Roadrunners coming?: (from faceoff.com) Oilers in talks with businessman over AHL move to Toronto By ROBIN SHORT Faceoff.com correspondent The idea of icing an AHL team in what may well be North America's hottest hockey market is an intriguing one, but not everybody is ready to embrace it just yet. Depending on what shakes down between the Edmonton Oilers and businessman Lyle Abraham, the Toronto Roadrunners may be off and running for the 2003-04 AHL season as the Oilers' primary minor league affiliate in a refurbished CNE Coliseum in downtown Toronto. Abraham, from Edmonton, owned the Phoenix Roadrunners of the old International league and is anxious to ice an AHL team in the 100-year-old Coliseum where his company has a 49-year sub-lease agreement with the CNE board of directors. Abraham is prepared to put a $35 million facelift on the building. The Oilers like the idea of moving from Hamilton's Copps Coliseum where their AHL affiliate, the Bulldogs, won't meet their financial target of $336,000 in new revenue this season. The Oilers, who prior to this season were losing $1.6 million a year in Hamilton, have long sought a better lease agreement at Copps. While the Oilers are keen on moving west up the QEW, their potential arrival isn't welcomed by the Toronto Maple Leafs who look at it as an infringement on their territory. The Leafs, however, are powerless to do anything about it. Because the move would be within a 50-mile radius, the Oilers wouldn't need approval from the AHL's board of governors. "That would be like us moving into Edmonton," said Bill Watters, the Leafs' assistant to the president and St. John's Maple Leafs' general manager. "But we wouldn't consider it. We came to the conclusion 10 years ago (the AHL) wouldn't work in Toronto (when Toronto moved its farm team from Newmarket, Ont. to St. John's) and that's why we are where we are. "That's our opinion and our research. Obviously, they (Oilers) think differently and it's based on complete disregard of their partners' rights." An AHL team at the CNE could offer an alternative for hockey fans in the Toronto area. AHL teams in Philadelphia and Chicago have proven minor-league hockey can work in major-league cities. The Phantoms are second in AHL attendance, averaging 8,278 at Philadelphia's First Union Spectrum, while the Wolves are fifth with an average of 7,989 at the Allstate Arena in suburban Rosemont, Ill. Currently, the Bulldogs average 5,309 fans at Copps, 15th overall in league attendance. That figure has no doubt been enhanced by large draws by the St. John's Maple Leafs, ironically enough. Further, a renovated CNE would provide competition for the Air Canada Centre in the small-concert business. If the move goes ahead, insiders suggest it could be costly for the Oilers. The Leafs play two games at Edmonton's Skyreach Centre each season before usual sellouts, critical to the small-market club. If the Oilers move to Toronto, it's unlikely Toronto would accommodate such requests. Considering the deal is not carved in stone, AHL president Dave Andrews is reluctant to comment on the matter. But while he admitted Toronto is a "terrific" hockey market, the move would require significant investment. "Toronto is an expensive market in terms of media (advertising) buys," Andrews said. "To get the AHL in the minds of Toronto hockey fans would require significant investment." Andrews stressed the league has "every intention" of keeping a team in Hamilton and Oilers' assistant general manager Scott Howson said the organization would commit to finding another team for Hamilton. The Ottawa Senators would seem to be a likely choice, especially since a deal to move their minor league affiliate to Binghamton, N.Y., is close to being scrapped after local Binghamton ownership failed to come up with the $3.5 million in financing to buy the team. "There's still a potential for Binghamton to happen," said Andrews. "It's not dead in the water. There's still a 50-50 chance, but if it's not complete or there's no letter of intent in the next two weeks, it won't happen in time for next season. "And Ottawa is aware of Hamilton." The Senators have had their players in Grand Rapids, Mich., the past few seasons but Grand Rapids officials have reached an agreement with Detroit where the Red Wings will supply players beginning next season. Even if the Oilers' move to Toronto does go ahead, Edmonton general manager Kevin Lowe said the Bulldogs will play one final lame-duck season in Hamilton. "We're not going anywhere next year unless people threaten to cause destruction in the building if we play there," Lowe told the Hamilton Spectator. "We'll play to 300 people if we have to." Lowe said one possibility is to share Hamilton with players from another organization next season with that particular organization moving into Copps with a full affiliation in 2003-04. "We don't like joint affiliations," said Lowe, "but for a year we would do it if it helped facilitate and expedite a team coming in." The Oilers have until May 6 to notify the AHL of their intentions next season. Back