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But the threat is there. When Bettman is talking about consequences in the manner of a protection racket and the Flames’ executives are saying they are happy in Calgary for now, the only question is when the relocation question becomes explicit.

And on that note, let’s just imagine the commissioner selling that to the league’s other 30 owners. Among NHL franchises, the Calgary Flames are not a weak orphan, particularly in a league that is familiar with the sickly and underfed.

Photo by Gavin Young / Postmedia Network

The Flames last season were 10th in the NHL in total attendance at about 18,700 per game, filling the Saddledome to about 97 per cent capacity even amid a struggling Alberta economy. There were six teams that failed to average 15,000 fans per game, with Colorado, New Jersey and the Brooklyn Islanders joining perennial attendance duds Florida, Arizona and Carolina.

The Hurricanes didn’t even crack 12,000 fans per game, and owner Peter Karmanos has been trying to sell the team for at least three years, although he was reportedly considering a US$500 million offer in July. The Coyotes, meanwhile, don’t want to be in Glendale, and Glendale does not want the Coyotes, but other municipalities are not exactly clamouring for the team given that Glendale would have been better off setting fire to a giant pile of money than building an arena for the hockey team. Brooklyn doesn’t want the Islanders — speaking of bad ideas that happened anyway — and the new owners are reportedly casting about for minority investors while trying to figure out if they can find a new home back on Long Island.