Having followed sports for nearly 30 years, I can tell you there are some sports teams I'd like to see back. Do you have any I felt I omitted? Just write to me.
Montreal Expos
I can tell you, with the Toronto Blue Jays more popular than ever, they need a natural rivalry. And what better way to have that then the Expos returning? I think it could work. The team was in the wrong league, to tell you the truth. If you think about the Montreal Canadians, they played many postseason (And regular season) games against the "Big" teams out there. Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs. The Expos were stuck playing against the Mets (The Yankees' poor cousins) and no team at all from Boston. With Montreal in the American League, and playing regularly against the Toronto Blue Jays, I have little doubt interest in them would revive.
Quebec Nordiques
Speaking of Les Habs, they've been without their provincial rivals since 1994/95 (The Canadians missed the playoffs that year for some reason). A good comparison would be the Winnipeg Jets. Having "returned" a few years back from Atlanta (The original Jets moved from Canada way down to Arizona after 1995/96). But the Jets don't really have a rivalry within their province, and Manitoba's neighbour Ontario has franchises in Toronto and Ottawa, but they play in the Eastern Conference. The Jets are forced to make due with what they have. However, as of the 2017/18 season they are well on their way to a second-place finish in the Central Division. Interest is there, clearly. What they need, however, is a rival geographically nearby. More on that, later.
The Nords would have no such problem. Plus, also, in the grand scheme of things (From my hopeful ideas, anyways), having a team in Quebec would make travel on a road "swing" across Canada easier. Not to mention, by playing against all 9 (I'll explain later) teams in succession would make travelling feel more "natural".
The Quebec / Montreal battles of the 1980s were awesome. Almost like a Stanley Cup Finals before the actual Stanley Cup Finals!
Buffalo Braves
And speaking of geographical rivalries, why not an NBA one close to my neck of the woods? Buffalo had a team way back, 40 years to be exact. The Toronto Raptors really haven't had a natural rivalry. The Vancouver Grizzlies lasted six years (Never making the playoffs at all) and the National Basketball Associations has been forced to make due with a sole Canadian Franchise. But a team in Buffalo would get traffic moving along the 403. Hey, I've traveled all the way to Saber-land to see Buffalo play on more than one occasion! I'm going to be the only one from Canada that goes across the border to see Toronto play? No way.
St. Louis Hawks
Not sure the move to Atlanta helped any. St. Louis nearly won it all in 1957, beat the great great Boston Celtics the next season, and took 'em to seven in 1960.
Not once since have the Hawks gotten back to the finals, despite #21 Dominique Wilkins' awesomeness in the 1980s and early 90s. Time for a return, guys.
Hamburg
Now, I'm on to tennis. And the equivalent of a team is a lost tournament. The German Open, or whatever you want to call it, was probably the third most important event on clay (Trailing only the Italy and France venues). The great Graf won it four times in a row from 1986 to 1989, the lost to Monica Seles in 1990. Then won it another four times in a row. A total of nine times. Boris Becker, on the other hand, never won it. His compatriot Michael Stich won it anyways in 1992. The Germans were proud of this event, no doubt.
And how about the man who has the record for most titles? Some chap named Federer! Four titles to his name, including a thrashing of his great rival Rafael Nadal in 2007. Now here's a big surprise for you, it's on clay. The event has been discontinued on the women's tour, and now only a small event for the men. Time to return it to what it once was, says I.
Montreal Expos
I can tell you, with the Toronto Blue Jays more popular than ever, they need a natural rivalry. And what better way to have that then the Expos returning? I think it could work. The team was in the wrong league, to tell you the truth. If you think about the Montreal Canadians, they played many postseason (And regular season) games against the "Big" teams out there. Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs. The Expos were stuck playing against the Mets (The Yankees' poor cousins) and no team at all from Boston. With Montreal in the American League, and playing regularly against the Toronto Blue Jays, I have little doubt interest in them would revive.
Quebec Nordiques
Speaking of Les Habs, they've been without their provincial rivals since 1994/95 (The Canadians missed the playoffs that year for some reason). A good comparison would be the Winnipeg Jets. Having "returned" a few years back from Atlanta (The original Jets moved from Canada way down to Arizona after 1995/96). But the Jets don't really have a rivalry within their province, and Manitoba's neighbour Ontario has franchises in Toronto and Ottawa, but they play in the Eastern Conference. The Jets are forced to make due with what they have. However, as of the 2017/18 season they are well on their way to a second-place finish in the Central Division. Interest is there, clearly. What they need, however, is a rival geographically nearby. More on that, later.
The Nords would have no such problem. Plus, also, in the grand scheme of things (From my hopeful ideas, anyways), having a team in Quebec would make travel on a road "swing" across Canada easier. Not to mention, by playing against all 9 (I'll explain later) teams in succession would make travelling feel more "natural".
The Quebec / Montreal battles of the 1980s were awesome. Almost like a Stanley Cup Finals before the actual Stanley Cup Finals!
Buffalo Braves
And speaking of geographical rivalries, why not an NBA one close to my neck of the woods? Buffalo had a team way back, 40 years to be exact. The Toronto Raptors really haven't had a natural rivalry. The Vancouver Grizzlies lasted six years (Never making the playoffs at all) and the National Basketball Associations has been forced to make due with a sole Canadian Franchise. But a team in Buffalo would get traffic moving along the 403. Hey, I've traveled all the way to Saber-land to see Buffalo play on more than one occasion! I'm going to be the only one from Canada that goes across the border to see Toronto play? No way.
St. Louis Hawks
Not sure the move to Atlanta helped any. St. Louis nearly won it all in 1957, beat the great great Boston Celtics the next season, and took 'em to seven in 1960.
Not once since have the Hawks gotten back to the finals, despite #21 Dominique Wilkins' awesomeness in the 1980s and early 90s. Time for a return, guys.
Hamburg
Now, I'm on to tennis. And the equivalent of a team is a lost tournament. The German Open, or whatever you want to call it, was probably the third most important event on clay (Trailing only the Italy and France venues). The great Graf won it four times in a row from 1986 to 1989, the lost to Monica Seles in 1990. Then won it another four times in a row. A total of nine times. Boris Becker, on the other hand, never won it. His compatriot Michael Stich won it anyways in 1992. The Germans were proud of this event, no doubt.
And how about the man who has the record for most titles? Some chap named Federer! Four titles to his name, including a thrashing of his great rival Rafael Nadal in 2007. Now here's a big surprise for you, it's on clay. The event has been discontinued on the women's tour, and now only a small event for the men. Time to return it to what it once was, says I.
Bonus (Teams That Need To Exist)
Now for some pro sports teams I'd like to come into fruition.
An Indoor Tennis Tournament Somewhere In Canada
Not sure how'd they'd pull this off, but there is some history here. Bottom line is, if tennis is gonna become popular in Canada, you need more than one tournament for both the men and women. And yes, it needs to be in the winter months, to keep tennis a 12-month interest up here in the north.
Previously, as far back as 1971, such an event was held. One of my earliest memories of the Toronto Indoors, as it was called, was watching the 1990 event at the SkyDome (Now Rogers' Centre). To my chagrin, it was not held in 1991, and a significant indoor tennis event has yet to return to Canada.
Saskatoon (NHL team)
Now with Winnipeg and hopefully Quebec someday in the NHL, the only province west of Ontario that lacks at least one NHL team is Saskatchewan.
Though daunting, as both Regina (Population, 215,106)* and Saskatoon (Population, 246,376)* are the two most likely spots (And have significantly fewer citizenry than most, if not all, current NHL-bearing cities) it could still work. You could have both cities "share" the same NHL team. Why not half the games in Regina and the other half in Saskatoon as has been suggested here? And how about this, to determine the city which the postseason games will be held (Assuming the team makes it that far), reward the individual place that actually drew the better attendance. That will encourage more ticket sales, especially season purchases, as each city will try to one-up the other in attendance. Preseason games have been played at Saskatoon and soon an outdoor contest is perhaps in the cards. My suggestion is have the Winnipeg Jets play either the Edmonton Oilers or Calgary Flames (Perhaps, Vancouver Canucks, too). This of course, would be their prime rivals should a franchise ever be rewarded there.
Amazingly enough, the St. Louis Blues nearly moved there in 1983, so it's not like the suggestion is anything new. And while the population is quite small in both Regina and Saskatoon, don't forget the province has put (So far) 509 players in the NHL in the last 101 seasons. Not bad. By comparison, the whole province of British Columbia has only 384. Manitoba, 386. Even Alberta doesn't have that many more, 575. Saskatchewan, the province, no doubt, loved hockey. Oh, they love lacrosse and football, too, if that matters.
Recent interest has again come up.
You know, if this keeps up, you never know...
* As of 2016.
References
Bare, Eman. “Saskatoon Blues: The NHL Team That Almost Was.” CBC News. CBC/Radio Canada. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Web. 7 June 2016, <http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/saskatoon-blues-the-nhl-team-that-almost-was-1.3621058>.
Harder, Greg. “Outdoor NHL Game A Possibility For Regina.” Regina Leader-Post. Regina Leader-Post & Postmedia. Web. 4 Jan. 2018, <http://leaderpost.com/sports/hockey/regina-pats/outdoor-nhl-game-a-possibility-for-regina>.
Infosys, FedEx, Peugeot, and LeSports. Official Site of Men's Professional Tennis | ATP World Tour | Tennis. ATP World Tour. Emirates. Web. 11 Mar. 2018. <http://www.atpworldtour.com/>.
Kerslake, Danny. “Duo Wants Vegas Golden Knights To Be Sask.s NHL Team.” CBC News. CBC/Radio Canada. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Web. 7 Mar. 2018. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatchewan-vegas-golden-knights-1.4566061>.
Middleton, Art. “If You Have An Outdoor Game In Regina, It Needs To Include The Jets.” Jetsnation. Jetsnation. Web. 4 Mar. 2018, <http://jetsnation.ca/2018/03/04/if-you-have-an-outdoor-game-in-regina-it-needs-to-include-the-jets/>.
Mitchell, Kevin. “NHL, Pro Soccer, Maybe Auto racing: There's Plenty On John Graham's Saskatchewan Menu.” Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Saskatoon Star Phoenix & Postmedia. Web. 22 June 2017. <http://thestarphoenix.com/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-pro-soccer-maybe-auto-racing-theres-plenty-on-john-grahams-saskatchewan-menu>
“Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour Hits Regina; Includes NHL Alumni And Stanley Cup Trophy." CBC News. CBC/Radio Canada. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Web. 17 Feb. 2018. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/rogers-hometown-hockey-tour-hits-regina-1.4540988>.
Sports Reference LLC. Sports Reference | Sports Stats, Fast, Easy, And Up-To-Date. https://www.sports-reference.com/. Web. 11 Mar. 2018.
Smith, Mitch. “The NHL In Saskatchewan? - Lessons From Winnipeg.” Arctic Ice Hockey. Artic Ice Hockey & SBNATION. Web. 16 Mar. 2012, <http://www.arcticicehockey.com/2012/3/16/2877723/the-nhl-in-saskatchewan-lessons-from-winnipeg>.
Statistics Canada: Canada's National Statistical Agency / Statistique Canada: Organisme Statistique National Du Canada, StatCan / Canada.Ca. Web. <www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/start>.
“WTA Tennis.” WTA Tennis. Women's Tennis Association. Web. 11 Mar. 2018.<http://www.wtatennis.com/>.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 11 Mar. 2018. <https://en.wikipedia.org/>.
Youtube. Web. 11 Mar. 2018. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
* As of 2016.
References
Bare, Eman. “Saskatoon Blues: The NHL Team That Almost Was.” CBC News. CBC/Radio Canada. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Web. 7 June 2016, <http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/saskatoon-blues-the-nhl-team-that-almost-was-1.3621058>.
Harder, Greg. “Outdoor NHL Game A Possibility For Regina.” Regina Leader-Post. Regina Leader-Post & Postmedia. Web. 4 Jan. 2018, <http://leaderpost.com/sports/hockey/regina-pats/outdoor-nhl-game-a-possibility-for-regina>.
Infosys, FedEx, Peugeot, and LeSports. Official Site of Men's Professional Tennis | ATP World Tour | Tennis. ATP World Tour. Emirates. Web. 11 Mar. 2018. <http://www.atpworldtour.com/>.
Kerslake, Danny. “Duo Wants Vegas Golden Knights To Be Sask.s NHL Team.” CBC News. CBC/Radio Canada. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Web. 7 Mar. 2018. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/saskatchewan-vegas-golden-knights-1.4566061>.
Middleton, Art. “If You Have An Outdoor Game In Regina, It Needs To Include The Jets.” Jetsnation. Jetsnation. Web. 4 Mar. 2018, <http://jetsnation.ca/2018/03/04/if-you-have-an-outdoor-game-in-regina-it-needs-to-include-the-jets/>.
Mitchell, Kevin. “NHL, Pro Soccer, Maybe Auto racing: There's Plenty On John Graham's Saskatchewan Menu.” Saskatoon Star Phoenix. Saskatoon Star Phoenix & Postmedia. Web. 22 June 2017. <http://thestarphoenix.com/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-pro-soccer-maybe-auto-racing-theres-plenty-on-john-grahams-saskatchewan-menu>
“Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour Hits Regina; Includes NHL Alumni And Stanley Cup Trophy." CBC News. CBC/Radio Canada. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Web. 17 Feb. 2018. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/rogers-hometown-hockey-tour-hits-regina-1.4540988>.
Sports Reference LLC. Sports Reference | Sports Stats, Fast, Easy, And Up-To-Date. https://www.sports-reference.com/. Web. 11 Mar. 2018.
Smith, Mitch. “The NHL In Saskatchewan? - Lessons From Winnipeg.” Arctic Ice Hockey. Artic Ice Hockey & SBNATION. Web. 16 Mar. 2012, <http://www.arcticicehockey.com/2012/3/16/2877723/the-nhl-in-saskatchewan-lessons-from-winnipeg>.
Statistics Canada: Canada's National Statistical Agency / Statistique Canada: Organisme Statistique National Du Canada, StatCan / Canada.Ca. Web. <www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/start>.
“WTA Tennis.” WTA Tennis. Women's Tennis Association. Web. 11 Mar. 2018.<http://www.wtatennis.com/>.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 11 Mar. 2018. <https://en.wikipedia.org/>.
Youtube. Web. 11 Mar. 2018. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
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