Archive for the ‘Phoenix Coyotes’ Category

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Salary Cap Craziness!

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Can you beleive the NHL’s maximum salary cap is now $59.4 MILLION? WOW! Even scarier for most team is the floor is now at $43 Million so you better be make money to play in the NHL. In all my arguments about the state of the NHL, I think the minimum salary floor is going to be the real undoing.

Unlike the MLB, the NHL doesn’t have a lucrative TV deal to help pad each teams bottom line. The $43M for each team next year, most of that is coming from the fans.

This is a HUGE jump from the $39M maximum the NHL had as a salary cap after the lockout (2005-2006) season. And more importantly, the minimum of $27M…

Could you imagine if the Phoenix Coyotes ‘revenue loss’ was replaced with a Hamilton team that was a ‘revenue generator’? Then the salary cap would probably be $62M-$64M with a minimum floor between $44M – $46. Might not seem like a big deal but remember the Atlanta Thrashers had trouble making the minimum three years ago when it was only $34M…now at $40 that is an exta $6M and the fan base in Atlanta isn’t going to make up that amount.

This increase is going to make things crazy…more and more bloated contracts are floating around the NHL. (Tim Thomas, $5 million cap hit * 3 years; Edmonton Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray, $5.4 million * 2years, and many more)

With five teams struggling to get under the cap and another six NFL teams strugling to make the floor…what is the state of the NHL?

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Posted in Phoenix Coyotes, Salary Cap, hamilton | No Comments »

Help Mr. Balsillie; the NHL needs you!

Friday, March 12th, 2010

They’are baaacckkkk! The Coyotes are back in the news and it isn’t going to be good for Gary “Mr. Suck” Bettman. An outside party recently valued at ‘yotes at $50M…yes! That is $110M LESS then the NHL is asking. The main reason is Ice Edge Holdings Inc doesn’t have the money to purchase the team. Apparently, the US banks learned something from the drop in the housing market!

Phoenix is averaging less the 12K fans per game and that is at discounted ticket prices…I wonder how the Players Union feels about the ‘yotes bringing down the NHL salary cap? Mind you if the cap goes up…at least 3 more NHL teams will face bankruptcy.

Here is what is wrong with the Ice Edge deal:

- Bankers are balking at financing this venture after they learned financier Jeffrey Vinik paid only about $100-million in cash for the Tampa Bay Lightning. They are asking hard questions about why the Coyotes would be worth 60 per cent more.

- The Ice Edge principals will not discuss their finances in detail, but a banking source says they have only a relatively small amount to put into the proposed deal. As a result, bankers are not queuing up to lend money.

Thanks to David Shoalts at the Globe and Mail for a great article on the failuer of the Ice Edge bid.

Is anyone REALLY surprised this deal fell apart? Mr Balsillie did you see this coming? I am sure you did…

My next prediction, when Mr. Suck gets handed his walking papers it will be over two things… a bad deal with the Players Union last strike AND the ‘cotes. Mr. Sucks successor will try and distance himself by letting Balsillie put a team in Hamilton!

Ho Ho Mr. Suck you’ve got to go!

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Posted in General Rant, Make It Seven, Mr Sucks Bad Ideas, Phoenix Coyotes, hamilton | 3 Comments »

Team Canada HAMMERS Team Russia!

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

WoW! Gary “Mr. Suck” Bettman got a wet dream last night watching Canada pound the Russia team into the ground 7-3. Canada showed by hockey is our game by skating faster and working harder then the Russian in every part of the game.

Now Mr. Suck is PRAYING Canada and US meet in the final to send the ratings through the roof. I hope for the same thing because I think they are the best time…but as a Canadian Ryan Miller scares the crap out of me…he is a great goalie.

Once piece of advice…if Mr. Suck wants Canada to win to placate Canadian hockey fans over the Hamiltion/Phoneix mess…then Ryan Miller…. HIDE! Becuase I wouldn’t put it past Mr. Suck to pull a Tonya Harding!

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Posted in General Rant, Phoenix Coyotes, Vancouver Olympics | 1 Comment »

Send a MakeItSeven.ca message to Gary ‘Mr Suck’ Bettman

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

I just received and email from the Make It Seven team. Asking people to send a messaget to Gary “Mr Suck” Bettman. Here was the body of the message:

Supporters of Make It Seven,

In his ruling on June 15, Judge Baum clearly encouraged the NHL and Jim Balsillie enter into mediation to settle the matter of relocating the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton.

Jim Balsillie is more than willing to discuss relocation with the NHL and we need you, the fans, to help bring the league to the table. We have written an email that you can quickly and easily send to us and then spread the word among your friends so that we can deliver the message to the NHL.

Click here to see the letter and send it to the league.

With your help, we will Make It Seven.

Send Mr Suck a message…it will take you 10 seconds!

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Posted in Make It Seven, Phoenix Coyotes | 6 Comments »

Relocation fee and Leafs waiting list…

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
  • In the battle for a seventh NHL team, the judge has ordered the NHL all sides in a Phoenix bankruptcy court to provide him with information around a possible relocation fee the NHL may charge for the Coyotes franchise to be moved to Hamilton.

The current rumours have amount being set at $100M! Crazy amount? Maybe maybe not…

The Anaheim Ducks payed the LA Kings $25M back in 1992-1993 because they were moving into their fan base. In 1992 the NHLs total revenue was only $400 million. So, the Ducks paid the Kings 6.25% of league revenue to move in on their fan base. In 2008, the league has revenues around $2.2B if they keep the 6.25% rule it would mean $137M! WOW! That is a pretty crazy amount of money to be given to the Leafs and the Sabers.

But wait, revenue is just one part of the equation…distance between the areans would also have to be  huge part of the equation. The Staple Centre is 31 miles from the Honda Centre. This pretty close and the Ducks had to pay $$25M.

The Sabers are 65 miles from the arean in Hamilton and the Leafs are 41miles from Hamilton. Because both are farther away, the percentage they have to be paid should be lower. So 5% of revenue might make more sense…roughly $100M…this seems to be the logical…but is it too much for Mr. RIMM?

Maybe the NHL and Mr. Suck will realize another team in Southern Ontario will be good for hockey and the NHL. Maybe the will realize the Leafs revenue has been increasing steadily, from $117M in 2003-2004 to $160M in 2007-2008. While the Buffalo Sabers reveune has increased as well but was starting from a much lower point, $51M in 2003-2004 to $76M in 2007-2008

Does it seem fair to give these teams over 50% of years revenue for Hamilton to get a team?

This could be debated but one thing I want everyone to know, the Leafs have a season ticket waiting list that is around 3000 names deep…and over the last two years no one on the list has moved. That is right, there is 100% renewal of season tickets for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs also have the highest average ticket price at $75 per seats…and even during this recession they have increased their ticket prices.

To recap, what the leafs have:

  • highest ticket prices in the NHL
  • highest team revenue
  • 3000+ fans on the season ticket waiting list
  • and a ton of scalpers who make a mint off leafs tickets

Can someone tell me why Leafs need millions of dollars if a team goes to Hamilton?

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Posted in General Rant, Make It Seven, Phoenix Coyotes | 2 Comments »

Phoneix Coyotes real attendence numbers!

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

This is a great piece of information relating to the possible move of the Phoneix Coyotes to Hamilton.

James Mirtle wrote a nice post showing that the ‘coyoes only had 11K people go through the turnstiles, on average, every night. That is over 3K less then they announce at actual games…

http://www.fromtherink.com/2009/6/3/897211/the-coyotes-attendance-figures

Read the ‘good news’ from his post…

The good news? A lot of those tickets that weren’t used were at least paid for (this season anyway). Paid attendance figures are actually up significantly from where they were in the first season after the lockout, when the team apparently sold just 11,340 per game and yet announced attendance of 15,570.

Paid tickets went up this year? Something fishy about this…

Mr. Suck what else aren’t you telling the NHL fans…are the $200 a seat tickets in Toronto subsidizing the ‘coyote?

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Posted in General Rant, Make It Seven, Phoenix Coyotes, hamilton | 3 Comments »

Bankruptcy judge speeds up Coyotes relocation

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

June 9th!

This is the day the judge will hear the case of relocating the Phoneix Coyotes. With a ruling coming quickly after the hearing. This is a result of Balsillie having said he will withdraw his US$212.5-million offer if the sale is not completed by the end of June. I love the bankruptcy court really does what is in the best interest of the creditors.

Now that they date is set, I wonder if we will see any protests or move by the Coyotes fans. This would be a great opportunity for them to show their support.  If Mr Suck wasn’t so dumb we won’t be in this situation. And the fans wouldn’t be suffering…instead Mr. Suck has put the US v Canada, Winnipeg V Hamilton, and Phoneix versus everyone… nice move Mr. Suck.

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=AtZCWZF9ewFyk7TCSl1FTDYJfwM6?slug=capress-nhl_coyotes_bankruptcy-274686428&prov=capress&type=lgns

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Posted in Mr Sucks Bad Ideas, Phoenix Coyotes, Winnipeg Jets | 1 Comment »

Bettman wants team in Winnipeg! B***S***!

Saturday, May 16th, 2009

How low with Mr Suck go? He is pretending that ‘if’ the Coyotes had to move then Winnipeg would be the best place for them to go. Is anyone stepping up a bid to bring the ‘yotes to Winnipeg? Has there even been rumours of this?

Two interesting things coming out of the court documents:

In an affidavit filed Friday, Earl Scudder says that Bettman informed him Hamilton wasn’t an ideal destination because Copps Coliseum is over 30 years old, saying “if the team did return to Canada, it would be to Winnipeg.”

So Winnipeg is next on the list… that is great… but Mr Suck still have a vendetat against Ontario.


Scudder’s affidavit also says that Bettman said the only way a team would end up in southern Ontario is through expansion.

Read the full story at Yahoo! Canada Sports.

Ask your self, “Why would Mr Suck pit Winnipeg vs Hamilton?”. The asnwer is pretty easy, he is trying to divide Canada over where the Coyotes should move. It is hard to fight a united Canada but a split Canada falls perfectly into evil little hands.

Yes, the MTS Centre is newer than Copps Coliseum but Copps can seat up to 17,383 for a hockey game while MTS can only seat 15,015… so that mean…. WAIT NOW… I am falling in to Mr Suck’s evil plan to divide Canada! Damn you Gary Bettman…

Fight Bettman! Don’t pit Winnipeg V Hamilton. Instead lets change MakeItSeven… to MakeItEight!

Remember… it is Bettman VS the NHL fans! He is the problem…

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Posted in Make It Seven, Phoenix Coyotes, Winnipeg Jets | 6 Comments »

One more Canadian team could bankrupt three NHL teams!

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

I am really starting to believe another team in Ontario will bankrust at least three NHL teams…hear me out.

Having followed Mr. Suck (aka: Gary Bettman) for a number of years, I feel like I can understand how is ‘crazy little mind’ works. And trust me… it is scary. Here we go…

In the new revenue-sharing NHL, the salary cap is based on the total revenue from all teams in the league. And the salary cap has been increasing quickly (It increased in 2007 and 2008) So, the Phoenix Coyotes, with their TERRIBLE revenue are ‘artifically’ lowering the salary cap . By keeping the salary cap down, the minimum salary cap (MSC) (the 2008-2009 minimum team salary was $40.7M) stays low and and prevents more teams from going bankrupt.

If you replace the money losing Coyotes with a money making Ontario team the minimum cap will keep growing. Their are at least three teams in the NHL losing lots of money…they can not handle an increase in the minimum salary cap during a US recession.

Here are the three teams I think will go bankrupt. Their attendances are in the bottom five of the league. And their salaries are within 12.5% of the minimum…it would probably be hard to be much lower than this. Big thanks to Cap Central

Team Name 2009 Salary Attendance Attendance Percentage
Atlanta Thrashers 44,123,984 14,626 78.9
New York Islanders 45,067,452 13,773 84.5
Nashville Predators 45,264,368 15,010 87.7
Phoenix Coyotes 45,585,395 14,875 85.0

With the average ticket price in 2008-2009 season at $49.66 lets look at the teams reveune; most NHL revenue comes from the take from tickets.

Team Ticket Revenue Formula
NYI $28,042,853 ($49.66 * 564,697 total attendance)
Atlanta $29,779,761 ($49.66 * 599,673 total attendance)
Nashville $30,562,700 ($49.66 * 615,439 total attendance)

These three teams can’t be profitable and the 2009-2010 season will be worse for all teams. Except the Toronto Maple Leafs who are going to increase their 2009 season tickets prices.

There are two scenarios…

If Southern Ontario gets a new francise the minimum salary cap (MSC) will stay at $40M (or maybe even goes up). If there is no drop in the MSC and the three teams see a recession driven drop in attendance…well based on my math…these teams will be going bankrupt!

If the team stays in Phoenix, the MSC will drop. This drop would enable teams to lose less money and maybe hang around for a few more seasons. If NHL teams start going bankrupt, Mr Suck will finally be out of a job.

Maybe Mr Suck hates Canada, he seems to… maybe he hates hockey fans (ticket price have never been higher or maybe the NHL’s new team are pyramid scheme that is about to fall apart. Either way… Mr. Suck has got to go… his house of cards is coming down!

Mr. Suck does everything for power and ego…his ego can’t take another Canadian team nor the bankruptcies that would go with this team.

Posted in Phoenix Coyotes, Uncategorized | 10 Comments »

Make it seven, seven Canadian NHL teams.

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

The website Make It Seven was started by Jim Balsillie to show the grass roots support for a new NHL team in Southern Ontario. This is a great idea because it allows the ‘pent up’ desire for another hockey team to be seen.

If you aren’t from Toronto or surrounding areas, you might know how difficult it is to get hockey tickets. My quest to get Toronto Maple Leafs season tickets began in 1999 and as of this post I am still on the waiting list. To make it worse, for the last two years I haven’t moved a single spot. Maybe by the time I am 80….

Single game tickets are nearly impossible but I usually get a couple of pairs each year. The order of priority getting single tickets are::

  • Season Ticket holders – this means that games like Pittsburgh and Washington are sold out before the game is available for ‘non-season ticket holders’.
  • Maple Leaf Insiders – they email a code to use on TicketBastard. This is how I get my tickets for my team, New Jersery Devils. About 5 minutes after the tickets go on sale all Leafs games for the year are sold out.
  • Regular Folks – no chance because all the tickets are sold out! The ‘funny’ part is that the Leafs still make a big deal about being able to buy tickets even know that all the games are sold out.

Mr. Suck, this shows adding another Southern Ontario team would be fantastic. Why do you hate Canada so? Don’t you realize that everyone wants this…. EXCEPT you!

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Posted in Make It Seven, Phoenix Coyotes | 7 Comments »

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