There was plenty of motioning but in the end no movement at the QMJHL's relocation request deadline.
Maybe it's not all about location, location, location.
The term, most fittingly used for real estate, became rather symbolic in describing the latest speculation of several teams in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. But if it was all about location, the league-imposed Jan. 31 deadline for relocation requests would not have come and gone without a whisper.
In the end, no news became the biggest news after months of speculation. The Lewiston MAINEiacs were supposed to file papers to set up shop in Summerside, P.E.I., while the P.E.I. Rocket were then going to head to Sherbrooke, Que., and the Acadie-Bathurst Titan were supposedly departing for St. John's.
The picture is just as messy as it sounds, but the pieces may be easier to clean up than anyone had foreseen. The MAINEiacs' move to Summerside was supposedly going to prompt the Rocket to vacate Canada's smallest province. Summerside falls just a few kilometers outside Charlottetown's territorial jurisdiction, meaning the Rocket could not veto a move to its rival city.
Serge Savard Jr., part owner of the Rocket, indicated in a previous interview with sportsnet.ca that Prince Edward Island was not big enough to support two teams.
While many will say rumours are just that, the MAINEiacs' intentions to move to Summerside did make logical sense. For starters, the team had already considered Summerside when it ultimately decided to head to Maine in 2003. Now the small P.E.I. community boasts a state-of-the-art junior facility, something it didn't have eight years earlier.
Adding to the rumour mill was that the MAINEiacs' president and governor, Bill Schurman, is a Summerside resident. Schurman, however, constantly refuted rumours his team planned on relocating.
The rumour, however, had legs when P.E.I. businessman Tim Banks posted on Jan. 18 via his Twitter account: "Breaking news.. I'm hearing the 'Lewiston Maineiacs' of the QMJHL are moving to S'Side next year with a $1.5 Mil Guaranteed gate by the City."
But in spite of the red carpet Summerside seemingly laid out for the MAINEiacs, the team chose not to walk down it. At least, for the time being.
The MAINEiacs -- perhaps not coincidentally -- held their season-ticket holder appreciation night on Tuesday, just one day after the deadline for relocation.
It's understandable why the MAINEiacs would want to move to Summerside. If the gate revenue is a slam dunk, as Banks reported, it may be the type of reassurance the franchise needed. The team has bled money ever since it arrived in Lewiston and one can't help but wonder how much longer majority owner Mark Just will accept operating at a deficit.
Meanwhile, his team isn't the only one losing money. P.E.I.'s current team failed to break even in each of the past three seasons. As a result of the state of the franchise, which is in the early stages of trying to get a new rink in Charlottetown, it became another hot topic for relocation.
Many media agencies were reporting former Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jocelyn Thibault is part of a group intent on bringing the Rocket to Sherbrooke.
Savard, however, claims he remains intent on staying in Charlottetown. He set up roots in the Charlottetown area after he remarried a woman from the island. His teenage daughter from a previous marriage now also lives with him near Charlottetown.
One of the most logical explanations for the MAINEiacs' decision to stay in Lewiston is based on the Rocket's decision not to move. Although the Rocket could not oppose a move to Summerside, it would have to be approved by two-thirds of the league owners. Savard would no doubt plead his case as to why two teams could not survive on the island.
One owner contacted by sportsnet.ca on Monday said he would consider both teams if the MAINEiacs applied to relocate to Summerside, but that he wasn't leaning towards a decision in favour of either team.
The only positive that could be gained from two QMJHL teams on the island is the rivalry that would ensue.
I spent a little more than a week touring the island last summer and it became clear the two cities carry a Simpsons-style Springfield-versus-Shelbyville rivalry. While in Charlottetown, many of the people I spoke to looked down their noses at those from Summerside. Those hateful sentiments towards the capital city were seemingly shared among residents of Summerside.
The third and final team rumoured on the move were the Titan. Bathurst is among the smallest communities home to a junior team in all of Canada and reports indicated they would head to Canada's eastern-most city in St. John's. The expansion Fog Devils called St. John's home in 2005, but lasted just three seasons in Newfoundland before being sold and moved to Montreal.
Many insiders believe the St. John's market is the most viable not currently home to a team and another team could succeed where the previous one failed.
But for the time being, location will be a term best suited for real estate.
