from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,
The city of Houston and the Olympics both serve the same purpose for the NHL. Both exist as points of leverage for commissioner Gary Bettman, who is never hesitant to accumulate chips to play when it comes to advising tax-paying citizens what they must do in order that their respective cities keep their teams and negotiating against the players.
In the wake of the estimable Katie Strang’s reporting for The Athletic, we know that Houston is the current city of prominence the NHL has to leverage against cities such as Ottawa and Calgary, whose club owners are seeking new arenas....
Houston makes sense as a U.S. port if accompanied by a viable hockey infrastructure. The Hurricanes are in trouble. The Panthers have been a sinkhole since their move out of Miami to Sunrise. The Islanders are going to become fair game if the bid for Belmont is rejected.
Culturally, of course, Quebec has always made more sense, just as has a second franchise in Toronto.
more and other hockey topics like...
If George Parros wants to make his mark as the new sheriff in town, the first-year head of the Department or Player Safety will ignore whatever excuses Radko Gudas offers for using his stick like a guillotine against Mathieu Perreault and suspend the serial predator for no fewer than eight games.
Create an Account
In order to leave a comment, please create an account.