[BLueWLU]

Will the Winnipeg Jets ever be back in the NHL?

[Bleatmop]

It's a nice thought, but I doubt it. Winnipeg is probably only on the radar of the NHL as a city to move a franchise to after Kansas City, Los Vegas and Portland. With the cost certainty in the current NHL, it'll take extreme cases such as what is happening in Pitsburg for a team to move. Sadly, I don't see it happening three more times.

[biggie]

Probably as likely as the Ottawa Renegades coming back to the CFL... :cry:

[Hasdrubal]

Give it another 30 years & it could happen, then again give it the same time for a MLB franchise in Vancouver.

[Len]

As a Winnipegger I'd have to say no. Despite a growing movement in this city to bring NHL hockey back I highly doubt it will happen.

[kwlafayette]

Not until Winnipeg grows to be a city of 5 or 10 million souls. In other words, not very likely.

[mr_cheevus]

Not until NHL hockey really starts falling apart in the States. When it gets to the point that 4 or 5 American franchises are seriously on the verge of biting the dust and there is no hope of a real TV contract to prop them up and generate interest, then they will return to the Canadian markets that will love on them.

If you have 4 American franchises on the verge of folding, then 2 can be moved to another market but no way would you find 4 American markets willing to take a lame duck hockey team. Then back to Quebec City and Winnipeg!

[kwlafayette]

I think the chances are almost greater of a Saskatoon NHL franchise than another Winnipeg one. That is saying a lot about the chances.

Seriously, how is Winnipeg, a small city by any measure, going to fill 20,000 seats for every home game? At an average price of say, $50? That is like, 3% of the population has to go to every home game, or they go bust, AGAIN.

The economics are just not there. A $million take on every home game, 40 home games, that is only 40 million dollars. You can see the problem that small market teams have.

Maybe you could get Peggers to pay an average price of $75, or $100 per ticket though, then it might start to make sense. At $200 per ticket, and sold out for every home game, you have a secure financial footing for any club. But where are the 20,000 Winnipeg millionares who can afford to buy tickets for every game at those prices?

[mr_cheevus]

Yes, it is a small market, but look at what is happening in many "big" markets in the states.

If you take a club that is charging an average ticket price of $50-60 in an American market, and is only drawing 8-10k a game, how much better would such a club be with an average ticket of $50 and drawing 16-20k?

[kwlafayette]

Remember, the player are paid in US dollars, not Canadian ones. So tack the current exchange rate onto that $50 ticket price.

PS. Also, is it easier to get 3% of your population to come out to every game, or 0.3%? Big markets will always have the advantage. In LA, if 1 in 10000 people is slightly interested in hockey, you pack the place.

[kwlafayette]

The US dollar thing is part of why the Jets left in the first place. Remember back about 10 years ago when our dollar just kept falling and falling relative to the green back? No guarantee that does not happen again. There is a ceiling on ticket prices, you get down to 70 cent dollars, 60 cent dollars, now what does your ticket price have to be?

[cosmostein]

I just don't see it happening,

You have larger markets in the States that already have newer Arena's in place for NBA teams that could be easily shared for an NHL team.

Right now the NHL is a "Gate Revenue" league, but as it grows TV revenue will be much more important and teams like Winnipeg will have a lot less of a change of getting an NHL team, I mean look at the last two NHL finals, Carolina Vs. Edmonton, Tampa Bay Vs. Calgary, the poor ratings of small markets hurts the NHL's means to grow.

As long as markets like Houston and Vegas are viable options, and ownership groups in Kansas and Portland are willing to toss dollars at NHL teams there is very little need to look at any Canadian market, if the NHL simply wanted a team that could sell out its building every night there would be an NHL team in Hamilton,

[BLueWLU]

I figured this topic will get quite a few replies.

For anyone interested there is a website called www.jetsowner.com and this site is dedicated to the return of the Jets. Most of the issues that have been brought up here are dealt with at that website.

[mrsocko]

I have always thought that it would be cool if the NHL could be run Like football in Britain.

If we had 2 divisions with teams moving up and down between divisions as they do in Britain then we could have 15 more Canadian clubs in the second division.

Winnepeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Victoria,Kelowna, London, Kitchener, Windsor, St. Catherines, Hamilton, Quebec City, Halifax, St. John, etc.

The winner of the division gets a year in the NHL.

[McGuire]

That would actually be a very cool idea, one that satisfies everyone IMO