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Originally Posted by SJTOKO
Can they do this? Could this be the plan? Is it possible?
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Yes , highly unlikely , and sure , why not ?
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Originally Posted by SJTOKO
Can someone in the know explain how feasable it would be for True North to buy the Thrashers and then sell the team to Balsille.
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It would be stupid and it makes no sense to begin with . If Balsillie wanted the team , wouldn't he be at the table right now ? Why would he increase his costs by employing a middle-man ? Why would he increase his costs , employ a middle-man , and THEN find out if the NHL will allow him to move the team to somewhere not agreed to ? That's called "bad-faith" and he'd probably find himself stuck with a lawsuit if he's lucky , or a team he doesn't want since he can't move it to Hamilton. From True North's perspective , it would suicide . Can you imagine how angry the Winnipeggers would be if they were stabbed in the back that way ? They'd probably never attend another Moose game .
So , ... it would be just stupid .
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Originally Posted by SJTOKO
No offense to Winnipeg but I don't think that they can support an NHL team. Hamilton was, and always will be the obvious choice.
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Firstly , Winnipeg proved for two decades that it could support an NHL franchise . They moved away because they couldn't get a new arena built in time .
As for Hamilton having always been the obvious choice ... well , that's just silly . Quebec and Winnipeg make much more logical choices because , for one thing , Hamilton already has 5 teams within a six hour drive . Could the region support another team ? Sure ... so could New York , Philly , Chicago , Washington/Baltimore , Boston , etc.
Secondly , both of those cities are starved of hockey which is strange considering just how popular the sport is in them .
Thirdly , both Quebec and Winnipeg serve vast hinterlands . Quebec would have a fan base stretching out right into the Maritimes while Winnipeg's hinterland would include a lot of Saskatchewan and Northern Ontario . Not to mention that many people in North Dakota and perhaps even Minnesota would travel to Winnipeg for a game . It's prime hockey country in both cases .
So I'm not sure what you mean by "obvious" . More people ? Yeah , there are more people in the Great Lakes region , sure . Would they all like to catch a game ? A lot would I'm sure . Would people outside of Hamilton support the team as much as they support , say , the Leafs ? That's pretty unlikely .