NHL to Seattle (probably... maybe)

[Nonlinear FC]

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/nba ... on-follow/

Still needs to be signed by the mayor, but that looks like a foregone conclusion. Not sure if this allows the league to move Phoenix or Calgary... or put another franchise in the mix. (Which means the Caps will fuck something up and lose another good player/contract.)

[Pruitt]

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/nba/keyarena-mou-approved-by-seattle-city-council-will-nhl-announcement-soon-follow/

Still needs to be signed by the mayor, but that looks like a foregone conclusion. Not sure if this allows the league to move Phoenix or Calgary... or put another franchise in the mix. (Which means the Caps will fuck something up and lose another good player/contract.)

Degen can fill you guys in on the screw job the Flames are trying to put on the city of Calgary.

It had better be the Coyotes moving up there!

[brian]

I'm totally down with Seattle getting a team, but it has to be a relocation, otherwise Quebec City/Quebecor are really getting the screw job to end all screw jobs (and Houston too to a lesser extent).

That said, moving Arizona to Seattle and putting an expansion team in Houston for 2019-2020 would clear up a lot of issues and make a lot of people happy.

[Pruitt]

I'm totally down with Seattle getting a team, but it has to be a relocation, otherwise Quebec City/Quebecor are really getting the screw job to end all screw jobs (and Houston too to a lesser extent).

That said, moving Arizona to Seattle and putting an expansion team in Houston for 2019-2020 would clear up a lot of issues and make a lot of people happy.

Fuck Quebecor (my wife worked for one of their publications and the brass at that company - especially Pierre Karl Peladeau - are complete assholes.)

It's the taxpayers of the city and the province who got screwed out of $400 million to build an 18,000 arena based upon a vague thought that they'd get an NHL team. Instead - an elephant blanche!

[brian]

I used to work with Quebecor a lot too at my previous job, but I had a better experience than your wife I think. That said, I'm not a big fan of theirs either. But it would be pretty insane for the NHL to award an expansion team without any kind of a formal bidding process. I don't think even Bettman is that corrupt.

If they DID do it, it would still be a sham of course. That's why there weren't any bidders other than QC and Las Vegas when Las Vegas got our team, but appearances still matter.

[wlu_lax6]

Have to believe someone in Seattle (and New York) will want an NBA team back in Seattle? Will UW try and play games in the arena? The idea of an off campus home court is not a great option (see Georgetown Hoyas), but the Hec was built in 1927.

[degenerasian]

The Flames will move before the Coyotes ever do. The arena is everything and we don't have one.

Why wouldn't the Flames owners move to Seattle or Houston? Brand new arena and US dollars! and a cooperative mayor/public (in their opinion).

[brian]

I think the NHL will still move heaven and earth to keep the Flames in Calgary. It's way too soon to be thinking there's any kind of legitimate relocation plan.

[DaveInSeattle]

Have to believe someone in Seattle (and New York) will want an NBA team back in Seattle? Will UW try and play games in the arena? The idea of an off campus home court is not a great option (see Georgetown Hoyas), but the Hec was built in 1927.

Hec Ed was renovated in 1999. It can be a great venue for basketball, but sadly, with the sorry state of the UW program, the games have not been very well attended. But back in the days of the Nate Robinson/Brandon Roy teams, it was a very hot ticket.

[DaveInSeattle]

I think the NHL will still move heaven and earth to keep the Flames in Calgary. It's way too soon to be thinking there's any kind of legitimate relocation plan.

It will be YEARS before Key Arena is anywhere close to being ready for NHL hockey. Things move awfully slow here, and there is a lot of opposition to this plan.