Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Edmonton Becoming A Hockey Destination

10/12/2016 at 2:47pm EDT

from Frank Seravalli of TSN,

Edmonton is now a destination in the NHL again, cemented visually by Wednesday’s opening of the palatial Rogers Place and the surrounding $2.5 billion ICE District, equipped with casinos, hotels and bars.

The Oil City is no longer just another waypoint in the league. No one has been able to say that since Wayne Gretzky’s glory days in the 80s.

The saying from Field of Dreams is “If you build it, they will come.” In Edmonton, it was more like “If you draft him, they will come.”

Watching Connor McDavid for 45 games was all Milan Lucic needed to convince him to become Edmonton’s first high-profile free agent signing in a decade. The gaudy new building only aided as eye candy in the decision-making process to sign a $42-million deal.

In the process, Lucic turned down equally lucrative opportunities in other cultural hotspots, like Montreal and Los Angeles.

“It’s funny,” Lucic said. “I was talking with former teammates and players around the league and they all see how scary of a player Connor is. They said, ‘If you get a chance to play with a player like that, it could make your career.’”

more

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by bigfrog in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Mathematically… -
Comment by rwbill in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Mathematically… - 1 second ago
Comment by rwbill in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Mathematically… - 55 seconds ago
Comment by bezukov in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Mathematically… - 2 minutes ago
Comment by Kate in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Mathematically… - 2 minutes ago