Could the NHL relocate to Seattle?

by Brandt Corbin

 

           When one thinks of locations that an NHL team can relocate to, Winnipeg, Quebec, Kansas City and Toronto are at the top of lot of lists. But one city that nobody would think of has a local group of wealthy investors inquiring into an NHL hockey team. But what city you ask? Of all places but Seattle Washington. Now is Seattle a hot bed for hockey, probably not but in fact the city can boast a Stanley Cup victory, the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans.

            Lord knows there are plenty of teams that lack steady ownership, the Atlanta Thrashers and Phoenix Coyotes just to name a few. This tonight went one step further when Deputy NHL Commissioner Bill Daly acknowledged that the NHL in fact has been in contact with the group to bring the team to the Pacific Northwest.

Natural Rivalry

            If this were to every happen, the good news for the team would be its natural rivalry with the Vancouver Canucks, which for both teams and its fan would be a three hour drive. You know when teams like Pittsburgh, Washington or NY Rangers come to Seattle that fans from British Columbia would take the drive down to what those teams. It would almost be cheaper for those folks on Vancouver Island to go to Seattle for a weekend than go to Vancouver overnight with a hotel.

Seattle hockey past

            Since 1915 Seattle has had nine hockey teams, most of which were minor-pro teams. From 1915 to 1985 the city only went six seasons without having a minor league team. Since 1985 the Seattle Thunderbirds of the Western Hockey League has resided in the city. On January 31, 2011 the Thunderbirds had franchise high 6,158 fans against the Portland Winter Hawks. The average attendance is around 3,100 per game, still not bad for a 26 year old team in a non-traditional hockey market.

 Arena or lack there of could be an issue

            More than anything, the one issue preventing Seattle from getting an NHL team is Key Arena. One would assume that it would play host to the team until a new arena would be built. The problematic thing is the area was built in 1962, for basketball its capacity was 17, 072. Quite possibly the only way Seattle gets a hockey team is if they would promise to build a new rink.

            Something that could occur, and would make more sense, is if the Canucks moved their AHL team to Seattle. The AHL team could then lay in Keys Arena or at the Showare Center were the Thunderbirds play out of.