Lost NHL Teams: What To Do with Winnipeg, Quebec, Hartford, and Hamilton

Doing research and chatting with responders about my articles on NHL expansion, I have come face to face with the problems of the ex-NHL cities of Winnipeg, Quebec, Hartford, and, for good measure, Hamilton.  Each situation is different from the others.  And though I've clashed with some of my commentators (particularly the Manitoba Mythbusters), I am in favour of seeing all three cities back in the NHL and Hamilton as well.

When those cities had teams, they DID get some support from the public and in Hamilton's case, they supported special events like the Canada Cup.  It's not like some of the money-losing NHL franchises today where special promotional gimmicks have to be used to get fans in.  With 10 money-losing franchises in the NHL, the time has never been better to get a relocated franchise.

Hartford, Winnipeg, and Quebec lost their franchises for the following reasons:

1.  Bad economic times, like a weak Canadian dollar, the 1990s recession, and salary escalation.

2.  Small city thinking which was shown in the decade and a half all these cities had teams, that no proper NHL size arenas were built to get the team through a rainy day.  Other "small market" cities like Edmonton, Calgary, and Ottawa built proper arenas right from the start and they are still around today and flourishing.  The other three did nothing and are gone.

3.  No new investors appeared when times got tough who believed in the franchises or had money to build new arenas.

4.  Gary Bettman's idea of making the NHL one of the "big four" sports in the United States.  This meant getting a major American TV contract like the other three major sports.  His idea was to place NHL franchises in unfamiliar hockey markets in the United States in order to attract more national American viewership, and ignore "natural hockey areas" like the northern US and Canada. 

The result has been 10 money-losing teams and no TV contract.  And as a corollary, he allowed Quebec, Winnipeg, and Hartford to be transferred too easily.  In contrast, witness his defense of money-losing Nashville to Hamilton now.

Speaking of Bettman, there are problems common to all four cities and he and the NHL Board of Governors are one of them.  Bettman still clings to the belief that he can get a major American TV contract and that any contraction/relocation means a loss of face and an end to that dream. 

Ironically, if he expanded into "natural" American markets like Milwaukee, Portland, and Seattle, and had made an effort to aid Hartford to retain its franchise by building a proper arena, he might have more US viewership to land such a contract.

Bettman has even gone as far as to block the transfer of money-losing Nashville to money-making Hamilton.  He is willing to lose money by supporting bad markets.

The other problem that is common to three of the above cities is that they still do not have NHL size arenas of 18,000-plus with lots of luxury boxes.  This shortcoming was a major reason they lost their franchises.  Correcting this is essential if they want an NHL team again.

Now let's get to specifics.

Hamilton

They are in the best position to get an NHL team because they have a barely-acceptable 17,000-plus seat-arena with $50 million pledged for upgrades.  They also have an active investor in Jim Balsillie.

Hamilton's main problem is Bettman and the Board of Governors who view a transfer of an American franchise to Canada as a loss of face and a blow to their plans.  They have also hung a territorial compensation issue over their heads with Buffalo and Toronto.  Also, Balsillie has alienated some of the owners on the board.

The solution?

The continuing economic problems of the 10 money-losing teams are Hamilton's best ally.  But it is not enough.  As has been shown, Bettman is willing to swallow losing money rather than accept relocation.  So what else can be done?

1.  Get active, visible public support like rallies and petitions and don't limit the petitions to the Hamilton region.  When there is enough visible support, DON'T give it directly to Bettman but to bodies like the Province of Ontario or potential investors who can put some pressure on the NHL or be able to attract its attention with new investments.

2.  If Balsillie is so hateful to the NHL, find a new investor or get him to start finding friends from among the NHL board of governors to get support for his plans.

3.  Settle the territorial issue with Buffalo and Toronto beforehand.  Work out the compensation issue so that Buffalo and Toronto become allies instead of opponents.

Quebec

In addition to the Bettman problem, the main problem is that Quebec lacks investors.  In their favour is the fact that Quebec fans supported the team with capacity crowds to the end.  It is obvious that Quebec has fan support. 

Supposedly 80,000 fans signed a petition asking for the Nordiques to return.  The Province of Quebec has indicated that they will give some support towards the recovery of their franchise and there is no territorial problem.

The solution?

Find an investor.  Someone has to take the lead in seeking a franchise and a new arena.  But there is no up-front figure as of now.  If there is no person or group wealthy enough in the Province of Quebec to make this kind of investment, Quebec separatists and nationalists are going to have to swallow their pride and seek outside help from English Canada or America.  But because there is no investor, nothing is being actively done right now to get a new arena or a franchise.

Hartford

The city's advantage is that they are an American city so that makes a relocation easier to swallow for Bettman.  The fans also supported the team especially when it was competitive and making the playoffs.  They had a good rivalry with Boston and other teams.  Most importantly, the present mayor wants to get the team back within five years and seems willing to build a proper NHL size arena.

The solution?

Even though I am from Canada, I signed an online petition asking for the Whalers return.  But less than 1,000 people have signed it.  That's pitiful.  To make matters worse, the petition itself is too narrow. 

It only mentions support for the Whalers' return and says nothing about building a new arena, which is an essential prerequisite.  If Hartford wants the Whalers back, its public is going to have to show more active support in backing the mayor and demonstrating to investors that there is a good market in Hartford.  There has to be visible support for both a new arena and an NHL franchise.

Winnipeg

Their advantage is the continuing bad money-losing teams in the US, and the fact they have a market for NHL hockey.

Winnipeg's main problem is they cannot make up their mind whether they want to be in the NHL or not.  Though the lobby group "Manitoba Mythbusters" insists that Winnipeg desperately wants back in the NHL their actions say something else.

Their new arena, which the Mythbusters insist is NHL size despite being nearly 1,500 seats less than the smallest current NHL arena on Long Island, which has been condemned by its ownership as inadequate.

Also, the Mythbusters claim that all of the arena's 62 luxury boxes are sold.  In contrast, Hamilton's unused arena can be expanded up to 200 luxury boxes.  There is no comparison.

Winnipeg has really painted itself into a corner by building an arena which its management has publicly stated is for the AHL only.  Winnipeg built its arena for its own needs and not the NHL.

The solution?

Winnipeg has to look itself in the face and decide if it wants to be big league or not.  So far, it has said no.  Until it decides that it wants to be big league and do the things necessary to act big league like building a proper arena, the NHL will ignore Winnipeg. 

Any city with a larger market and a proper arena like Kansas City and Hamilton will attract investor attention first and simply counting on bad American support does not mean Winnipeg is a viable city.  The NHL can contract the bad teams instead of relocating them.