Howard Baldwin, ex-Whalers owner, offers critical look at ‘marginal’ NHL markets

Now that ya mention it, Columbus Cannons would be so much better. They could even keep the "Union Army" theme while picking something that sounds tougher to the average fan.

the whale played to 98.7% capacity every night. Karmanos moved that team to get a sweet tax free deal on his other business, compuware. He was also upset that he did not get a big enough portion of parking and concession revenue from the state owned civic center. even though when he bought the whalers from the state (CT owned the team before karmanos) for under market value, and he paid no lease on the civic center. The whalers left town due to the greed of the owner, not for lack of support from what was a great fanbase

Hockey will work in Hartford if there is a better venue. He's right about being the only show in town (aside from Uconn basketball/football), but the condition and size of the XL Center is not suited for the NHL. The arena is too small, has awful vantage points, old and lacks "premium" services (corporate boxes, advertising media, etc) that are a necessary evil to fund operations. I'd love to have the Whalers back but it isn't feasible without a new venue. Team up with Uconn as a tennant/partner, get the state of CT to sign on, bring in some corporate sponsorship (ie somebody to buy the naming rights to the venue) and this is a feasible market.

Markets are markets. They are all fickle. Toronto and Montreal are exceptions, simply because its almost like a fashion statement to go to a game in places like that. But Boston, Chicago, and even Detroit had a hard time getting people to show up when the team was bad... pre-Yzerman. The building cost vs. revenues are the most important factors. I've seen people in Phoenix (during the Roenick, Tkachuk era) go absolutely bananas for the game. Even Florida during their cup run in 96 looked like a home run. Not every team (or company) is going to make money. Its Business 101. Build a winner, and you could put a team in Mexico City or Timbuktu. Or even Edmonton.

How LA has 2 teams and Toronto has 1 is a mystery. But come on Howard I want the Whalers back just as much as the next fan that has watched hockey since before the lockout but if you talk negatively about the current state of the obvious teams it will not help the cause. The commissioner has very thin skin.

The fans in St. Louis will keep the Blues here, we've done it in the past and will continue to do so. I mean come on who wants to see hockey in a place called the Checkerdome, but we still went...
So lay off StL

In other words, Hartford's a great place to have an NHL team, just not one he'd care to buy and hold on to?

St. Louis? Considering we're a top-five TV market and #9 in last year's attendance, I suggest Mr. Baldwin shrink his definition of "marginal" to not include owners. How does having several owners in nearly 45 years qualify the Blues as marginal?

A lot of what this guy says is a successful market contradicts his statements on the bad marginal or southern markets. The Lightning average 18000+, the Preds are almost selling out every night, even the Panthers have improved their attendance to over 16,685 up 1000 from last year. The only place where winning doesn't solve anything seems to be in Phoenix though that maybe because they can't get out of the 1st round and the infamous Gretzky era.

Bring back the Whalers!!!!!!!!!

Bring the Whalers back to Hartford and stop the sh88t. That team should never have been allowed to move. Typical crap, same with the Isles, dont move the team Bettman, make them stay where they are!, and deal with it. Why would Atlanta get a second chance sooo soon as they did, and CT has not had that chance

What team would you rather want to see returned to their original location more...Nordiques or Whalers?

Bring the teams back to the cities that actually care about them. Does it really seem like people in Raleigh care about the Trashers at all? On this subject, I'm happy the Jets are back where they should have been all along. Someone mentioned Toronto having one team...AHL team in Hamilton is just outside the city. Going to Bulldog games are always a good time. If you're in the area and don't want to pay for an NHL game, go see the Bulldogs!

Did not Pitt almost lose a franchise when the team went south in the standings? But it's not OK for a Florida team to lose fan interest if the team goes south in the standings. What a hypocrite.

It sounds like two guys talking that don't know the facts from the start. Opening question and answer is invalid.
Dallas wasn't an expansion team.
This makes me think anything that follows is just two idiots saying things.

Seppa: Some of the expansion worked, right? Like the California teams, and Dallas?

Baldwin: "San Jose. I did that deal for the league, San Jose. I loved San Jose. Dallas, yep.

Carolina is amarginal market? So they can only get 15.5k this year, but that's amazing considering how bad the team is this year. And besides, people who come to Raleigh to play love it here; some of them will even move to the area after they retire.

The hockey market here in Connecticut is so much bigger than it was when the Whalers were here in the 1990s because of all the new adult and youth hockey teams. Baldwin is on the local Connecticut news always talking about his plans to bring the NHL back to Hartford. He proposed raising $105 million for revitalization of downtown Hartford and a new arena to be ready by the year 2017. There's really no other market right now that's better prepared to support the NHL than Hartford. Notwithstanding, Hartford Whalers gear is the 11th best selling merchandise at the NHL store in Manhatten, and is sold in all the malls and department stores here.

i have said it for a long time.hockey was just a fad in the south!

I love the NHL. Hockey is far and away my favorite sport and without starting an argument about which teams should go where I do think the NHL could improve it's overall product via retraction. There is too much goonery in the league. I'll back that up with the statement that you can't watch a game w/out hearing a tv announcer hype up a fighter by saying things like 'he knows his role' or 'his job is to go out there and turn the momentum around with a fight or a big hit.' I say get rid of about 6 teams and let the cream rise to the top and the turds sink to the bottom. The teams that survive the cut get better and thus the overall product gets better. It's the same reason that Olympic hockey is the best hockey in town, b/c there are less teams but they happen to be stacked with the best players. Any talk of relocation is fine, but expansion is almost laughable at the moment; especially with the CBA about to become a problem for Mrs. Bettman again.

Cannot believe "Sudden Death" wasn't mention.