Jim Balsillie wasn't the only one, according to the Wall Street Journal, angling for the Nashville franchise. Also bidding for the team was a group including Anschutz Entertainment Group, which had hoped to move the team to Kansas City which has been looking for an NHL team to move into a new $276 million arena that will open this fall.
What's interesting is that the NHL had a choice between Balsillie (Southern Ontario) and Anschutz (Kansas City), and the Canadian bid won out.
It's no secret that teams in Phoenix and Atlanta and Florida as well as Nashville can't make money even under the new collective agreement. The first to move after Nashville is likely Atlanta (maybe to Kansas City) where the owner is tired of losing money. Business groups in Winnipeg and eager to move the Phoenix franchise back to Manitoba.
Although the NHL has ignored Canada since awarding a franchise to Ottawa (and how bad did that turn out), it may be coming to realize that small markets in Canada can better support a franchise than larger communities in the U.S. sunbelt.
12 years ago
