NHL’s relocation game heats up on many fronts
Quebec City, Houston, Seattle in mix . . . as players or pawns
The NHLcould look very different in a few years, and not because of expansion.
The Arizona Coyotes, New York Islanders and Calgary Flames are all looking for new rinks, while the Carolina Hurricanes are simply a financial and attendance mess.
Any or all of them could go the relocation route: Quebec City has a rink. Houston has a rink. Seattle wants to build a rink.
You can almost draw straight lines from one NHL city to one wannabe NHL city, although it’s hardly as simple as that.
The thinking is the league will want to add a 32nd team in the West to balance the league. It’s in no rush because of franchises with arena issues, Having a bogeyman — a city that wants to steal a team — is good business. The NHL would be loath to take the bogeyman away and remove that bargaining chip: “Give us what we want or we’ll move to . . . ”
It starts with Calgary, and Seattle would be a logical landing spot. The Flames were in a heated standoff with the city over public financing of an entertainment district that would include a new rink, plus a new stadium for the CFL Stampeders. They’ve hinted they’d leave.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi just won reelection while this issue was front and centre, and is not likely to give in. The Flames say they’ve given up, but that doesn’t mean it’s over.
The more likely scenario is that this ownership group sells the Flames. A new Calgary-based group would probably find a way to build something and work creatively with the city. But if an ownership group from the States were to buy the Flames, then a move to Seattle would be more likely.
The Coyotes are also in a bit of a muddle, and Houston would be a terrific solution. The Coyotes’ arena lease in Glendale, Ariz., expires at the end of the season. There had been hope of building a new rink closer to downtown Phoenix, surrounded by a larger population base in a better location.
New majority owner Andrew Barroway says he doesn’t want to leave, but staying seems less and less palatable.
Meanwhile, the only reason the NHL isn’t in Houston already is because the man who owned the NBA’s Houston Rockets and controlled the Toyota Center didn’t want them. But Les Alexander has sold to Tilman Fertitta, and the new guy wants an NHL team because he wants fannies in those seats as many nights as possible.
And Quebec’s rink is up and ready to go, home to the Quebec junior league’s Remparts. It was built in hopes of doing what Winnipeg did: lure a team north with the promise of a sold-out venue built on a rich hockey history. They’re keeping their eye on the Islanders and Hurricanes.
The Isles want out of Brooklyn and are trying to get a rink built at Belmont Park, about 20 minutes from their old home in Uniondale. It’s in the early stages, so things are understandably optimistic. As for the Hurricanes — last in attendance — they’re for sale. The would-be buyer, Chuck Greenberg, is having a little trouble raising the $500-million U.S. asking price.
Commissioner Gary Bettman has always seemed oddly committed to Arizona, but didn’t mind when teams in Quebec, Winnipeg, Hartford, Minnesota and Atlanta moved.
And owners may even prefer the idea of relocation ahead of expansion, given they can charge and share in relocation fees in the hundreds of millions of dollars. They don’t have to lose a player in an expansion draft, and they wouldn’t have to share revenue such as TV money with a 32nd team.