Name Recommendations for 2nd NHL team in Southern Ontario

[kq76]

I was curious of the team name we might see for when a team relocates to southern Ontario and since we have more than a few hockey fans as evidenced by the playoffs thread, I figured I'd pose the question.

I always kind of wished the Leafs were called the Polar Bears or something like that just because I think a polar bear would look great in a Leafs jersey. Maybe we could see the North York Polar Bears although I'm sure some may find that too silly. Hamilton has long been a favourite and I saw the Hamilton Ironmen somewhere which sounds good. Kitchener and Waterloo were rumoured to be preferred locales of Balsillie as well, but no names spring to mind for them. Any others?

[eriqjaffe]

The Hamilton Georges.

Team colors: Bronze & Tan.

[Le Grande Orange]

The Never-Going-To-Happens?

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

The Never-Going-To-Happens?

LOL

The Kitchener Rims?

[ZiggyPop]

The Maple Leafs.

That's probably the only chance they have of getting their name on a Stanley Cup.

[Bobble]

Originally Posted by RchW

LOL

The Kitchener Rims?

Kitchener Sinks.

[spleen1015]

The Who-Gives-A-Craps!

[crackpott]

I don't know what the team name will be called, but I'm going to say it certainly won't be named after North York, as since the city no longer exists, no one would put that name on a national stage. York Region or a city within it (Vaughan, most likely) might be it. Mississauga perhaps. Kitcher. Hey, they may just name it Ontario.

Although Hamilton was a favourite for a while... why? Hamilton itself is just getting worse and worse every day... it's not a good place to put something that will simply make a longer drive for people in Toronto to go see them, and it might infringe upon Sabres territory as well.

Hamilton DOES have the benefit of being about an hour or less from various places though (Toronto, Buffalo, K-W, and all of the suburbs around the greater golden horseshoe)

[RchW]

Originally Posted by Bobble

Kitchener Sinks.

Or the Kitchener Berlin's. Berlin was the city name until 1916.

[JTSMOOTH]

I think Phoenix Coyotes has a nice ring to it....Ontario is a bit of a drive for me seeing as how I'm in Phoenix

[Erik W.]

They should move the team to Quebec City rather than southern Ontario.

[Khan]

Might be a good idea to have an actual arena to play in 1st. The only suitable ones are Copps and the ACC.

Pretty sure ACC ain't happening and Copps isn't considered top notch anymore though I suppose would do til a new arena was built.

I can't see a team surviving in Kitchener, please!

[KurtBevacqua]

How about the Ontario Bound to Lose so Much Money They Will Eventually be Forced to Move to a Place in the United States Where it Never Snows?

[canadiancreed]

Originally Posted by KurtBevacqua

How about the Ontario Bound to Lose so Much Money They Will Eventually be Forced to Move to a Place in the United States Where it Never Snows?

I think they already tried that...that's how we got Phoenix...

[Long_Long_Name]

I'm a sucker for generic, actually descriptive names. I'd name it the Kitchener Hockey Club, or something boring like that.

[crackpott]

Originally Posted by Khan

Might be a good idea to have an actual arena to play in 1st. The only suitable ones are Copps and the ACC.

Pretty sure ACC ain't happening and Copps isn't considered top notch anymore though I suppose would do til a new arena was built.

I can't see a team surviving in Kitchener, please!

K-W is about the same distance from Toronto (maybe an extra 10 minutes or so) as Hamilton is, just on the 401 rather than the QEW. What Hamilton has going for it is that it's closer to St. Catharines/Niagara/Buffalo as well as a slightly larger population, but K-W is growing quicker, has a higher median income, and may have less territorial issues with the Sabres. The closure of Stelco in Hamilton could also have a significant impact, though at least they seem to have started shifting their economy towards health care rather than simply steel production. A great system, really. Destroy the environment around Hamilton and make everyone sick, then employ people to make them healthy again.

Ultimately, wherever it goes it's really just Toronto's second team. It should just go here. But given that seems unlikely... they'll definitely be in Hamilton to start cause of Copps Colosseum, but where they'd be long term is more up in the air.

[Khan]

Perhaps, however I just don't see people driving on the 401 from Toronto to see an NHL game in Kitchener on a regular basis and Kitchener doesn't have near the population base needed even if it is growing.

The population base is more around the Golden Horseshoe anyway and the team would need to go somewhere there really.

You're right anyway, the team should be somewhere in the GTA near the transit systems.

Originally Posted by crackpott

K-W is about the same distance from Toronto (maybe an extra 10 minutes or so) as Hamilton is, just on the 401 rather than the QEW. What Hamilton has going for it is that it's closer to St. Catharines/Niagara/Buffalo as well as a slightly larger population, but K-W is growing quicker, has a higher median income, and may have less territorial issues with the Sabres. The closure of Stelco in Hamilton could also have a significant impact, though at least they seem to have started shifting their economy towards health care rather than simply steel production. A great system, really. Destroy the environment around Hamilton and make everyone sick, then employ people to make them healthy again.

Ultimately, wherever it goes it's really just Toronto's second team. It should just go here. But given that seems unlikely... they'll definitely be in Hamilton to start cause of Copps Colosseum, but where they'd be long term is more up in the air.

[Joe Canadian]

Originally Posted by Le Grande Orange

The Never-Going-To-Happens?

I have no idea why the league and other owners (outside of Buffalo & MLSE) have been so steadfast in their opposition to Balsillie owning a team and moving it to southern Ontario. Does the league still hold the delusions that hockey is going to work long-term in some of the markets they've moved into?

The situation in Phoenix seems to be the closest Balsillie has gotten to becoming an owner, and it may still happen, there's just gigantic legal questions to be answered first. The one thing we can all assume is that the $212.5 Million offer from Balsillie is far above market value for the Coyotes franchise, and much more than what Chicago White Sox owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, was prepared to pay (Bettman was in Phoenix to approve the sale of the team to Reinsdorf before all this happened).

When current owner Jerry Moyes moved the team into Chapter 11, presumably after Balsillie approached him with his offer, he took the team and league into uncharted territory, AFAIK. The league appears to be arguing that Moyes had no right to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but now that it is done, can it be undone? If it can't then unless someone tops Balsillie's offer (which is an unlikely outcome), for the benefit of the teams creditors, doesn't his offer have to be accepted?

The problem is, does an bankruptcy court have the right to okay the offer given the condition that the team must move to southern Ontario? The question is especially complicated when you take into account that the Balsllie offer is presumably so much higher than market calue. Does the court force the move? Or do the accept a lower offer, which keeps the team in Phoenix, but doesn't satisfy the creditors?

It's going to be very interesting how this plays out. How much longer can the NHL say no to someone who has the money to own a franchise, and has an interest in the hockey product he'll be buying?

[Long_Long_Name]

Originally Posted by Joe Canadian

I have no idea why the league and other owners (outside of Buffalo & MLSE) have been so steadfast in their opposition to Balsillie owning a team and moving it to southern Ontario. Does the league still hold the delusions that hockey is going to work long-term in some of the markets they've moved into?

They just don't seem to like Balsillie making a big splash. He's like the rich geek who would pay you to play with him - he's just not in the "in crowd".

It doesn't make a lot of sense for the NHL to declare that it wants one of its franchises to depart. Why would they alienate themselves a market that, for better or for worse, they still have to pander to? I'm not sure that the NHL is opposed to the move, but I can clearly see why they would not want to make that information public.

[Joe Canadian]

Originally Posted by Long_Long_Name

They just don't seem to like Balsillie making a big splash. He's like the rich geek who would pay you to play with him - he's just not in the "in crowd".

I don't really think that's a fair comparison. Balsillie is a guy who has a passion for the game, and wants to move an unsuccessful team to a market that can support multiple teams. I really think he's an ideal owner for the league.

It doesn't make a lot of sense for the NHL to declare that it wants one of its franchises to depart. Why would they alienate themselves a market that, for better or for worse, they still have to pander to? I'm not sure that the NHL is opposed to the move, but I can clearly see why they would not want to make that information public.

Yeah, I get the PR aspect of it. But there seems to more than just a concern over the current market when the league and other owners talk about Ballsilie's attempts to own a team. Maybe part of that is due to Balsilie being so open about his attempts, something the league likes to keep underwraps, but the attitude was there even before he pulled the season ticket selling stunt.