Part 3: Why Not Hamilton : One of the most famous goals in hockey was scored at Copps Coliseum when Wayne Gretzky fed Mario Lemieux for the winner in the deciding game of the 1987 Canada Cup against the U.S.S.R. Then, Hamiltonians could taste the NHL coming to their town, playing games in its then state-of-the-art arena, built to bring the NHL back to Hamilton after an absence of more than 60 years. Twenty three years later, Copps Coliseum and Hamilton hockey fans are still waiting, perpetually teased but always denied what they believe is their destiny. In U.S. federal bankruptcy court in Phoenix, the NHL declared that a Hamilton franchise would generate the league’s 5th highest revenue. The claim was made to protect the league’s right to a huge relocation fee, in the event Balsillie had been allowed by the court to relocate the Coyotes last year.
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