Duane Rockerbie, an economics professor at the University of Lethbridge who teaches about the economics of professional sports, said in his estimation the NHL coming back to Winnipeg "would be a gold mine."

"My suspicion is Winnipeg would come close to selling out," said Rockerbie.

Both Rockerbie and [Dan Mason] say Winnipeg has a better shot at getting a team relocated to the city than an expansion team because the NHL would not generate the same expansion fees from a Winnipeg market as they would from expanding a team into Hamilton. That's why, says Mason, he thinks the NHL is so against moving the Coyotes to Hamilton.