Such a shame too, they’re in first place with our division. I bet it was a serious blow to the team when they heard the news. Some here lamented it was the loss of our recent rival. Not so much to me. The San Antonio Rampage is our true rival, they’re just down I-35 and we’ve faced them every season unlike the Barons, Aeros, Checkers and Heat.
Word has it the move or new franchise taking the Barons’ place is part of a long-term strategy to have more AHL teams in the West. The NHL affiliates have been complaining about travel expenses to bring players up/send back so the AHL has said, fine, then you need to own these teams and eat the losses. I knew that. The AHL is heavily concentrated in the Northeast because it’s where the owners can get butts in seats to pay the bills. Besides, most people up there don’t want to pay the outrageous NHL ticket prices when they could have a season ticket for a fraction of the cost. It would be exciting to be playing against say San Diego, Las Vegas, Salt Lake and maybe the return of Houston.