NFT: NHL potentially adding 4 new teams?

That still leaves us with uneven conferences! Stupid NHL

California Golden Seals
Houston Areos
Kansas City Scouts
Cincinnati Stingers
New England Whalers
Baltimore Blades
Birmingham Bulls
Indianapolis Racers
Cleveland Crusaders
San Diego Mariners
Quebec Nordiques

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Do NOT need to dilute the talent pool. Las Vegas? Cmon, give me a break. Move Florida and Phoenix to Toronto and Seattle and call it a day.

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lulz

In comment 11827256 Wuphat said:

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Exactly.

At the very least, move some struggling teams. Florida, for one.

D'oh!

Wrong way, Bettman.

but the nhl has responded that they have no current expansion plans.

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“It’s not in our plans, there is absolutely nothing new to that,” Daly told French-language television station TVA Sports.

lonk - ( New Window )

so typical Bettman move

If Vegas is in fact a "done deal," that leaves one club left on the expansion front... and 15 teams in the Western Conference versus the 16 clubs in the East. The easy way to even things out is to give Seattle a team. Well, if they can't figure out their plans for a new arena, with the NHL being the initial tenant, that leaves Quebec wide open. Their new arena is set to open in late-September 2015 and they have an ownership group already in place. But that might not be in the best interest of the NHL.

As much as the NHL recognizes the hockey hotbed that is Quebec City, the League is going to get their money, regardless. Whether they collect around $800 million in expansion fees, combined, from Seattle and Vegas, or Vegas and Quebec, those dollars are going straight to the owners. If a team is forced to relocate, which market would pay a higher premium for that club? Vegas? Not really. Seattle? Nope. Kansas City? Stop it. Portland? Enough already.

Remember, this is a business. Bettman's job is to make as much money for his 30 (soon to be 32) bosses as he can. It would appear that maximizing his revenues would result in taking the expansion fees from Vegas and Seattle, and the relocation dollars from Quebec (and after TVA Sports grabbed the French television broadcast rights, Quebecor will have something to say if the League decides to go in another direction).

So as much as it may suck for the fans in Quebec City, they may (repeat: MAY) have to wait a little bit longer. But if shit hits the fan in either Vegas or Seattle, they're golden. Unless the League gets really wild and gives all three markets a team?!

And in case you're wondering, in the NHL offices, expansion talk supersedes that of relocation. If you're banking on the Arizona Coyotes packing up shop (their owners have been doing their best to squash the whispers that they may be in trouble, and they're trying to get an outdoor game), or the Florida Panthers (hosts of the 2015 NHL Draft) calling it quits in the near future, you're probably better off keeping your money and blowing it away at the slot machines at McCarran International Airport.

Expansion is on the horizon. It's time to face the music.
Link - ( New Window )

the NHL needs to contract a couple of teams not expand.

but if they do, the NHL HAS to bring back the whale.

best logo and theme song in sports.


Brass Bonanza - ( New Window )

?

NHL is thriving north of the Border. Can put 4 more team in Ontario and Quebec alone. Prob is its not as profitable up there because TV markets are smaller. So the business plan has some issues.

Talent wise the game's gloabal reach is also expanding, so the players are there to keep the game quality up.

Economy's booming there.

region. It could support another team, and there's been a lot of talk about another Toronto team for a while.

A team in Vegas is going to be every bit as much of a joke as Phoenix is.

In comment 11827455 Peter in Atlanta said:

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There have been people trying to bring a second team to Toronto for over five years.

the NHL is its own worst enemy. The have a great product that is is in the process of being reestablished as a "major" sport after all of the shenanigans of the past 10 or so years. They really should continue to cement their market share before they worry about expansion. Move the Coyotes and Panthers to more favorable locations (Vive les Nordiques) and then worry about expansion.

it's still fresh in my memory teams leaving Quebec and Winnipeg and the Oilers threatened to move to Seattle for years.

Sure, they're hockey starved, but that doesn't mean they can support a team or a second team in some cases.

forgetting the fact the NHL shouldn't be expanding, I'd pick the cities carefully if they do.

The Nordiques had plenty of fans but Le Colisee was tiny and old, and there was no new arena on the horizon. They're building a new 18000 seat arena right now, so that's not a problem anymore.

In comment 11827499 Greg from LI said:

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The Nordiques had plenty of fans but Le Colisee was tiny and old, and there was no new arena on the horizon. They're building a new 18000 seat arena right now, so that's not a problem anymore.

That stadium wasnt great, but had 15000 seats which is more than competitive for NHL teams. Ideally you'd want to be able to seat 18k+, but even now some teams arent drawing 16k per game. I really think their problem was the Canadian dollar -- Nords and Jets had to bail on Canada because of the currency exchange, and the Sens, Oilers and Flames were really relegated into the cheapskate bracket. Only the Cannucks, Leafs and Habs (which played in bigger markets) remained financially competitive with US teams. I believe the NHL eventually stepped in to give the smaller Canadian clubs a special revenue-share.

Nords also had the language problem -- unlike Montreal it is really a one-language city. I think this will remain a long-term impediment to a successful relaunch of the franchise.

More than competitive is probably an overstatement. But if they sold out they probably wouldnt be bottom 5 in attendance.