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Post by waynesr on May 20, 2011 22:41:08 GMT -5
Please pardon my ignorance but why do people say that Hartford deserve a team. I basically stopped watching hockey for a few years after the Jets left and only recall very little fans in the in their arena when they played. My memory is a little foggy but I recall some games they probably had less than 5,000 fans or even less than that. This is no disrespect to the many Hartford Fans here or anywhere else, so please let me know.
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Post by canadiensfan on May 21, 2011 7:11:53 GMT -5
Hartford's Attendance over their last 8 seasons:
89-90: 13,705 90-91: 12,404 (-1,301) 91-92: 10,896 (-1,318) 92-93: 10,144 (-752) 93-94: 10,492 (+348) 94-95: 11,822 (+1,370) 95-96: 11,967 (+145) 96-97: 13,680 (+1,713)
As you can see, Hartford's attendance dropped sharply, than rose back up sharply before they left.
Winnipeg's Attendance over their last 7 seasons:
89-90: 13,106 90-91: 12,931 (-175) 91-92: 12,931 (0) 92-93: 13,550 (+619) 93-94: 13,297 (-253) 94-95: 13,013 (-284) 95-96: 11,316 (-1697)
Winnipeg was steady at first, but then dropped down a bit.
Quebec's Attendance over their last 6 seasons:
89-90: 15,080 90-91: 14,188 (-892) 91-92: 13,666 (-522) 92-93: 14,981 (+1315) 93-94: 14,614 (-367) 94-95: 14,395 (-219)
The Nordiques attendance remained relatively steady... F U Bettman...
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Post by iliketherangers on May 25, 2011 18:10:05 GMT -5
All 3 of those cities deserve teams, so bring em back!!! move the thrashers, coyotes and panthers. leave every other team where they are.
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Post by schlitsz on Jun 7, 2011 12:11:36 GMT -5
The Whalers had a "successful" season ticket drive and Karmanos still moved the team to Raleigh. I believe the goal was 11k season tickets and he'd keep the team in Hartford. Obviously, he didn't think there was a chance in hell of it happening.
I live in CT and would love to see a team back in Hartford. I will admit that the time is not now. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. Their old owner (from when they had halfway decent teams in the 80s), Howard Baldwin, has an office set up in Hartford. His ultimate goal is an NHL franchise back in Hartford. For now, he's re-branded the Rangers AHL affiliate the "Connecticut Whale" instead of the Hartford Wolf Pack. Changed the colors to blue and green and everything. This is neither here nor there, but the logo and uniforms are hideous.
Anyway, I'd snap up season tickets in a heartbeat if Hartford was ever in a similar situation as Winnipeg. I'd read a lot of stuff about how, since Whalers merchandise was allowed to be sold again (after the trademark expired), their merch was out-selling almost every current NHL team. I've bought a ton of stuff and of course a lot of people in CT are rocking Whalers gear now. Maybe we're just delusional.
CT is such a fair weather state, though. People here would rather support a successful college basketball team (UConn) than a professional hockey team. Baldwin has his work cut out for him. But I hear he is at least on good terms with Bettman, that can't hurt. Baldwin did say on the local news here (just last week) that he wouldn't expect a team to land here for probably 7-9 years at the earliest, if ever. But he made it clear that that is his ultimate goal. And he's very encouraged by what happened in Winnipeg. Having the people of Hartford show that same level of support will be difficult, though. It's frustrating. But I'll always hold out hope. There are plenty of hockey fans in CT, but this isn't Canada.
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Post by mrconfusion87 on Jun 9, 2011 21:09:26 GMT -5
I can't see a team returning to Hartford before it comes to QC, Hamilton or Seattle (esp when the ownership and arena issues are solved)!
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Post by CravenMoorhead on Jun 9, 2011 21:14:27 GMT -5
Canada is the way to go. I think the NHL Board of Governors has finally seen the light.
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Post by schlitsz on Jun 10, 2011 11:20:25 GMT -5
I can't see a team returning to Hartford before it comes to QC, Hamilton or Seattle (esp when the ownership and arena issues are solved)! I agree and I think Howard Baldwin agrees as well. Which is why he said a team most likely won't be here for at least 7-9 years. He knows Hartford isn't first in line. A new arena (or some serious renovations to the XL Center) is needed for it to happen anyway. The Whalers players loved it here, though. There are some really nice towns in CT for families (good school systems for the kids, plenty of parks and Russians, etc.). So they all lived in nice, affluent places like Avon or West Hartford and didn't have to worry about the crap that goes down in Hartford - like shootings and robberies, etc. It was the douchebag owner that was hell bent on moving the team to NC. There is no denying the attendance figures above, of course. But I guess Hartford is like a lot of US cities; when the team is good, people show up. When they're terrible, not as much - only the real diehards.
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