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1. by Steve
   14 days ago

   Joe, here's another possibility. The NHL could announce expansion to a symmetrical 32 teams and Portland and Quebec would be an ideal expansion pairing. Portland would be placed in a division with Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary, and Quebec would be in a division with Montreal, Ottawa, and Boston. Portland would also have natural rivalries with the other American west coast teams plus a future Seattle franchise.

2. by Steve
   14 days ago

   Thanks for responding again, Joe and becoming my fan and I am glad you liked the Quebec article. We'll have to wait and see how everything turns out. There's a long way to go before we are proved right and as I've noted, there are a lot of potential derailments for this promising beginning.

   I've not heard of Gallacher but he sounds like a suitable owner for the NHL. He may jump into the Winnipeg situation but if I were him and wanted an NHL team, I would be looking for an expansion or relocated team for Portland. He knows the market and I've mentioned in many articles before that the Northern United States like Canada has been snubbed by NHL expansion. Of the American cities I've listed, Portland is one of the four best choices because of their long tradition with junior Canadian hockey with the Winter Hawks. Portland has an NBA team and if its arena can be also converted to playing hockey, it would be a perfect fit. Gallacher may be Canadian, but his hockey marketing ties are to Portland. Other advantages in his favor are that the NHL would prefer transferring a money loser to another American city instead of a Canadian one and if the transfer was a city from the eastern conference, it allow Detroit to be moved into an eastern division. So Detroit would be a big backer of any transfer of Atlanta, Tampa Bay, or Florida to Portland. Portland would probably be a successful money making franchise as compared to these other ones.

3. by Steve
   16 days ago

   Thanks for responding, Joe. I'll try to answer your questions again.

   1. Of course Harper is going to say that. It will win him votes which is safe to do. But he won't dare pledge government money until he sees how the political wind goes. That is two different things.

   2. I can't remember too much about that expansion other than what I told you, certainly not about who else was competing for a team. You can use your imagination. Probably some of the American cities that are now in the NHL that didn't have a team then and some others. Run down the list in the NFL and NBA. But the NHL at the time was in favor of adding another Canadian team and Hamilton with its new arena was the leader until its investor fumbled it away. The Ottawa people had also done their expansion homework.

   But going to Ottawa made sense in other ways. There was no territorial issues as with Hamilton with Buffalo and Toronto. Metropolitan Ottawa is a much bigger city (400,000 difference now) than metropolitan Hamilton, though Hamilton has a much better regional market. And it bought political goodwill for the NHL at the Canadian Federal Government level. Ottawa had pledged to build a proper NHL-size arena and once it found a good investor, success was assured.

   3. That's just a bunch of failed French Canadian hockey players stirring up nationalistic passions for their own benefit. There are always some Quebec separatists and nationalists looking to grasp any straw to turn Quebecers against Canada and when you read the research done, you realize how laughable that is. Maurice Richard, the separtists' ultimate sports hero, was a hero right across Canada and made tv commercials in English. He would not have objected if he had been traded by Montreal to Toronto. If I were the separatists, I'd have less to do with this article as possible. It makes them look ridiculous.

4. by Steve
   17 days ago

   Thanks for showing me that clip, Joe. What is true in that clip is that the Stanley Cup is considered the top trophy in Canada above all else. Similarly, winning the hockey gold medal or the Canada Cup is considered the top priority for the Canadian men's team. There is similar pressure on the Canadian Women's team and on the Canadian Junior team. That is why there is a different atmosphere in a Canadian rink.

   There is also a difference in the way Americans approach international competition to Canada. When the World Baseball Classic was staged earlier this year, I wrote a series of articles on that difference. Some Americans approached the tournament in the manner the Canadians do as described above. But others belittled the tournament as little more than an exhibition. Americans like to call their professional league champions the "World Champion" even though there is no competition outside the United States against an international opponent.

   Canada used to have that attitude in hockey but thanks to the good showing of the USSR in the 1972 series, that changed and now games against international competition are treated with respect and honor. International hockey players are now treated as equals with Canadians. Sports like hockey and curling which Canadians used to dominate now have good international competition that has gained the respect of the Canadian public. Even though, Komiserek is American, I think he enjoys playing in the different atmosphere of Canada.

   Many Americans also have experienced the difference by playing in the CHL as teenagers which is a much higher level of junior competition than anything found in the United States. Top junior Americans will get drafted by Canadian Junior teams which will find sponsor homes and schools for them while they play in Canada. Thus they'll become a bit "Canadianized" both in hockey development and off the ice. Since 1973, when European players began to play regularly in the NHL, many junior Europeans have come over for the same experience. Paul Stasny whom you saw in the video is the son of Peter Stasny who defected from Czechoslovakia to play in Quebec City.

5. by Steve
   17 days ago

   Thanks for responding, Joe. I haven't listened to the recording yet but I'll try and answer your other questions.

   1. I'll still be a Toronto fan. You see I've been around when the Leafs won the Stanley Cup four times in seven years. It's been woeful to see what's happened to them since.

   2. A Hamilton franchise would probably develop its own fanatical fans over time but to start out with, it would be like a poor cousin to Toronto in southern Ontario.

   3. Balsillie won't get a team unless the NHL is absolutely desperate. I think he's finally got the message that he is not wanted.

   4. There's lots of support for a Hamilton franchise. Hamilton would not have built its arena if did not want an NHL franchise. And it's been a success not only in staging hockey but other events like concerts and the Canadian Curling Championship, the Brier. The last game of the 1987 Canada Cup where Lemieux scored from a pass with Gretzky was played there. If they ever release the series on dvd, you'll see several games played there with packed enthusiastic crowds. And Balsillie was not the first person to try and get Hamilton a team. When the NHL chose another team to enter with Tampa Bay, Hamilton was the leading Canadian city based on its arena to get a team. But its major investor, Tim Doughnut questioned the NHL's terms. The league demanded mindless acceptance and chose Ottawa instead.

   5. You can always buy vintage NHL jerseys including Quebec, Winnipeg, and Hartford in Canada.

   6. Montreal was for sale because Gellette makes more money from sports elsewhere, and wanted to relinquish the team. Molson was the owner of the Canadians in previous years (That's why they call their arena the Molson Centre) and they wanted the team back which they bought from Gellette. So they won't be assisting Quebecor to get the Nordiques back.

   7. I doubt that Labbats will get involved though it wouldn't be a bad idea. But Molson has been the traditional brewery sponsor of NHL hockey in Canada since the 1950's. I think Labbatts might have been involved with the WHA. But Labbats has been the CFL's brewery sponsor and once was the owner of the Blue Jays and was responsible for them joining the American League.

   8. Other rich Canadian families besides Thomson which is supposed to be getting involved with a returned Winnipeg team include Weston, Bronfman (original owner of the Montreal Expos), and Seagram's (whiskey distillers). There's probably a lot more.

   9. Ottawa was once seriously threatened but Bettman helped find the current owner from Toronto. During the great depression of the 1930's several Canadian franchises disappeared including the original Ottawa Senators, the Montreal Maroons, and a team from Hamilton. There was also a western hockey league that competed for the Stanley Cup which was won by Seattle. And Kenora won the Cup during the early 1900's.

6. by Steve
   19 days ago

   I don't know about any on-line petition for Quebec, Joe. You won't have to worry about that anyway. There's two on-line ones for Hartford. Here's one of them.

   http://www.petitiononline.com/2004Whal/petition.html

7. by Steve
   22 days ago

   Thanks for giving me that new information, Joe. This is great news for Quebec hockey fans. Now I'll try and answer your questions.

   1. I don't mind you posting notes on my bulletin board but if you want to respond by e-mail, mine is steve@eol.ca.

   2. My guess is that if Quebec gets a team the odds are:
   a. Phoenix
   b. New York Islanders
   c. An expansion team

   3. Quebecor is a media mogul that owns several newspapers across Canada including the Toronto Sun. They will be a very stable owner and they are currently looking for other partners to help fund the team and the arena.

   4. No other Canadian team will actively help Quebec get a team, though if Montreal opposed it, it would have political repercussions that they want to avoid.

   5. Quebec's arena would be good news for teams moving, because they have somewhere to go. If you remember, the Islanders recently played an exhibition game in Kansas City with the aim of trying to force a new arena to be built and only drew a crowd of under 10,000. That's why I put them on my list above. The Islanders would much rather move to a sure thing like Quebec than an uncertain place like Kansas City.

   6. The franchise is in the bag. Bet on it. No mayor (unless it some place stupid like Kansas City) would make an announcement like the one yesterday unless they are almost certain that a team will be coming. The mayor met with Bettman, but I imagine there have been unreported phone negotiations between Bettman, the mayor, and Quebecor before this. The only other time this happened was Hamilton which built an arena and were the leading Canadian team for expansion only to see its main investor fumble it away and lose it to Ottawa. But unless Bettman is lying, you can probably bet that Quebec will get a team.

   7. If Quebec doesn't get a team, it won't be the mayor that has betrayed them but Bettman and the NHL. Don't forget that the new arena would be used for other purposes besides the NHL. Even though Hamilton doesn't have a team its arena makes a profit hosting other things. Quebec is aiming to host the Winter Olympics in the future and this facility would be perfect for that.

   8. They'll get the funding and the Provincial Govt. has already pledged some money toward it, though not the sum that they have requested. Don't forget Quebecor was rich enough to try and purchase Montreal and they are currently lining up other corporate partners to help fund the arena and team.

   9. They won't need your support now because the deal is virtually done. Last year there was a petition signed by 80,000 fans asking for the Nordiques return. Getting public support has already been assured. But there is an online petition to get the Hartford Whalers back and a new arena built. I signed it even though I'm from Toronto. They probably would appreciate your support.

   10. The Phoenix situation. You should read some of my other NHL articles which would give you all the background information about Phoenix but I'll briefly list them here for you.

   Hockey is an unpopular sport in the United States. The NHL wants to make it a big 4 sport there with status like the NFL, NBA and MLB. In particular the NHL wants a rich American tv contract like these other leagues and Gary Bettman was hired to get it for them. His strategy was to introduce hockey into unfamiliar American markets. Thus Winnipeg and Hartford were shifted to Phoenix and Carolina. All the expansion under Bettman has been to the Southern United States and Canada and the northern US, "natural" hockey markets were ignored.

   Bettman's strategy failed. He managed to create a successful Anaheim team but almost all the other franchises are in trouble. Carolina and Columbus have been iffy though they might have turned the corner. Atlanta, Phoenix, Florida, and Nashville have been failures. In addition, Tampa Bay was sold to bad quarreling owners, and the New York Islanders have an arena crisis. To make matters worse, the NHL got dropped by ESPN and all Bettman could get was a deal with Versus which in turn has just been dumped by a major cable/satellite tv provider.

   Hockey never took off in Phoenix, drawing bad crowds, and little corporate and tv support. The team has never made a profit all the years it has been there. In addition, when the new arena was built, the team was forced to sign a bad lease agreement. Most teams make money through their lease agreements; Phoenix was losing it.
   In there and places like Columbus and Florida, tickets are sold for bargain basement prices whereas in a true hockey market, there are sky high prices.

   The NHL didn't like Balsillie because he tried to bulldoze his way in circumventing the NHL constitution and rules but doesn't want to run a money losing franchise indefinitely. At the end of the season, the Coyotes will be moved and if Quebec gets its finances and arena situation in order which they are currently doing, I would guess that Phoenix would be sold to Quebecor and moved there.

8. by Steve
   23 days ago

   Thanks for responding again Joe. I will try to keep you informed about NHL expansion. I'll try and go over some of the things you've listed in your latest posting.

   1. You've misinterpreted the situation about Quebecor. What happened was that George Gillette, the owner of Montreal put the team up for sale and Quebecor, and Molson Breweries tried to buy it. When Montreal returned to Molson's ownership, Quebecor changed its plans and announced that it would seek to bring the Nordiques back to Quebec and has become the main investor for restoring the Quebec franchise.

   2. There is a lobby group in Winnipeg with whom I've had numerous clashes called the Manitoba Mythbusters, a group dedicated to bringing back the Jets at any cost. This group has set up a website which you can check out that plays up every little bit of positive news about the Jets returning. Now I'm in favor of Winnipeg getting its team back and I agree with them when they say Winnipeg has a big enough market and that they would be a better franchise than the American money-losers. But I disagree with them when I say that the new Winnipeg arena is too small. They insist that it is big enough and every article that I have written to prove my point gets cut up by them. They claim they have got everything worked out including ticket prices. But Winnipeg is spending money on a new stadium for the Blue Bombers and not an NHL arena. Because of the arena situation, I would still pick Quebec and Hamilton to get a team before Winnipeg.

   3. The Hamilton situation. It has been estimated that a Hamilton franchise could be the fifth or even the third most valuable franchise in the NHL behind only Toronto and the New York Rangers. The Leafs will lose some of the Southern Ontario market but they are so wealthy they won't be suffering that much. As for Buffalo, the owner said that the team would be doomed if Hamilton got a franchise. It's true that they would lose some of their market but I think it's more a case of Buffalo's lazy marketing. They would still have the entire northern New York State from Syracuse to Erie, PA. to market in, with a population of nearly 4 million plus some of the Southern Ontario market. They also have one of the best arenas in the NHL. They'll suffer a bit but they'll still make a profit. If you note on my list of potential franchises, most of them are in Southern Ontario. I wouldn't be surprised if more than just three teams can make it in this area.

   4. I signed up for Balsillie's e-mails so I got periodic updates.

   5. Balsillie has offended too many NHL owners to ever get a team unless they are absolutely desperate.

   6. Thomson is (he is a dry Thomson, he doesn't have a pee like me) becoming more associated with an attempt to bring back the Jets. He certainly would be wealthy enough to front a bid and build a new arena, but things have not yet progressed as far as Quebecor has with the Nordiques.

   7. Both Winnipeg and Quebec originally came from the World Hockey Association so their rivals from then would be Edmonton, and the departed Hartford Whalers (also trying to get their franchise back within 5 years with a new arena). When they joined the NHL, Winnipeg's other rivals were Vancouver and Calgary. Minnesota would also be a possible rival. For Quebec, their main rival was of course Montreal. Boston and Buffalo were division rivals. Ottawa would probably be a rival. If Hamilton joined, their rivals would be Toronto, Buffalo, Ottawa, and maybe Detroit, Montreal, and Quebec.

   8. There is definitely going to be a problem with realignment, especially if a troubled western conference team like Dallas, Phoenix, or Nashville is purchased by an eastern city. An additional problem is that Detroit wants to get out of the western conference and be shifted east and therefore would be an opponent of Hamilton and Quebec joining the league. The best solution for Detroit would be if Winnipeg bought a team like Florida, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, or the New York Islanders in which case Detroit would be shifted east. But ideally, Hamilton would be placed with Toronto, Quebec with Montreal, and Winnipeg with Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

9. by Keith
   24 days ago

   In wake of the ALCS, please check out my interview with the former Yankee and Angel, the truly inspirational, Jim Abbott!

   http://bleacherreport.com/articles/272194-inspirational-words-from-former-yank-and-angel

10. by Steve
    24 days ago

    Thanks for providing me with those articles, Joe. I was planning to look up more information on the Nordiques but you saved me a lot of trouble. The key thing about Quebec is the arena. If they build that 18000+ seat arena, Quebec immediately moves to the head of the list as the best place for a new team in Canada. They already have a top investor, Quebecor which recently tried to purchase the Montreal Canadians who is currently searching for more investors to build a new arena. Right now Hamilton is the best place for a new team in Canada because they already have an arena built and the best market for success. Copps Colesseum currently seats 17,000, the same size as Anaheim and San Jose, but it could be upgraded to 18,500 and 200 luxury boxes. Then there is Winnipeg. They've painted themselves into a corner by building a small 15,000 seat arena though it has some luxury boxes (62). They also don't have an upfront investor though there is talk that a member of the Thomson family might get involved. Finally there is always the possibility that another Canadian city could build a proper NHL size arena. In my last article on Canadian expansion, I speculated that (and this is stretching things) with good ownership and proper arenas, Canada could support up to 14 NHL teams. In addition to the existing 6 and the 3 listed above, there could be Kitchener, London, Oshawa, and the return of the Toronto Toros and the Montreal Maroons.
    But if Hamilton finds an NHL-acceptable investor and Quebec builds its arena, it's them all the way.

11. by Brett
    about 1 month ago

    Thanks!

    I follow the Wolves, Vikings, and Twins. I'm glad you like my comment. It's good to hear from someone that my opinions and analysis make sense. I've never written an article so all my ideas go into comments. I can't stop myself from responding to someone who is wrong or mislead on my hometeam.

12. by Bill
    2 months ago

    Joe - Since you are a Rays guy, what do you think of the Kazmir Deal? Short term? Long Term?

    Hit me back

    Bill

13. by Chris
    2 months ago

    Hey Joe, thought you might enjoy this read,

    http://bleacherreport.com/articles/237464-arizona-cardinals-preseason-game-1-review

14. by Richard
    3 months ago

    Part VI. I believe I am halfway home. Looking forward for your comments. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/229215-anatomy-of-a-franchise-new-york-mets-part-vi-building-for-greatness

15. by Mac
    4 months ago

    Joe,

    I just got home from work and read your article. Looks like it's been edited. I'm disappointed to see that Crawford's numbers have declined so dramatically, but it's no surprise that his month of May was a statistical anomaly. If Ellsbury remains consistent for the rest of the year, I expect him to finish first.

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