up on the NHL”. It’s tough for this to happen two times to a team.

They have made the playoffs one time in eleven seasons in Atlanta, with that one season culminating in a humiliating sweep after winning their only division title (which was a bit of a farce, but I digress).

Realistically, how can fans be expected to show up in droves for a franchise that loses far more often than they win? And this is not a “bandwagon” kind of argument – the vast majority of sports franchises will have insufficient fan support at games when the ownership and front office is in disarray and the on-ice product suffers as a result. We all know this from the three seasons prior to this one. Bad, unpopular ownership breeds dissent among the masses.

When the Lightning have had good ownership and a qualitative front office, the arena has been filled up, for the most part. We’ve seen the NHL work in other southern markets like Raleigh, Dallas, LA/Anaheim, Nashville, hell even Florida when they were successful in the 90’s. It can work in a big market like Atlanta. Contrary to what many in Canada think, there are plenty of hockey fans that exist in these markets. But when the ownership flat out sucks, the fans will not show. And alas for Thrashers fans (and perhaps old Atlanta Flames fans), they are losing their team as a result. And since it’s their second relocation, I doubt Atlanta ever gets back in the fold.

For what it’s worth, I feel thttp://www.rawcharge.com/2011/6/1/2200130/the-franchise-shuffle#commentshere are markets that should have teams before Atlanta. Winnipeg is on this list, as well as Quebec. But Atlanta did have a team, and their fans were never given a real incentive to care. I guess this is where Blue Jackets fans deserve a ton of credit, as their franchise history parallels that of the Thrashers in more ways than that they came into the league in the same season.

I don’t know either, but I appreciate the link, even though you didn’t mean to do it and the link to the article is embedded within the comments of the article. But still, it’s the not-thought that counts!

To be successful the next time around, they need the “Espo” treatment. By that they need a flamboyant, popular, charimatic guy who knows hockey and will make some headline-generating moves to get people in the seats. Manon Rheaume, anyone? She didn’t play in the exhibition game against the Blues because she was the best goalie…

Also, Atlanta needs a face of the franchise, rather than trading that face away every three or four years—and they’ll need to draft better than they did at the beginning of the franchise (Patrick Stefan, anyone?).

It was the team. 1 playoff berth in their time there. Never won a playoff game.

My heart goes out to the diehard Thrashers fans. I hate it when a team moves.

So am I the only one who thinks that if Phoenix moves in a year that it’ll be to an American city and not to a Canadian city?

As in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as in 49° 53’ 0" N / 97° 10’ 0" W

Pishaw! I only use UTM coordinates! 14U 633826mE 5518867mN

“Too far south for real hockey” is what the conventional wisdom said. Never mind that it was the second NHL franchise that appeared in the city (after the St. Louis Eagles and their one season in the 1930s). The Blues are still there, even with their ownership in question and their team running in the red every so often.

I think Atlanta should still be considered a viable market, just a dormant one at the moment.

…before they reveal the name.

If the ticket sales remain, er, lukewarm, will they eschew any name/mascot and go through the 2011-2012 campaign as just “Winnipeg?”

1) What is their shared revenue system, if they have one? If there is one, can it be enough to finance a team in a relatively small market?

2) What other markets are large enough in terms of media that could handle hockey? Hampton Roads (Norfolk/Virginia Beach)? Cincinnati (or is Columbus too close)? Birmingham? Is hockey popular in Iowa? Is relocation to Connecticut an option or perhaps Providence RI? Quebec lacks a team at the moment, oui?