The New York Islanders might have been Kansas City’s last NHL chance
This is a dark time for those of us who follow hockey. If you haven’t heard (and let’s face it, that’s fairly likely), the NHL has locked its players out, and the ugly labor dispute between the sides doesn’t look like it’s close to resolution. So, instead of numbing life’s endless pain with three or four games on NHL Game Center Live each night, we’re stuck feigning interest in commissioner Gary Bettman’s buffoonery and longing for the star players as they light up European leagues. It’s bleak.
But this week there was hockey news centered on something besides the lockout: The pitiful New York Islanders (you can think of them as the Royals of hockey, if that helps you get through a post about hockey) are leaving Long Island’s Nassau County for the glitzy new Barclays Center in Brooklyn. This means one other thing: The team, which has been considered ripe for relocation for several years, is definitely not going to fill the puck-shaped hole in our heart.
More broadly, though, the Isles’ decision to stay in the New York metro (and keep that sweet barge of cable revenue) means that the chances of Kansas City luring an NHL franchise to Sprint Center have likely vanished for good. During the giddy days during and after the Sprint Center was built, the Islanders’ despised owner, Charles Wang, kicked Kansas City’s tires. Or, as The New York Times put it, “Wang looked for leverage, even taking the Islanders to Kansas City, Mo. for an exhibition game.”
