Coach Al Sims and captain Colin Chaulk retired, and now so has the goaltender who backstopped them to four championships between 2008 and 2012.… as in, "a little addition, a little subtraction."
The subtraction, of course, is the Muskegon Lumberjacks, who announced the IHL semi-annual meetings Monday they would be dropping out of professional hockey after 50 years. The addition – or prospective addition – involves Chicago and Evansville, both of whom made presentations to the board of governors in regard to their future inclusion in the league.
Here's what I say about that: I hope both of the ownership groups are more viable than the original ownership group for the expansion Dayton franchise. That group was suspect from the get-go and, surprise, surprise, didn't even make it out of 2009.
I also would like to hear a little greater level of concern over Muskegon's departure. That's two of the more venerable hockey markets in the Midwest (Musky and Kalamazoo) bailing in two years. Granted, Michigan's a tough row to hoe economically these days, but when you're losing the third-best draw in your league, it's a hard thing to make up for – even if E-ville and Chicago wind up being solid franchises.
More later.
