This summer has been pretty great for hockey story lines. The KHL encroaching on our players, Heatley being something of a whiney baby, and the Canadiens seriously cleaning house. Above all other turmoil though, in the mack-daddy drama position, sits the Phoenix Coyotes and RIM CEO Jim Balsillie.
Without recapping all the back and forth and millions of dollars on the table, I thought: if Phoenix does lose its team, where should it go? The four cities below are ones I think could support an NHL franchise followed by some loose back up that will hopefully make me sound less biased for the northern regions (sorry warm-weather fans).
Manchester, NH
The Northeastern United States has the highest interest in hockey in the country. There is a high concentration of teams in the area, but some notable states are missing teams. Vermont and New Hampshire both have great college programs, but no professional team. Manchester could be a good location for a team because there is certainly appetite in New England for hockey, and because NH doesn’t have any teams – a professional hockey franchise could be their crown jewel.
Milwaukee, WI
With a population 1.9 million people, Milwaukee is definitely big enough to support a professional hockey team. Smaller markets, such as Calgary (population 1.09 million) have thriving fan bases. I think the bar for entry on a very basic level is having enough people who could show up to a game. Situated fairly close to Chicago, Green Bay and Madison expands the possible fan base as well. Hockey belongs somewhere chilly, Wisconsin seems like a fair location.
Winnipeg, MB
Winnipeg is a great location for seriously obvious reasons: 1) It’s Canadian (I hear they think hockey is okay), 2) It’s been able to maintain a hockey market in the past and, 3) They have some super sweet logos and I can only imagine how awesome their throwback jerseys would be. It seems like a large part of why the Jets had to move was financial issues, so if a financier could float a successful team – bring ‘em back!
Oklahoma City, OK
OKC seems like the opposite of an ideal location for a hockey team, but I think this location could be a good one. The cities hosts minor sporting events regularly, and now has a full time basketball team (OKC Thunder – ranked 13 of 15 in the West). A hockey franchise could capitalize on renewed sports interest by citizens in the city whose metro area population is around 1.3 million.
In conclusion, by the numbers, Phoenix is a great place for a team with a large population and other successful sports franchises. If keeping the team there doesn’t pan out though, a new owner could always bring the team back North to areas that are familiar with ice.