Islanders In Trouble?

Article from Newsday's Jim Baumbach: "Wang should speak up about Islanders' dire situation."

"In order for the Islanders to get a new home, for the Islanders to remain on Long Island and not wind up as a relocated franchise to Kansas City or Seattle or some other city, (Islanders owner Charles) Wang needs to...speak honestly about how grave this situation is."

First off, I try not to root for the failure of a current NHL franchise. I really do. That said, the New York metropolitan area has three teams, separated by roughly 42 miles. And the Islanders are drawing the fewest fans in the league so far this year and losing money.

Hopefully we're not in for a repeat of the Penguins saga, where KC becomes a pawn for Islanders ownership to use in scaring up a new arena on Long Island.

Welcome

Hello and welcome to The NHL In Kansas City.

I hope to use this space to disseminate information and opinions about the potential for Kansas City to gain an NHL franchise, as well as to look back at the brief history of the Kansas City Scouts. (Someone ran a similar blog called Hockey in Kansas City for most of 2006, while KC was (supposedly) in the running to become the new home of the Penguins, but that space seems to have been abandoned.)

Among my plans:

• Reporting any mentions of the NHL coming to KC I can find in the media, and offering my take
• Historical research on the Scouts and why they didn't last in KC
• A look back at the first NHL game played in the Sprint Center (a preseason tilt between the Kings and Blues on September 22, 2008)
• Some lighthearted fun such as conjecture and suggestions about possible team names/colors/uniforms

For now, I'll leave you with this YouTube gem that features game action between the North Stars and Scouts from the 1975-76 season. (Skip ahead to 4:10 of the video to see the Scouts.)