The Arizona Coyotes being sold and relocated to Utah is news that has taken the league by storm. While it’s unfortunate that the Arizona fans lost their team, the story may not be over for the Coyotes. There’s a catch in all this, and that is Arizona could still be awarded a hockey team within the next five years if they find a way to build an arena. But the previous team wouldn’t move back, they’d get a brand new expansion franchise instead.
That whacky stipulation has sparked an idea. What if the NHL relocates the Philadelphia Flyers and their assets to a new destination and the city of Philadelphia is awarded a new expansion franchise in their place?
There’s been plenty of talk about the NHL wanting to return to Atlanta. Their third try in A-Town could very well be on the horizon in the near future. And who wouldn’t want to see the Atlanta Thrashers play again? Except maybe the people of Georgia, who didn’t pay to see hockey the first or second time around hence why they relocated twice, but that’s a minor detail.
What if they just move the Flyers to Atlanta and bring back the Thrashers? Maybe they name them after another local bird instead to freshen things up. A quick google search tells us that yellow-rumped warblers are a native bird of Georgia, and what better name for a hockey team than the Atlanta Warblers. It makes sense, warble is onomatopoeic for the sound I used to make when it was time to watch a Thrashers game back in the day.
The Flyers’ roster provides a great foundation for a new market. What better way to start an expansion with such stars as Nic Deslauriers, Sean Couturier and Nick Seeler. They’d create a team culture Atlantans wouldn’t be able to resist!
Then the city of Philadelphia can apply and be granted an expansion team in a few years down the road. Let’s be honest, who among us couldn’t use a few years off from Philly hockey? It’d be a fun little vacation and an opportunity to get that sky-rocketing blood pressure under control.
Philadelphia is supposed to be one of the biggest hockey markets in the NHL, but that just hasn’t been the case over the last decade-plus. They’ve been stuck in the mud thanks to multiple incarnations of shoddy organizational leadership. This scenario gives the city a chance to ship their problems elsewhere and start from scratch and re-establish themselves as an elite cornerstone of the NHL.
As shown by the Vegas Golden Knights, a smart front office group can wheel and deal during an expansion draft and build a Cup-contending team almost immediately.
And there’s already a perfect name for the new Philadelphia-based franchise- the Blazers. It’s an homage to the shirt-lived World Hockey Association team that played in the city during the 1972-73 season.
Relocating the Flyers to Atlanta is a win-win for everybody. The NHL gets their wet dream of putting a team back where they want it, Philadelphia gets a chance at a fresh start, and if both cities end up with a new, successful product, that’s even more money for the league to revel in when they refuse to raise the salary cap more than a couple million dollars at a time!
The Philadelphia Blazers and Atlanta Warblers happily co-existing in the league based on the Arizona-Utah system will be a great foundation for the league moving forward for potential relocations to occur. They can relocate Columbus to Hartford, or Florida to Quebec, or Pittsburgh to the moon!
Ball’s in your court NHL. The idea’s free, just thank me later when you’re rubbing hundred dollar bills against your nipples, Overlord Bettman.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
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