As a hockey fan in the Midwest, I feel sad knowing that there isn't an NHL team in Kansas City. There was one (Scouts) that completely bombed in the mid-70's. There have also been teams in the lower leagues (IHL's Blades, CHL's Mavericks, etc.) but too often, the lack of advertising locally makes it difficult to really get behind those teams. So, what makes me think that Kansas City deserves an NHL team now? Besides a new arena, some good advertising savvy and a marketable star would be good starts. The latter is obviously dependent on the city getting a team. To that end, I'd like to extend an invitation to the Atlanta Thrashers to make their home here should they decide to move. Now, whoever owns the team is likely going to make that decision in a few years, but for the sake of argument, let's say that I decided to buy the team and move it to Kansas City. Now, how to sell the city on the team? Let's start with...
*Every team needs a star to promote, and the Thrashers have a good one in Dustin Byfuglien. Recently signed to a new deal that keeps him for five more years, it's likely that if the Thrashers do move in a year or two, Byfuglien is coming along, and even though he's not on the level of Sidney Crosby, he's been the most marketable player in Atlanta. A similar marketing campaign surrounding Byfuglien would work in Kansas City.
*Atlanta has had trouble attracting fans...in either shot at the NHL. Atlanta also has the notoriety of not being such a great sports city. Even with the two year stint as an NHL city, Kansas City has had a reputation as a good sports city, particularly when it comes to the NFL's Chiefs. Though the hockey team would have to compete with the Chiefs for the first part of the season, they wouldn't have much in the way of competition for fans, unlike Atlanta, where the NBA's Hawks take up the second half of the season, and the Hawks are preennial playoff contenders now.
*It would likely reignite a Kansas City/St. Louis rivalry that has grown stagnant in recent years, with the "haves" and "have nots" in both baseball and football. Plus, the likelyhood is that the Nashville Predators would move to the Southeast Division to accommodate the move, which means the Kansas City team would have rivalries with other Midwest teams in the Blackhawks and Red Wings. Rivalries make everything interesting, and Atlanta hasn't had much in the way of a rivalry.
Odds are that for as long as Gary Bettman is in charge, the Thrashers are going to be pressured into staying there. However, the bottom line is the bottom line, and the Thrashers are not drawing. There is also talk about possible moves to places like Winnipeg and Portland, OR. However, Kansas City has everything in place to make it a reality should a team decide to relocate.
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