First off, if Texas wanted to rebrand to the Texas Muppets, i think we'd all be on board and would waive anything that would prevent that. This should probably happen regardless.

But, i love this article, because you're right to a degree. This is something we talked about when I was in the J HO too. There have been quite a few relocations/rebrands as of late, but honestly all of them were allowed because they were needed. The teams that have switched recently haven't been that great and weren't a "tent pole" franchise in the J by any means. Let's just face it, Halifax has been a joke for pretty much all of their existence around these parts. They underwent color changes, became vikings from pirates, and routinely finished at the bottom of the standings. They needed a face lift, and they got one. Now they're this fresh, new team that people may actually give a shit about, as opposed to being the butt of a LOT of jokes in the J. You can't say "LOL At least we're not Halifax" if there's no Halifax. History does matter, and in this case, the history is a lot more negative than positive.

Lethbridge doesn't even count. They were a rushed team in a shitty location with a shitty name (Lions) with a meh color scheme. There should be zero issue with them moving and creating a really cool brand that new players can really attach themselves to. I would've said Anaheim could've done the same if they chose, but they won the cup and really ran with being the Outlaws, so there's zero need for them to move.

Montreal is tough only because people blindly love the city for reasons. But Fuzz pointed it out: Montreal was dead. They weren't like this super strong/winning franchise. They were always just kind of there, occasionally contending for a Cup and never getting one in recent memory, BEFORE Fuzz took over. The thing you heard most about them was how they should've stayed the Impact. They were a meme in a lot of ways from that. They didn't have the greatest history, they changed colors a few times, they changed names, and they changed jerseys a lot. The franchise was a mess, they had next to no alumni actually participating in the LR (even though they'll come out of nowhere to occasionally be like "OMG MTL" when they don't really care), they changed jerseys too often (and more often than not ended up worse for it). They went back and forth on color schemes too. So like, what history? The history of being that team that watched more successful franchises actually win and stay consistent? Carolina has built a cool brand, and it seems like they've built a winner that people are excited about, at least in their circles. This was a win. Nobody misses the Impact/Militia, they just miss Montreal in general.

So while there's been a few changes lately, i think it's because of the franchises that needed a change actually getting one. What we talked about in the J HO are the 'tent pole' franchises that we wouldn't allow a rebrand/relocation to if asked specifically because of their histories and the J history in general. I don't think you'll see a change be allowed for the Vancouver Whalers, Detroit Falcons, St. Louis Scarecrows, or Kelowna Knights anytime soon. Not that any of those franchises would want to change anyway. The rest could be up for debate, but considering we just got Anchorage not too long ago, and we just got Carolina, Maine, and Newfoundland in the last few seasons, i'd think that we're done seeing anyone else moving for a while. Anaheim just updated their logo and they're not going anywhere, and from what i know about the Colorado management from talking to them, they live, eat, and breathe Colorado Raptors so i can't imagine them moving either.

I think we're where we're going to be at for a while, save for expansion teams. And when/if that happens, i'd bet people get their Montreal back haha.