After missing one week, (I kind of hinted I would), I am back for another edition of Thoughts of the Week. I give my thoughts and options about some news stories that happened over this past week. This past week has been filled with various news stories so let’s get right into it.
The Arizona Coyotes are now without an arena. After the city of Glendale decided to end the current lease of the Gila River Arena past the 2021-22 season.
As I tweeted out shortly following this news, many should not be surprised with the outpouring of relocation news stories, including Kansas City, Houston and, of course, Quebec City.
I understand the people who want the NHL to return to Quebec City, but I do not think it is feasible right now. For one, the introduction of the Seattle Kraken will finally balance the league with 16 teams in each conference for this upcoming season.
Also, both of the NHL’s new TV partners in ESPN and TNT would probably, not be on board with a new Canadian market that would not affect viewership on their networks.
For me, I believe that if the Coyotes have to move, it will be to Houston. It is the largest market that does not have an NHL team currently. Houston has also previously expressed interest in the past in having a team.
For now, the NHL must come up with a plan before the Coyotes are evicted from Glendale.
The Toronto Raptors have announced their schedule for this upcoming season. As of now, it appears that the team will be back in Toronto this season for the first time since early 2020.
Some notable dates on the schedule include the home opener game against the Washington Wizards on October 20, the NBA 75th Anniversary Game against the New York Knicks on November 1, and Kyle Lowry’s return to Toronto with the Miami Heat on February 3.
Playing in Toronto was a key point that President Masai Ujiri made during his press conference announcing his contract extension with the club.
In some personal news, I will be going to my first professional sporting event in a long time tomorrow. My dad and I have had season tickets for the Toronto Argos for a couple of seasons, and we were disappointed when the CFL season got cancelled last season. However, the CFL is back now, and it will be fun and exciting to see the changes that have occurred to the in-fan experience in Toronto over the past couple of years.
With that, I will finish off the second edition of my TOTW blog.
Talk to you later!