@cosmicjester Private Equity took over from the mob and has done what private equity does: squeeze every dime out of something.
Vegas boomed under the mob because the mob knew that if things were dirt cheap people would spend money they shouldn’t on gambling
@mathewjdp Kiprusoff is continually unmentioned in these discussions too when Brodeur’s reputation probably robbed him of a 2nd or potentially 3rd Vezina (plus the lockout)
@scottcwheeler Utah is pretty overrated by the media corps. They didn’t improve their roster enough to catch the top 3 central, and none of the rosters declined so much that they fell past Utah on their own
@HKYJersey Sweden, Russia, or Czechia. The rest are generally horrible. the U.S. and Canada jerseys are mid, but since we know both can do much better I don’t have any grace to give
@buffaslugs Including Columbus is a little unfair because their attendance is good and being in the U.S. makes them inherently more financially viable but they have been good pretty much one season ever and constantly struggle to retain and acquire talent
@buffaslugs realistically there are two actual relocation contenders in the league right now, Winnipeg and Columbus. I don’t think either are close to moving but they’re the only teams that combine enough on and off ice issues for it to happen again