Coyotes

This team should be good for the next 10 years. Now they just need to move somewhere so people will notice.

I think they just have to start winning games, and butts will be put in seats. The Phoenix metro area is the 12-largest in the US, so there are already a bunch of people around to notice sports teams. I mean, people around Phoenix sat up and paid attention when they made it to the Western Conference Final in 2012. The Coyotes have to establish themselves as a team that can compete and win, and I think they will.

I mean, look at Florida. In terms of how good each of its 10 teams are in their sport and relative to each other, I would posit that the Panthers and the Lightning are easily in the top half of sports teams in Florida and only looking to go up. The Dolphins, Jaguars, and Buccaneers are all generally bad. The Magic have been horrid for the last 4 years, and, while the Heat were good recently, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James have both left, which doesn't bode well for their immediate future. The Marlins are on the upswing (2nd in the NL East), but the Rays are absolutely not (dead last by quite a margin in the AL East). I can't really say how good the Orlando MLS team has been, since they just joined the MLS. The Panthers and the Lightning are powerhouses in general in the Eastern Conference and look to be that way for the immediate future, and I imagine attendance and ticket sales will go up as people notice actually good sports teams for once in South Florida.

Florida Panthers were in the bottom 20% in attendance despite being 1st place in their division for most of the year. Arizona attendance has been among the bottom 3 in the league for the last 5 years, including the Western Conference Finals season you mentioned, where they finished first place in their division. Lacking fan bases make destinations unfavorable for free agents and young players signing their first non-ELC contract.

You do raise a good point, in that attendance numbers haven't been great for the Panthers this season even though they were pretty good. Raising attendance numbers and ticket sales is likely a gradual process, though. Looking at ESPN's attendance numbers for the Lightning, though, attendance averages hovered around 15K (where the Panthers are at now) in 2009 and 2010 but then spiked pretty hard, up to 17K the year after and then 18K the following year, as the Lightning showed that they could be a consistently competitive and good team. It wouldn't surprise me if the Panthers could do the same. As for the Coyotes, all of this young talent coming in may not make the Coyotes good now, but, boy, will the Tucson Roadrunners look to make an impact in the AHL. If the Roadrunners and Arizona State's hockey team can succeed competitively, then people will start to see that hockey can, indeed, work in Arizona.

Also, "lacking fan bases make destinations unfavorable for free agents," you say? Then do tell how you think Alex Goligoski and Jamie McGinn agreed to sign with the Coyotes (and Keith Yandle, Jason Demers, and James Reimer for the Panthers, and, for that matter, why Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman agreed to sign long-term with the Lightning). The fan base isn't the sole parameter in determining where free agents sign. As far as young players signing their first non-ELC contract, really, they don't have much choice in where they do and don't sign. But, in general, I think young players like living in "non-traditional hockey markets" because they're typically big cities with lots of things for young 20-something people to do. They get to play the sport they love *and* get a bunch of side benefits from living in these places. And it's not like these fan bases are declining; clearly, these teams are going to be good in the near future, and these young players probably like the idea of attracting new fans by showcasing their skills, playing well, and competing for a spot in the post-season.