Hope the Canes stay, the fans were awesome when they made their Cup run a decade ago. Someone like the Panthers or Coyotes would be much better off moving instead.
(07-13-2017 09:04 PM)Love and Honor Wrote: [ -> ]Hope the Canes stay, the fans were awesome when they made their Cup run a decade ago. Someone like the Panthers or Coyotes would be much better off moving instead.
Maybe we can get one of those teams to move to the Houston market. I would love to see the NHL in the H-Town!!!
(07-18-2017 12:34 PM)HoustonCougarNation Wrote: [ -> ] (07-13-2017 09:04 PM)Love and Honor Wrote: [ -> ]Hope the Canes stay, the fans were awesome when they made their Cup run a decade ago. Someone like the Panthers or Coyotes would be much better off moving instead.
Maybe we can get one of those teams to move to the Houston market. I would love to see the NHL in the H-Town!!!
It seems to me like the NHL's southern expansion has only worked really well when the city has no NBA team to compete with, has a good arena location, and wins a fair amount. The Lightning and Preds have done a great job in all three which is why you don't see any relocation rumors around them (I'd argue that the Bolts are more popular than the Rays here in Tampa). The Coyotes and Panthers have done the exact opposite (and the Thrashers when they were around), hence their instability. Canes have potential as an organization, but are badly managed. Stars have been fine but their ceiling is limited in a crowded Dallas market, and I think a Houston team would have the same problem.
But if I'm the NHL, I look to Austin if I want to go south. It's the fastest-growing metro area in the US with a young, wealthy population and no pro sports competition; UT football will coincide a bit, but not the second half of the season. Right now I think they can only support one franchise but none of the other big three leagues will touch the market (NBA due to Spurs, NFL due to UT and Cowboys, MLB since it's still too small), so they have to beat out the MLS. But the NHL seems to be trending north, I'd expect Quebec, Kansas City, or Seattle to get teams instead.
Canes got the 3-2 OT win in Buffalo last night in game 1 of the pre-season!
I went to the last preseason Canes game Friday night and Canes recent 1st round pick Martin Necas may have been a steal at #12. He is fantastic; it was like we had 2 Jeff Skinners out there.
(10-02-2017 07:25 PM)Chappy Wrote: [ -> ]I went to the last preseason Canes game Friday night and Canes recent 1st round pick Martin Necas may have been a steal at #12. He is fantastic; it was like we had 2 Jeff Skinners out there.
Not sure if I will yet, but I might try to go to that season/home opener Saturday night versus the Wild.
I'm leaving the ECU game early because I'm working the opener.
(10-03-2017 08:54 PM)Chappy Wrote: [ -> ]I'm leaving the ECU game early because I'm working the opener.
Poked around the ticket prices at Stub Hub and Ticketmaster.... ehh still not sure yet. I have to shoot the entire game and get the slide show up before I could leave Greenville.
5-4 SO Win over the Wild to start the season in probably one of the most dramatic games/wins I have seen on tv in a while.
I'm kind of kicking myself I didn't go up tonight...but just couldn't swing it...
Nice to get started on the right foot.
Ovi starts the season with two hat tricks, that'll really come in handy when they lose in the second round to the Pens again. And speaking of the Pens, holy crap how do you come off a Stanley Cup and lose 10-1 in your second game?
Biggest crowd I've seen in PNC for quite a while. Hopefully there will be some retention for Tuesday night, which will be the last Canes home game for 2 weeks.
(10-08-2017 12:15 PM)Chappy Wrote: [ -> ]Biggest crowd I've seen in PNC for quite a while. Hopefully there will be some retention for Tuesday night, which will be the last Canes home game for 2 weeks.
Eh, not quite...c'mon Raleigh, I want hockey to do as well there as it has in Tampa.
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-c...62471.html
(10-11-2017 10:17 PM)Love and Honor Wrote: [ -> ] (10-08-2017 12:15 PM)Chappy Wrote: [ -> ]Biggest crowd I've seen in PNC for quite a while. Hopefully there will be some retention for Tuesday night, which will be the last Canes home game for 2 weeks.
Eh, not quite...c'mon Raleigh, I want hockey to do as well there as it has in Tampa.
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/spt-c...62471.html
The Canes will need good play (which we have gotten so far) and arguably a playoff birth to really jazz up the fans in the stands again. That said, a Tuesday night game that isn't against a "sexy" opponent by NHL standards.... I wouldn't say that was a bad crowd. And we already had the Eric Staal return tour last year so there wasn't that angle to this game.
HUGE road win by the Canes in Edmonton tonight... really dominated from start to finish.
I do have to say that I am feeling those orange Oilers jerseys though...
Happy to see the Blues kicking ass so far this year, but it's really never been October through March that's been our issue for 50 years.
Hope the Canes can turn things around for your guys' sake, weird seeing the bunch of teams towards the top of the East standings. And how 'bout those Vegas Knights in the West too? They've probably had it easier than any other expansion team in big four sports league history, but even then it's still impressive. And while it's still early, I'm shocked the Avalanche moved up with the Wild and Blackhawks on the downswing so suddenly.
Carolina has the best building lease in the NHL. That means they really don’t have to draw that many fans to remain profitable. They are not going anywhere for the foreseeable future.
On a personal note, that’s good news for me because I have some very good friends (including my college roommate) who live in that area and I enjoy heading down there for hockey or college football or basketball games.
When the NHL realigned the divisions, and college football realigned as well, it really worked out for me because I went to college in Ohio and have several close friends in Columbus, Raleigh and Philadelphia. My sister lives in Manhattan. It’s awesome! I can go see my Penguins play divisional games or my Panthers play conference games pretty much anytime I want.
I have some little ones, so I don’t get to take advantage of it like I once could but in future years that’s going to be a phenomenal thing