As the trade deadline looms ahead of us and teams make their moves to better position themselves for their immediate or distant future, which cities are players looking to avoid?
The Athletic recently came out with a player agent poll of the NHL teams that will most likely appear on their clients no-trade clause. Each agent gave two teams. Since The Athletic is a purchased article, here is the list of teams since I can’t share the link.
- Winnipeg: 12 votes
- Ottawa: 11 votes
- Edmonton: 7 votes
- Buffalo: 4 votes
- Columbus: 2 votes
- Montreal: 2 votes
*Carolina, Minnesota, New Jersey, NYR, San Jose, Toronto each had 1 vote.
This list isn’t really surprising. Nobody wants to be in Western Canada where it’s -500 degrees and you have to travel a million miles to play everyone in your conference. Ottawa is Ottawa. Never been, but it looks cool, and I get the whole north thing. Columbus is too small of a market and there isn’t anything in Ohio. We live in an age where you can get publicity and money in any market for the most part. So I can see why location matters. Weather matters. Culture matters. To be fair I’ve haven’t been to most of these cities, but to have to choose between Dallas and Winnipeg, it’s pretty easy where I would want to play. A cup is never guaranteed so locking yourself into a city where you are miserable is a death sentence.
Buffalololol. Obviously.
Montreal is surprising to be on the list. I thought I was the only one that didn’t really like city. It’s too gray and weird. Reminds me of NYC and I’m not too fond of my NY.
This gets me to the New Jersey and New York teams getting a vote. I get it. The Metro area is a nightmare to get around. NYC is a complete dump. It smells. It’s overpriced. It’s way too crowded. I’ve always said that to really enjoy the city, you need to make some serious coin. I know athletes fit that criteria, but still. If you’re a small town guy, this is an awful place to be. Everyone should experience though. There are a lot of cool things that the Big Apple has to offer, but the grind is a mental wear and tear. It will break you down. I don’t care who you are. It’s not normal to live like sardines on a big smelly island.
Toronto can be an overwhelming market where a player can feel like he doesn’t do anything right. It’s a rough media town when it comes to hockey. I can see players thinking it’s just not worth it.
San Jose? Not sure why that was on list other than the fact they suck this year.
Minnesota seems like it’s a hockey state, until the NHL. You already lost the North Stars. I just don’t get Minnesota, hockey hockey hockey and then you lose your pro team. I’m sure it wasn’t the fans fault and a total numbers move but it’s a bad look. I also feel like the Wild have been stuck in the mediocre limbo for years now. I get not wanting to be stuck there.
We are also a anti-hurricane podcast and blog so I’m happy carolina recurved a vote. No hockey player wants to be forced to play dodgeball after the game so the 200 12 year olds can be entertained. If the game isn’t enough. Bring in a circus and give Toronto their second team already.
This list pretty much mirrors my opinions. Don’t want to freeze my ass off in the middle of nowhere. I would want a bigger city, but still be able to commute around like a normal person. Right now (because this changes) my top three desirable markets would be…Dallas, Tampa, and San Jose. Nashville is an honorable mention. Nashville would be nice, but it’s too much of a fake “country” vibe for me. Dallas all the way!
-Whales
The Morning Skate 
As a bolts fan, don’t sleep on Tampa! It’s an absolutely stunning city. Minutes away from the beach, free trolly services, and an hour drive from Disney World! Also doesn’t hurt to play for one of the best coaches in coach coop.
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Really Ohio has nothing. Dude for someone to choose Dallas remember the NFL football you love so much started where? Ohio. Don’t sleep on Cedar Point the roller coaster Capital of the world. Want music how about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Small market? We are in the top 15 metro area population wise in the US. Bigger than San Francisco. Columbus has been voted Top 5 cities to live in. I don’t see Dallas on that list.
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“Columbus is too small of a market and there isn’t anything in Ohio.” That snippet, much like inexperience of this “journalist,” are a joke. Word of advice for this novice author… stick to writing about subjects you’re familiar with.
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Yep, there’s nothing in Ohio. Just four of the top zoos in the country, the Rock and Roll hall of fame, two of the best art museums in the country, a national park, a top-ranked science museum, some of the best hiking in the Midwest, the second-largest Irish festival in the US, the best roller coaster theme park in the world, about a thousand microbreweries, historic Native American earthworks, an entire aviation heritage historical park, a Grat Lakeshore, and a state and metro park system to rival anyone’s. What is it we lack here? What do other states have that we don’t? Oh right – prohibitively high housing prices.
Look, Ohio might be dull if you’ve only been to Wapakoneta. Its cities are vibrant, active places. Columbus is only a nothing town if you haven’t been here. This opinion is shared by a fair portion of the CBJ roster, several of whom have moved BACK here after retirement.
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