Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s
How does one measure Marquee Value?
No doubt by the amount of interest/turnstile action any said performer generates when they appear at a certain venue. More importantly in terms of the National Hockey League, how can one properly pre-determine which cities have it? Location, location, location, we always hear. After all, even ubiqitous Starbucks recently closed some of their underachieving stores.
The city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada has absolutely no marquee value in any of the big cities in the United States of America. Neither, for that matter, does Berlin, Ontario, known these days as Kitchener-Waterloo.
One could very convincingly argue that Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta also lack any real marquee value in the States.
The cities, that is, not necessarily the hockey teams attached to them. For most of the 1980’s, Edmonton had plenty of sizzle thanks to that awesome collection of young studs that wore the Oilers’ colours. Your team could be from Brandon, Manitoba or Wawa, Ontario, but if Wayne Gretzky is your starting centre, people will show up. The problem is, most team’s don’t boast a player of that calibre, and even if they do, there’s no guarantee that guy will remain with your team over the long-term.
The bottom line is, in the razzle dazzle centre of the world that the U.S. is, it takes a lot of pizzazz in order to be heard above the din of the myriad of entertainment choices available today.
You can recognize a world-class, North American big league city solely by its name.
Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas, Montreal, Toronto, Chicago, New York.
All great cities, all with great sporting histories. Any of them can stand with the London’s and Tokyo’s of the world. And sometimes, when a certain team is struggling, at least their marquee value will put a few extra folks in the seats for that night’s game.
Both the Canadiens and the Maple Leafs continue to pack ‘em in out in Western Canada, even during very lean years for both franchises. The New York Rangers have that same cache, as do the Detroit Red Wings, though it’s been a while now since the dark days of the 70’s and early 80’s for the Winged Wheel. All the Original Six teams have marquee value in the NHL. It was built up over decades. It appears to be bullet-proof.
Close your eyes and imagine the big, bright sign outside of Madison Square Garden on a frosty Thursday evening in November. Tonight, at MSG, the Rangers host the Chicago Blackhawks. Tonight, at MSG, the Rangers host the Philadelphia Flyers. Tonight, at MSG, the Rangers host the Florida Panthers.
That last one doesn’t have the same ring, though it would if it came to football, but we’re talking hockey.
And this isn’t a Canadian vs. American affair. Tonight, at MSG, the Rangers host the Hamilton Raiders, doesn’t sound any better. If anything, it sounds worse.
There are association’s that go with certain cities, whether completely accurate or not. Hamilton, as much as I have a real affection for the city, will never be confused for a big league city. It’s seen as eternally playing second-fiddle to big brother Toronto just up-the-road. It’ll forever be associated with its blue collar element, the steel mills, and Tim Horton donuts. It’s a minor league city that is a great spot for a CFL team and an AHL franchise, but not the NHL. Hamilton is not Big League.
Owing mainly to population, there are only a handful of Canadian cities that could rightfully be described as big-league.
Toronto and Montreal are obvious choices. Vancouver, Canada’s third-largest city, also qualifies. These three cities are on-par with the big American cities. The remaining three Canadian franchises are lower down on that pecking list, even though all three continue to grow, particularily the two Albertan cities.
Ottawa (actually, Ottawa-Gatineau…formerly Ottawa-Hull) is the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Canada, in terms of population, and it’s the nation’s capital, but there’s still a small town (Bytown) stigma about this Eastern Ontario city. Many were rightfully surprised when the NHL expanded to Ottawa during the early 90’s. Despite all it’s charms and endless cultural festivals, Ottawa is still a backwater, picked (over Kingston, Ontario), to be Canada’s capital, for that very reason…it was out-of-the-way. Hidden away from the American Army. Safe.
Heck, even driving to Ottawa always seems an afterthought. The superhighway that leads out of Toronto zooms past the turnoff to Ottawa, headed towards Cornwall on it’s way to Montreal. Blink and you’ll miss the road to Ottawa.
Three small market teams, Winnipeg, Quebec City and Hartford, all left their old WHA stomping grounds for greener pastures. During their time in the NHL, arguably only Quebec City had any sizzle, thanks largely to it’s Old World Charm (C) and it’s red-hot rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens.
Tonight, at MSG, the Rangers host the Winnipeg Jets.
Yawn.
Tonight, at MSG, the Rangers host the Las Vegas Coyotes.
Who’s got tickets?
You tell me which matchup looks better on the marquee. You tell me which matchup looks better in your local TV guide.
Sure, the true hockey fan pays such stuff little attention, focusing rightfully so on the quality of the team’s involved. But that fan is already going to tune in, or line up for tickets. It’s all about getting the casual fan to come back more often, and to get first-time fans into the building, or to click onto that TV channel.
Perception is sadly everything for most people. Which is why, if the NHL wants to relocate a financially struggling franchise to Southern Ontario, the only viable city to place that team already has a team.
Hogtown. The self-proclaimed Centre of the Universe. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Which already has the Maple Leafs, a obscenely-rich hockey team that is part of a very successful business group, Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment. And, outside of obscene amounts of rapidly devaluing Canadian dollars, what incentive is there for the Leafs to share their sandbox with anybody?
Yes, the New York area has three teams, and Philadelphia is not all that far away. Even stranger, the Los Angeles area has two teams. How did that come to pass, again? Yet the population centre of Canada has only two teams.
Yes, two teams. One cannot leave the Buffalo Sabres out of this discussion. They are at one end of the Golden Horseshoe. They rely on Canadians to buy tickets, buy food and watch on TV. The Sabres would be heavily impacted by the addition of another team into the hockey-mad Southern Ontario market.
Which is why I don’t think we’ll be seeing another NHL team in these here parts in the foreseeable future. Unless…
Unless the amount of money being waved about in order to facilitate a franchise move, or (shudder) another round of expansion, is so mind-boggling high, that it would be next-to-impossible for the league, and the Leafs and Sabres, to walk away from it.
And in this current economic climate, how many corporations have that kind of scratch to throw around?
- Mick Kern
Mick Kern appears courtesy of Live From Wayne Gretzky’s
