Couldn’t have said it better myself. I can’t believe just threw Dallas in like that. It’s irresponsible and disgusting and it pisses me off to think what our hockey brethren up north think when reading something like that.

Yeah, while there is a lot of truth in Moyes general sentiment, when he paints Dallas and Tampa Bay with the same brush, it kind of reinforces his image as a just another clueless owner who admittedly got into this “by accident.”

He sounds like he’s combining Balsillie talking points with his own myopic experience falling into ownership amid an Arizona land deal gone wrong, and concluding: “Blleeaargghh…hockey no work where sun shine so much. Must move north…bleeeargh.”

I can buy that he wanted to do right by this club when he bought in, but he didn’t know what he was getting into — and that’s something that will be a major problem for a sports franchise almost regardless of where it’s located.

PPP you hit the nail on the head… real estate. At the end of the day watch the markets where the US housing situation is the worst. That’s where the worst financial issues are going to come from for the NHL (and other sports) going forward. We ain’t even seen the collapse of commercial real estate. Glendale has a bigger problem than the Yotes.

They built an enormous boat anchor during a housing bubble. It burst and the fall out has been documented nicely here by The Mirtle.

Why the NHL wants to continue in a shrinking market I don’t know. It kills me to watch the NHL turn themselves inside out trying to keep Balsillie out of the league when a well-moneyed, motivated owner is exactly what this league needs while the US teeters on the verge of a complete collapse of their banking system.

Of course, these are men that have profited heavily from the expansion and their actions here tell me they haven’t shifted their thinking towards the different paradigm that’s in the process of happening.

Ta,

There’s a lot of truth to that but I also think that what we see as the “Southern expansion” was expidited by the timely vulnerabilities of several franchises, including both the North Stars and the Jets. That’s not to say that the 6 true Southern expansion teams (SJ, ANA, TB, FLA, ATL, and NSH) weren’t rushed into, but I don’t think Dallas, Phoenix, and Raleigh were necessarily premeditated.

Exactly. Pace, restraint and due diligence would’ve been the better route to southern expansion. Instead of taking Blockbuster’s (haha, remember when that was a growing business model?) and Disney’s money at the first chance they were offered.

I suppose part of the urgency was the whole “national footprint” effort for a TV deal back when people thought the NHL would have an NBA-like resurrection. Though everyone agrees that was a failure in retrospect, it’s dishonest to pretend there weren’t many people — TV execs among them — thinking that was the way to go back in the late 80s/early 90s.

I don’t use those terms.

Im not necessarily on the NHL’s “side” in this mess – I think the NHL does a horrible job of due diligence in its ownership analyses, and I question its long-term business planning. However, I dont think Moyes is saying he was misled or duped by the NHL – I think he’s saying that even with his efforts, the NHL’s plans are not going to work.

What does how many BOG meetings he went to have to do with whether or not you feel sympathy towards him, the guy spent a fortune trying to make hockey and other things work there – personally from a business perspective looking at the numbers, etc. he should hae went bankrupt between 12 and 24 months sooner than he did with the ‘yotes – just sayin’

Best solution for whom?

Balsillie, IMO, is as much of a narcissistic fool as anyone in the current ownership ranks. For being such a savvy businessman, he has shown a surprising lack of said savvy in his dealings with the league since Pittsburgh.

It’d be nice if, for a change, Phoenix had an owner that WANTED to own the team as a hockey team and not a land grab. The last good owner this franchise had was in Winnipeg.

The issue at hand in the Tampa Bay situation as well as the situation that created the current problem in Nashville was and is the poor business poractices and ethics of the current and/or prior ownership. In the case of TB it was and is accepted an under capitalized ownership group; in the case of Nashiville it’s the ethics of the PRIOR majority owner.

In both case proper “due diligence” and heeding what it unearthed would have said don’t sell to these guys, instead that wasn’t done and now the NHL and it’s owner/partners must deal with the reults. In actuality, the Phoenix situation is more complex than that – when Moyes bought the franchise and relocated it he was actually a responsible owner by all business metrics, the situation in Phoenix today is the result of multiple mis-steps and one wonders what and how both Moyes and the NHL would have been better served by a different approach on both their parts…

As far as additional “Southern Disasters” I really can’t understand you’re point; the TB situation will get worked out, even if it means the Davidsons have to get involved again; the Florida stuff is IMHO overblown; Atlanta doesn’t have a huge debt load and their rebuld approach seems sound; if anybody can pull Nashville out of the fire then the current ownership can; Dallas IMO not a problem at all. While actually I support Balsille’s efforts and even his motives, I can’t see myself going to see a Caps away game up in Saskatchewan any sooner then I see myself going to see a Flin Flon Bombers game in February anytime soon….on the other hand I do plan to catch a few Caps – Panther Games in South Florida this winter if the oppt’y presents itself from a personal schedule POV and I’m a Caps Season Ticket Holder -

Give it time….

That reminds me of one of the greatest quotes in sports business history:

(Paraphrasing here):

“You’d have to be an idiot to lose money on hockey in Minnesota.” – Norm Green

Yes, Norm, you were quite the idiot. Thanks for my Stars though.

“Almost no Fortune 500 Corporations”? not just as a base for HQ’s but also as a major location RTP (Research Triangle Park is a great market and the fact they, like the Carolina Panthers, were smart enough when they relocated from hartford to brand themselves as the whole State’s team …. suggest you take another look at that statement – in actuality the Washington Capitals and Washington Redskins have more obstcles to luxry box sales than either of their Carolina counterparts….

A smarter businessman would have cut and run some time ago – after all that’s why the US Civil Code has both Chapter 11 and Chapter 7…..

I’m surprised the Moyes group hasn’t bropught into evidence a bunch of emails from the NHL pressuring him to NOT go bankrupt and stuff… just goes to the point that all along the NHL has had smarter, better lawyers then the trucking magnet that bought the Winnipeg Jets and tried through power of ego to makle all this work … the reality from a business perspective is it seems somewhere along the line Jerry Moyes forgot the KISS principle; KISS = Keep It Simple “Sir”…..

Hmmm I’m having a really hard time seeing how Balsille’s going to win this one, given those circumstances.