The NHL does, but the fans do not. A great start for the troubled franchise on the ice, but unfortunately, the fans are not their to see it. Sometimes I try and think about Bettman's plan of putting teams in markets that are foreign to hockey. But the Coyotes have been in Glendale, just outside of Phoenix for over a decade, and they still have little fan support. So what now for the team? Balsille offered to move the team to Hamilton, a city that could draw the crowds. Las Vegas seems like a strange place for an NHL team, being in the middle of the desert (bit of sarcasm there), but they still attract a lot of tourists who might go to a game. Kansas City, Missouri might have provided a better city. There are other places in America that could accept a team, away from the stable Canadian market potentials (Winnipeg, Hamilton or other Golden Horseshoe cities, Atlantic Canada, specifically Halifax, Regina, and Quebec City), such as Seattle or Portland. Seattle just lost their NBA franchise, so there might be a call there, as well as the draw for Vancouver citizens to cross the border, or Victoria citizens to come down.
The team is not going to survive in Phoenix, and they must cut the losses and try another city, let it be an America, or a Canadian, or even a new National market.
The team is not going to survive in Phoenix, and they must cut the losses and try another city, let it be an America, or a Canadian, or even a new National market.
