They don't need to expand or contract, they just need the teams in the right markets. Having one here in town would be a start.

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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goddamn shame.

http://www.TheCommittedIndian.com/

Couldn't agree more Stink.. I travel around in my job and so far I've been going to plenty of other Hockey towns. It's a bit embarrassing to talk about the local squad. Generally, I play dumb and don't give the Hawks credit for being professional hockey.

The league is fine as it is.. it just needs to be in the right places.

Right:
Third Ontario Team
Winnipeg (if they actually will support them unlike the Jets)
Portland
Seattle (Vancouver really doesn't cut it.)
Possibly Wisconsin (most likely Green Bay)

Wrong:
Miami (Florida Panthers)
Tampa Bay
Nashville
Possibly Carolina (long term, not counting their recent Stanley Cup season)
Having two teams in teh greater LA area is just dumb. The Kings were first, but they're a joke of an organization and should be moved to give Anaheim control of the region.

I think there are enough transplants in SoCal to support two teams. The Ducks have had consistently decent attendance since their (albeit gimmicky) inception, and I definitely would not go so far as to call the Kings a joke of an organization. They're just in a down-turn, and they had an unprecedented run of injuries in seasons prior to this one, which forced Ziggy Palffy and (MY GUY!) Adam Deadmarsh to retire. If the Kings were going to fold, they would have done so a long time ago.

It looks like the Preds will at some point end up in Hamilton, and I do agree with your Portland, Seattle, and Wisconsin ideas, Sam. However, I'd be more apt to give Hartford another shot before I gave Winnipeg one.

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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goddamn shame.

http://www.TheCommittedIndian.com/

They should have folded after the owner that brought Gretzky in (mmm.. he has a name...) got himself into all sorts of trouble legally. Bruce something or other.

The Kings front-office needs a transplant like the Hawks do. They don't seem to make smart moves and they bring in folks that just seem to be on the way down. They brought Robitaille back long enough for the team to go south and he retired too. Their goalie experiments don't ever seem to pay off and didn't they trade their one spark plug, Sean Avery, this year? I hate that guy, but he made them dangerous offensively and from a pure scary standpoint.

I agree with Hartford over Winnipeg. Winnipeg is on the brain because Balisle (sp?) keeps bringing them up as a possible landing pad for the Preds. They have a stadium and everything... a stadium that would be great for the team that currently resides in it, a minor league team. Not big enough for an NHL squad.

Balsillie has already signed a deal that if the Preds move, it will be to Hamilton.

The owner you're thinking of is Bruce McNall. He owned the Toronto Argonauts for a time, too.

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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goddamn shame.

http://www.TheCommittedIndian.com/

Where is Mac's hockey horn when you need it!

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"Someone put too many farts in this engine! It's about to explode!" - Tracy Jordan

They need the rivals again. The Hawks would play Minn., Det., Toronto, and St. Louis 8 times a year. Then would have to face each other in the playofffs to get out of the Norris....They also played a lot of back to back games which were always good. They should just play their division and conference like baseball used to do. Just play the other conference in the finals. I think that might help.

I think they should just swap with Hawks with the Wolves. In saying that, I'm mostly speaking of the team management/ownership. I'm not hockey savant, so if you say the Hawk's players are better, who am I to know otherwise (or even name a player from either team? Or the coaches? Except for Alpo, who has a funny/great name..)

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Middle Aged Crazy, like Uncle Terry

The schedule is heavily unbalanced right now in an effort to generate that, Peterman, but it isn't working. Teams play all of their divisional opponents 8 times a year. But, it's backfired as there is always one division that a team will not play a year, and some of the games stars (Crosby, Ovechkin, Thornton, etc), don't get exposure on the opposite coast. Additionally, teams like Detroit and Nashville end up having inflated point totals due to them playing a combined 24 games against the likes of the Hawks, St. Louis, and Columbus, which creates a somewhat flawed playoff bracket.

However, if the Predators end up moving to Hamilton, that could warrant realignment, and then generate some more balanced divisions with better rivalries.

_________________
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goddamn shame.

http://www.TheCommittedIndian.com/

http://score670.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=12638

If the Hawks ever went up for sale, I'd imagine that Don Levin, the Wolves' owner would be first in line to purchase them, which I would be all for.

_________________
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goddamn shame.

http://www.TheCommittedIndian.com/

I'd rather have Capt Crunch leading the Hawks than the current Wirtz regime. They don't seem to have a passion to win and they don't make any effort to truly get better.

They brought in Khabibulin a few years ago after the strike and he still seems to be getting over the rules/equipment changes that affected a number of goalies in the league. He's definitely not been the Bulin Wall since being in Chicago. The Bell/Calder/Arnason experiment has come and gone. Roenick, Amonte, Zhamnov, Daze..sullivan.. none of them really mattered in this town. Even now, Havlat is stunted by his team and his linemates. Amazing talent.. no one to get him the puck.

We've had too many coaches to count these days.. Professional coaches, foreign coaches, minor league coaches.. former players.. former ice scoop girls.. we've tried it all..

a new owner is really the only good first step.

Do you think young kids are sitting around their radio at night listening to the home games? No home TV has killed the team also.

There are home games on the radio?

I get my hockey fix through the Wolves and the potentially recently departed Hounds and my beloved CenterIce Package from DirectTV. I haven't watched a Hawk game in two years on TV.. at least not on purpose.

There hasn't been a reason to without Pat Foley.

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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a goddamn shame.

http://www.TheCommittedIndian.com/

Just for discussing hockey, I think she should be fired STAT.

...but that's just me - what do I know, I'm not a programming executive.