Plymouth Whalers stand for more than fans in stands, speculation about OHL team’s future just sounds off

With baseball season right around the corner, there's a relocation rumour that seems directly out of left field.

To Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos, owning the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers has always been more of a side project than a licence to print money. The Whalers currently have the OHL's longest playoff appearance streak at 23 seasons and have an enviable roll call of alumni who are established in the NHL. Moreover, being located on the U.S. side of the Detroit river and in a major urban area makes the club more attractive to many American players who might not otherwise consider coming to the OHL and improving the quality of the league.

The trade-off is that the Whalers, who averaged 2,478 in attendance this season, have to shout to be heard in a Detroit-area market that has teams in every major league and two nearby big-time NCAA programs in Michigan and Michigan State. Plymouth has long been willing to grind it out and be a model OHL franchise in many respects, which would tend to make one dubious of any talk of a change.

From Randy Russon:

Every team is available for the right price, of course. But the benefit of a move doesn't seem evident. Unlike the Western Hockey League, which wants to put a team in Winnipeg, the OHL doesn't have a surefire can't-miss open market. Hamilton also lacks an suitable junior venue.

There's also a synergy between the Whalers and the Detroit Compuware minor hockey program. Why throw that away for a chimera of profits elsewhere?

It's really only worth dignifying this in order to explain the Plymouth's purpose and priorities as an OHL franchise go a little beyond the bottom line. There is no sugarcoating the challenges that many U.S.-based major junior franchises face selling junior hockey to sports consumers raised on living vicariously through high schools and colleges. It's a fact of life for every U.S. team that attendance doesn't perk up until the football season ends. Similarly, the Erie Otters drew 3,806 last Friday for their playoff opener since it was competing against second-round NCAA Tournament telecasts, but it had 750 more fans on Saturday (when the third round began; casual interest in March Madness drops by the round).

Plymouth is a unique franchise. Perhaps it's naive to emphasis that, but it should be respected before raising doubts about the team's future. But hey, nothing is permanent.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.