The Atlanta Thrashers no longer exist.
Welcome Manitoba Moose to the NHL. The long awaited returrn of NHL hockey to the city of Winnipeg is finally here. Every painful day since the end of the 1996 playoffs, natives of Winnipeg waited for a team to come back to the city that lost the Jets. For a few years now, a team in the North looked like a reality. With both the Coyotes and Thrashers in financial holes, it was only a matter of time before us Canadians got a 7th team.
As of the time I write this post, it hasn't been officialy announced. It will be in the upcoming hour.
I Am Canadian and I am very happy to have a team back here where it belongs. But will it work?
Look at Winnipeg's arena, the MTS Center. It only holds 15,000 people. That's the lowest of any team. But the sad thing is thats better then the majority of Thrashers games.
Then you need to look at their roster. Dustin Byfuglin. Evander Kane. Andrew Ladd. Brian Little. Not exactly household names. But those are their top players. Its going to be hard to convince fans this team is as good as the Jets, back when they had Keith Tkachuk or Bobby Hull. Other then Ilya Kovalchuk, Marian Hossa and Dany Heatley, the talent hasn't been exactly oozing out in high numbers.
Oh ya by the way, the weather isn't so great there. If you are Brad Richards, are you more likely to sign with your former team in Tampa, where the weather is nice, their are many attractions and the you have a chance to win the Stanley Cup, or would you go to Winnipeg where the weather sucks, there is nothing to do and your hoping to not finish last?
With a team now in Winnipeg, the former AHL Manitoba Moose will move to Newfoundland.
Don't get me wrong, I Am very excited about the the new team. But will it work? Unless fans can commit to supporting the team long term, I don't think the team will work out.
-WRITTEN BY SYKO-
Are you on crack? THe team not going to work in the Peg? Way off on this post. The team will thrive there. I'll bet on it.
ReplyDeleteI Don't think so. Look at the talent on the team and compare it to TBAY or Detroit.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I Said it might not work, not that it wont work
The size of the arena could be a real problem. 15,000 seats just isn't enough. They are a small market team that needs every source of revenue possible. They probably could sell 18-20,000 seats of they had them. The fan support will be successful, but the team winning success could be another story. You are right, they will need more talent to avoid being the Winnipeg Maple Leafs.
ReplyDeleteWinnipeg is nothing more than a parking lot as TNSE works with the NHL to move the team to Toronto. NHL can not work in a small town with a small arena
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