It was almost like a relationship that never worked. The two were always fighting, not many liked the match, and one is always blowing off the other.
The “relationship” can be equally described as the Abbotsford Heat and their fans. Calgary’s AHL team moved to Abbotsford in 2009 after a run in the Quad Cities and lasted a whole five years.
Now, five years isn’t a lot for an AHL team’s location, it doesn’t even come close to the average amount of time for an AHL team, but for a team affiliated to Calgary- it doesn’t last much longer than that.
Five years is the longest a Calgary affiliated team has lasted since Saint Johns ran from 1993-03.
Now, there is a reason for the failure from Abbotsford, and it almost makes you feel like “How did that relationship even get started?”
First off, the Heat are located in Abbotsford which is a just a 45 minute drive from Vancouver. That’s right, Canuck Country. A rivalry like Calgary-Vancouver sparked a real humdinger in Canuck fans, one of which resulted in a lot of dislikes to the Heat.
In turn, Abbotsford averaged only 3,007 fans per game in the AHL, which is second only to Portland for the worst attendance average in the league.
However, that wasn’t the only mismatch made for Abbotsford, the Heat cost local taxpayers a total of $12.7 Million dollars! All for a team that wasn’t liked among fans.
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One once said “When one door closes, another door opens.” Which directly relates to a poor relationship, after the breakup there’s always someone else.
Despite how sour this deal sounded, it could turn into a major advantage for both of the AHL Franchises.
Vancouver has shown a great deal of interest in purchasing the team sitting in their backyard, which would be a great make up deal for Abbotsford hockey fans that payed money for their rivals.
Calgary wants to get an AHL team on the East Coast, the most successful region of the league – conveniently, Vancouver’s AHL team is located in Utica, New York.
So the Canucks and Flames are in major discussions of switching their AHL teams, but have not officially announced anything except there won’t be a Calgary team in Abbotsford.
What this drama doesn’t include, is that both NHL franchises are down in the dumps right now, and this isn’t helping.
For the latest Sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert and for more rumors on the Calgary Vancouver swap, please check Sports Rumor Alert.
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