In an Edmonton Oilers news and rumors update, there is talk the city of Edmonton is making one final push towards being considered as a hub city destination. Some Oilers players are returning to the city to join their teammates, and the seller of the $135K McDavid rookie card speaks about the process of realizing he had something special and selling the card.
Oilers and City Make One More Push
As the NHL narrows down the choices for hub cities to host the NHL play-in and playoff games, Edmonton is making one final push in hopes they are the Canadian team under consideration.
The choices are down to six teams as Minnesota, Columbus, Dallas, and Pittsburgh have all been told they are out. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun says it’s now down to Vegas, Edmonton, Vancouver, Chicago, LA, and Toronto. Vancouver and Vegas seem to be the favorites.
Edmonton’s pitch includes changing the arrangement of hotels for players and team staff, making sure those closest to the team are in the nicest hotel (JW Marriot). From there, two other hotels will be used to house all the other staff. LeBrun writes:
The three hotels which would house the NHL players and staff in Edmonton would be the JW Marriott, Delta and Sutton Place. From a players’ perspective, there seems to be a clear drop-off after the JW Marriott and that level of quality for the hotels in the Edmonton bid has been earmarked as a concern from some.
… Basically, as one source described it to me Monday, the updated Edmonton bid is akin to selling what should feel like an Olympic village.”
source -‘LeBrun: What’s next after NHL narrows focus in hub city selection process’ – Pierre LeBrun – The Athletic – 06/22/2020
Unfortunately, Alberta Premier Jason Kenny is taking a bit of a critical hit on social media after posting a video trying to sell the benefits of Edmonton as an option for the NHL, but included all sorts of videos from Banff, Alberta, and places that the players will never have access to if Edmonton is chosen.
Related: Worst Trades in Oilers’ History
Oilers Players Returning to Edmonton
TSN’s Ryan Rishaug notes that as Phase 2 rolls along, more Edmonton Oilers players are expected to arrive in the city over the next few days. They’ll join names like Alex Chiasson, Kris Russell and Matt Benning, who were the first to get back on Rogers Place ice. The NHL has now opened on-ice sessions to 12 skaters so the Oilers can add a handful more to the group without risk of breaking any guidelines.
As for who is on their way, Rishaug notes:
The bulk of veterans will return at the end of the month, and enter phase 2 for a week or so before training camp begins – assuming the July 10th start date remains.
McDavid Rookie Card Seller Speaks
After selling his Connor McDavid rookie card at auction, John from San Diego said he found the whole experience of getting then selling the rare card interesting. He noted in comments to Sportsnet:
“I never really knew what to expect for a selling price. I heard some media say maybe it could fetch more than $100,000” explained John. “But I really didn’t get in it to make money. I thought if it sold for $10,000 that would be great.”
John said he went in with some buddies on a case of cards, but didn’t watch the case-break on YouTube live. He realized when he watched it later that he might have gotten quite lucky. He wanted to see the card so he drove down to the store (two hours from where he lived) but he never touched it. He decided to sell it right away and let the pros handle the sale.
As for his experience with collecting cards, “I would say I have a few small shoeboxes of cards in my closet” said John. “I’m retired, divorced and my son lives in San Francisco so for me it was more about doing something to pass the time. I never expected it to turn out like this.”
He plans to buy a cargo van with the money he had and turn it into a camper. Yes, the happy camper jokes write themselves.
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