If the Pittsburgh Penguins leave Pittsburgh and go to Kansas City, what will happen to the divisions?

Somehow, some way, Rendell and the rest of the incompetent govt. of PA will get this done. If not, they will be out of a job come election and minus one resident, probably more. Lets Go PITTSBURGH Penguins

I don't know why anyone is surprised by all this, the writing has been on the wall since January! THEY ARE GOING TO KANSAS CITY & HERES WHY PITTSBURGH PENGUINS FACTS: Expansion team when the NHL doubled in size for the start of 1967-68 Season The Penguins almost folded in 1975 when their creditors demanded payment of back debts. A group that included Wren Blair stepped in and prevented the Penguins from folding. Pittsburgh had the league's worst record in both the 1983 and 1984 seasons and it looked as though the Penguins would fold. The reward for such pitiful hockey was the right to draft French Canadian phenomenon Mario Lemieux. Other teams offered substantial trade packages for the draft choice, but the Penguins kept the pick and a legend was born. The Penguins suffered small-market syndrome for most of their existence, and cost cutting prevented another collapse into insolvency. Financially, the team was one of the better-managed NHL franchises between its 1998 bankruptcy and the 2004-05 NHL lockouts. Thanks to significant post-season runs, the Penguins broke even in 2000 and turned a small profit in 2001. Failure to make the playoffs in the next three seasons hurt the team's bottom line, but the shedding of contracts kept the team afloat as other franchises, like the Ottawa Senators, faced significant losses or declared bankruptcy. BUT KANSAS CITY HAD A NHL TEAM & IT FAILED: Kansas City was awarded an NHL franchise on June 8, 1972. The Scouts were an expansion team with no star players the NHL wasn't as popular in the 70s as it is today and both the NHL and NBA's attendance in the 70s were hurt by a sluggish economy. They played their home games at Kemper Arena. The team was not a particular success either at the gate or on the ice. Rising oil prices and a falling commodity market made for hard going in the Midwest during the 1970s. After two seasons, with its owners $900,000 in debt, the franchise was sold & relocated to Denver where it became the Colorado Rockies, who in turn became the New Jersey Devils after 1982. The NHL has also failed in ATLANTA & DENVER but both are back in the NHL & the Avalanche is one of the most successful NHL teams in North America. Thanks to the IHL Kansas City Blades, a team that did well in Kansas City for several years during the 1990's and even won the league Championship, Kansas City now has a well-educated base of hockey fans in the city. Today those fans have wildly embraced the idea of another chance to watch NHL hockey in Kansas City (despite the comments of Playmkr278). As evidence of this fact, one needs to look no further than the fact that all the luxury box suites in the new Sprint Center are already sold to local businesses. This is a particularly interesting fact because a recent article in a Sports Business publication indicated that most NHL franchises derive 60% of their revenue from the sales of luxury suites to local corporations. The rest comes from individual ticket sales, parking revenues, merchandise and concessions. ARENA COSTS: The Pittsburgh Penguins could play rent-free and be equal managing partners in the new Sprint Center if they move to Kansas City. The Penguins would not have to buy into the management agreement for the $276 million Sprint Center. Additional Options to pay $27 million (THIS COST WILL BE TAKEN OUT OF FUTURE PROFITS NOTHING UP FRONT) to AEG the company who manages Sprint Center and share management and revenue equally with AEG from concerts or other events at the Sprint Center. COST TO STAY IN PITTSBURGH: Current Plan B for new arena in Pittsburgh being proposed by local politicians requires $8.5 million be paid upfront by the Lemieux/Burkle ownership group. The Lemieux/Burkle ownership group would also be required to pay $4.5 million annually for 30 years. So, the total out of pocket expense required by Lemieux/Burkle ownership group over 30 years = $135 million. Also, the Lemieux/Burkle ownership group has agreed to pay cost overruns on the new arena to a certain point. The politicians in Pittsburgh have maintained that the new area won’t cost more than $270 million to build, but others, including the Lemieux/Burkle ownership group have insisted that a more realistic starting point is $290 million. The architectural firm HOK, ironically a Kansas City based company, designed the building with the same basic design features used for the new Sprint Center in Kansas City. According to HOK estimates, if construction of the Sprint Center began today, the final cost on the building would be estimated at $360 million. This fact has given the Lemieux/Burkle ownership group reason for concern because their total cost for the new arena could would look more like this: Pay $4.5 million annually for 30 years, plus an additional $70 million in potential cost overruns. Total out of pocket expense required by the Lemieux/Burkle ownership group over 30 years = $205 million. IS PITTSBURGH DEAL POSSABLE: EST. Cost of Construction $225 million Heinz Field, cost $281 million PNC Park, cost $216 Million (YOU DO THE MATH) ADDITIONAL FACTS TO CONSIDER: The Penguins ownership group was attempting to sell the team when they thought they had an arena deal in place in Pittsburgh. This was before the Isle of Capri was denied the gaming rights by the Pennsylvania gaming commission. A potential buyer, William “Boots” Del Biaggio, is waiting in the wings in Kansas City. Del Biaggio has already agreed to purchase the controlling interest in any NHL franchise that relocates to Kansas City, thus relieving the current owners of any financial risk associated with moving to an “unknown” market. In other words, the Lemieux/Burkle ownership group could relocate the team to Kansas City without risk of losing any money in the sale or if the team runs into financial problems after the move. Over the last ten years, Kansas City has become a world leader in BioMedical Research. Places like the Stowers Institute have attracted some of the world’s foremost leaders in cancer and stem cell research. Why is this relevant? A recent comparison of Kansas City and Pittsburgh revealed people in Kansas City have approximately $22,000 more per household in disposable income than the average Pittsburgh household. Why is this significant? Because this means they would have more disposable income to spend on entertainment events such as hockey games. As for the “loyal hockey fans of Pittsburgh,” they look more like a bunch of fair weather fans to me. Check out the official attendance records for the team. It basically shows that they have only come out in strong support of the team when the team is winning or potentially moving. So, I don’t have much sympathy for them. ATTENDANCE FIGURES IN PITTSBURGH: 2001-02: 15,649 (Ranked 22nd in NHL) 2002-03: 14,749 (Ranked 25th in NHL) 2003-04: 11,877 (Ranked 30th in NHL) 2004-05: SEASON CANCELLED 2005-06: 15,804 (Ranked 20th in NHL) 2006-07: 15,888 (Ranks 20th in NHL) Taken alone, none of these additional facts means a great deal. But when one looks at the big picture, the combined impact of all three together, it is easy to see why the Lemieux/Burkle ownership group is considering relocation. REALIGNMENT: As for the division alignment, it has been reported that either Detroit or Columbus would take Pittsburgh’s place in the Eastern Conference with the Kansas City franchise taking the vacancy created in the Western Conference. So, in short, the move would impact one other franchise in terms of realignment.

I don't live in either Pittsburgh or Kansas City, so I don't have a dog in this fight. But I do think its funny to see the Penguins fans blame the owners, the Governor, the city of Pittsburgh, politics, economics and the environment for the fact that their team might be leaving for greener pastures. Then they will turn around and say that the Kansas City area is a terrible market for hockey because they lost their franchise in the early 1970's for many of the same reasons (i.e. bad owners, poor city government, the economy). The only real difference I can see is that the Penguins are an established franchise with a winning record, where the KC Scouts were a horrible expansion franchise that won very few games in the two years they were in Kansas City. Mario and Ron Burkle have been trying for about seven or eight years to get a new arena in Pittsburgh and have been largely ignored by the politicians. If they make the decision to move, all of you Pens fans should direct your frustration towards the voting booth, not the team owners or the hockey fans in Kansas City. Its the politicians in Pennsylvania that let you down. I think I read somewhere that if all this happens, Detroit will most likely move to the Atlantic Division. But I can't remember what the source was at the moment.

Well I think the name will be changed. Possiable they will realign the NHL again, perhaps it will look better if they do. After all it would be unfair to the other Atlantic Division teams to keep K.C. if that is where the Pens are. Probably move Buffalo or the Caps in to the Atlantic in place of the Pens. Not sure how they would organize the rest though. I agree that Columbus likely ends up in the East but I just want to say that Rendell is already out of a job after elections so no threat that way. He just started his second term this year and he can't be re-elected because Term Limits.

There is talk of realignment if this happens. Making four divisions instead of 6 and placing Kansas City in a central division with Chicago, St. Louis and Detroit. Nashville would move to the Eastern Conference. As for the name change, I hope they keep it. It is one of the great nicknames in all of sports and the term "Penguins" is universal.

My guess is that the divisions would have to be re-done, but I believe the name would stay the same because of the rich history of the franchise. And for all of you Pens fans out there that think KC is not a possibility better wake up. The negotiations have already gone on way too long and KC has put too sweet of an offer on the table for the owners.

I don't think the Pens will move. While politicians are useless people, I don't think they are that stupid to let the Pens skip town. If they gave an arena to the Pirates (MLB) and Steelers (NFL), then why not the Penguins? The Penguins are more profitable than the Pirates. That being said, if the Pens have to move to KC, I think Columbus will shift to the Eastern Conference. The Pens will group with Dallas, Edmonton, Calgary, and Colorado to form the Midwest Division. Detroit, St. Louis, Nashville, Chicago, and Minnesota will be in the Central Division. Vancouver, Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Jose, and Phoenix in the Pacific Division. Columbus will then take the place of Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division. Of course, knowing Gary Bettman, he might just do something so out-of-this-world that makes sense to nobody except to him. So we'll just have to see.

the pens will stay in pittsburgh

Nothing is Set in stone yet but rumors have the NHL cutting down to a total of four divisions. obviously Pittsburg would move to the west and I assume Columbus would take thier place in the east. Also for those of you talking about the name...Gary Bettman has said the name "Penguins" will stay in Pittsburg even if the team does not.