Harrison survives scare, and some thoughts on a Seattle arena

Published 3:30 pm Thursday, February 23, 2012

Ryan Harrison should be good to go for Friday’s return to Tri-City. Harrison went down during the second period of Tuesday’s game when he was hit in the jaw and throat by a deflected slap shot off the stick of teammate Ryan Murray. Harrison was having difficulty breathing and did not return to the game. However, he practiced at full speed today and should be good to go. It sounds like it was a scary situation — including the aftermath as Harrison said the doctors sent cameras down his throat and his nose to get a better look. Both Harrison and the Tips are fortunate it didn’t turn out to be any worse. Everett is already playing one short because of injuries and suspensions, and the last thing the Tips needed was to lose their hottest offensive player.

However, the Tips may get back to fielding a full lineup this weekend. Winger Zach McPhee, who’s been out with a head injury, could return sometime this weekend. Everett coach Mark Ferner said McPhee wouldn’t play Friday, but will probably get into at least one game during the three-in-three.

Now, the big whoop in the region over the past week has been the possibility of Seattle building an arena that could attract NHL and NBA teams. An NHL team in Seattle could affect the Tips, and I talked to Everett assistant GM Zoran Rajcic earlier this week about the situation as it pertains to the Tips.

I’ve been asked on several occasions about what I thought about an NHL team possibly moving right down the road. My answer has been consistent: I’ll believe it when I see it. There’s no agreement to build an arena, there’s a proposal, and we’ve seen multiple arena proposals the past few years. Chris Hansen claims he’ll foot $300 million of the bill, but that leaves $200 million for the local governments, and since CenturyLink Field was built we’ve seen much resistance to using public money to finance stadium construction. Even if it all goes through, teams need to be acquired (which will add hundreds of millions more dollars to Hansen’s bill), and the options seem to be dwindling as other endangered markets seem to be taking steps to keep their teams. It sure seems to me that a lot of work still needs to be done before the Tips have to start worrying in earnest.