As the other poster said, market size doesn’t equate to anything in the NHL. Phoenix has lost money every year they’ve been there. Atlanta was a huge market too and look how good Winnipeg is doing now. More fans are showing up and they can charge higher prices. I like the idea of Seattle a lot. If the NHL is expanding in a few years (and the Coyotes need to move) then Seattle gets the team. If the NHL isn’t going to expand (or isn’t 100% on it) I think Quebec gets the team because hockey will be #1 there and the fans are hungry for a new team. In Seattle they’ll be way down on the priority list. Again I think Seattle could be good (for sure better than Phoenix has been) but if there are no plans for expansion then I think the league takes the guaranteed win in Quebec City.

How a new Sonics team would do is an open question. I used to be an NBA nut but after the team got stolen by that pimp Stern I haven’t watched a single game on TV. I think there are a lot of fans out there that feel the same and won’t ever go back to watching the NBA. If we had an NHL team, I would definitely be a season ticket holder. WHL hockey seems to have a fanbase of around 10,000 – 12,000 total between the two teams in the area (Thunderbirds and Silvertips).

The other factor is the potential for a new regional sports network built around the Mariners coming up in 2015. Rumor is the M’s may get a 10-year, $150 million deal from a new sports network. They would need other programming to build that brand around, and that’s where an NHL team could benefit immensely.

db

Also QC’s geographic location doesn’t matter, a lot more NHL players from Quebec, Saskatchewan, Finland, Sweden and Russia where it’s cold in the winter than there is from warm climates.

And my final point for the mention of geographic imbalance, it doesn’t matter, Winnipeg is playing in the eastern conference right now, where they don’t belong, and will easily be swapped for a Phoenix team moving east.

I think Seattle will get a team BUT if they don’t go the expansion route you have to believe that Quebec City is next in line, they’ve got building plans, with financing approved, ready to put shovels in the ground, they’ve got a suitable interim arena (15,000 seat Le Colisee) which is a little more ideal than the Key Arena, they got a billionaire owner who has his own sports channel ready for the programming and the two biggest factors that I think give it the edge over Seattle right now, you have a market of proven fans and it’s the only major sports attraction in town.

In Seattle right now, there’s a good chance they’ll get fans, but it’s tough to say if there’s enough hockey fans willing to pay NHL prices. Add to that you’ve got the Seahawks, Mariners, Sounders, New Supersonics and U of W football and basketball to compete with.

Phoenix has been such a mess for so long, take the sure thing now, and then move to the other market once that’s secure.

But here’s the biggest thing – the east-west counterbalance. The league is already trying to deal with too many teams in the east and moving a team from Phoenix to QC only makes that worse.

And while Quebec may have already broken ground, that fact doesn’t matter quite as much when you consider that Kansas City has had an NHL-ready arena in operation for more than five years now.

We’ve got quite a field here Stan as you can see the Boca Raton Bluehairs are lining up opposite the Glendale Geriatrics…

Hey maybe I’m wrong and the team stays put. But if Jamison couldn’t get the deal done, I’m not sure anyone else can or would be willing too., Especially seeing as how it’s taken us 4 years just to get to this point.

Get ready Seattle and Quebec.