You have to wonder if Wayne Gretzky might catch a few catcalls Wednesday night when the Phoenix Coyotes play the Calgary Flames at Winnipeg's MTS Centre.
Just last week, The Great One said he could see a second NHL team being added in Southern Ontario. But as for the NHL returning to Winnipeg, once home to the mighty Jets? Gretzky told a Toronto luncheon group: “I'm sure the people of Winnipeg would shell out 15,000 to 16,000 every single night - but it has to do more with the corporate end of things and the commercial side of hockey.
“And that's where we've come to in this day and age.”
Hockey fan Chris Mackie has established a website to try and counter the many arguments against the NHL re-establishing itself in Winnipeg. The site contains, according to Mackie, “a lot of (sometimes surprising) information … that makes a very compelling case for Winnipeg as a potential NHL market.”
The website argues that based on the ticket prices for the Flames-Coyotes pre-season game – and a season-ticket count of 14,000 – Winnipeg would rank eighth in NHL ticket revenue, just ahead of Detroit, Colorado and Philadelphia.
Could Winnipeg sell 14,000 season tickets? Mackie believes so. Does Winnipeg have the corporate clout? That question may not be answered until the NHL acknowledges its thinking of a return to the Manitoba capital then outlines its conditions.
Until then, its NHL exhibition games at the 15,000-seat MTS Centre and a chance to howl at Gretzky.
