Winnipeg Jets

        There has been lots speculation and debate on what the future has in store for the Phoenix Coyotes. While we waste our breath on justifying, why the Winnipeg deserves a team or why the Coyotes belong where they are, deep down we all know we're being biased. It seems almost impossible to come across an article that isn't somewhat biased towards either side of the situation

        The passion of Winnipeg Jets fans is just undeniable. It's been 15 years; yet here they are, cheering for the same team that broke their hearts and left them in tears. We know the fans are passionate and there's no question about it, Winnipeg is financially ready for a hockey team, having the 20th richest man in the world and the richest man in Canada backing them up ensures security. According to PollStar Magazine, the MTS centre in Winnipeg (where the Jets would be playing) is the 3rd busiest building in Canada and 19th busiest in the world. Yes Winnipeg's population is small and as much as Jets fans don't want to admit, that was part of the problem, but as we can see by the success rate of the MTS centre, it doesn't hinder the possibility of Winnipeg being able to support a hockey team anymore. Going into the details of why Winnipeg lost their hockey team seems repetitive and unnecessary, it came down to the weak Canadian dollar, the lack of Ownership and Winnipeg's small population. However, ownership is there and with that strong ownership Winnipeg's small population will stay captivated. As TSN has stated corporate ownerships in Winnipeg have shown a huge amount of interest. In the 80's, the Winnipeg jets were in the top 10 for attendance. 

        The big question is, What if the Canadian dollar drops again? It seems far-fetched but not impossible, the Canadian dollar could drastically drop, not now but maybe in the future. Then what? Will Winnipeg Jets fans stop showing up to games as they did before? Winnipeg Jets fans are not to be blamed for the relocation of the Jets but this could happen again.

        With that said, credit is due to Phoenix Coyotes fans.  Yes, as silly as this sounds, Coyotes fans do exist. I have said it many times before, the title for the "best" fan bases in the league does not belong to the teams with the most fans, but with the most dedicated fans. The 11,000 Coyotes fans that show up to games, are fans that don't need the media to tell them that hockey is an amazing sport, they figured it out themselves. The Coyotes had remarkable attendance in the few seasons they were in Phoenix, averaging over 16,000 fans for 7 seasons. Until the same plague that hit Winnipeg, hit the Coyotes. Lack of ownership. Also, the fact that the new arena the Coyotes play in, is located in Glendale Arizona, a city with a population of only 252,188. Sadly, another reason would be because of the Coyotes lack of ability to perform, a mediocre team that rarely gets attention from the NHL. But now coyotes have found an owner, but Glendale is now face potential legal issues. Even with this ownership, it seems highly unlikely that the Coyotes will be a successful franchise, they will stay in the likes of the Florida Panthers and Nashville predators. The location of the arena is a big factor that will always affect attendance. Good thing for Coyotes fans, Hulsizer says he expects to lose money, and he doesn't mind. So with that kind of ownership, seems as though attendance will never matter.

        Where will the Phoenix Coyotes go? I'm not even going to pretend as if I know. I know what I hope, but that means absolutely nothing. The legal issues going on between Goldwater and Glendale make it impossible to guess, who knows if the bonds will sell? Sadly this has become a Canada vs USA issue, a Winnipeg jets vs Phoenix Coyotes issue. This is something that our passion just couldn't let us avoid. A few tweets have been thrown around saying "Why do Winnipeg Jets fans want to steal OUR team? BACK OFF", and it seems unfair to say this. Bettman has stated that he has no plans to expand, ever. This puts Winnipeg Jets fans in the position they're in right now.

All we can do is sit and wait.