Cincinnati, Kansas City, and Omaha have shown interest in NHL expansion

[dj4aces]

Coyotes are being paid by the 31 other teams to be part of the league, for whatever the reasons.

I mean... sure, I suppose. But you know that revenue sharing is something every owner approves of, right? Sure, in this specific instance, it's of great benefit to Arizona... but every team, every region falls under hard times. Revenue sharing is supposed to be the safety net that helps those teams stay afloat.

One might debate whether the Coyotes have benefited too much from that, but at the end of the day, the BoG likes revenue sharing. If they didn't, it would've been gone a long time ago.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

I go to Omaha on occasion, as the organization I work for is headquartered there. It gets a worse rap than it deserves sometimes IMO, I grew up in the rust belt and some of those cities make Omaha look like a paradise.

It's nowhere close to a NHL city, however. Like not even remotely in the vicinity of the neighborhood of CloseTown.

 

[aqib]

Look at what happened in Quebec City a few years ago. They are no closer to landing an NHL team, than when Le Colisee was the main arena.

"People who do not learn from history, are doomed to repeat it."

I would say they are FURTHER away than they were. Daly had meetings with Aubut about the NHL returning. Bettman made positive comments returning to "where we were" in conjunction with QC and Winnipeg. Also the Canadian dollar was at par and there were multiple franchises with issues (Atlanta, Phoenix, and Florida).

 

[aqib]

I go to Omaha on occasion, as the organization I work for is headquartered there. It gets a worse rap than it deserves sometimes IMO, I grew up in the rust belt and some of those cities make Omaha look like a paradise.

It's nowhere close to a NHL city, however. Like not even remotely in the vicinity of the neighborhood of CloseTown.

I love the Rust Belt. Even though I grew up on the east coast I always felt more at home in the Rust Belt.

That being said, I am surprised Tulsa has never thrown its hat in the ring isn't Bok Center a major league caliber arena?

 

[GKJ]

I love the Rust Belt. Even though I grew up on the east coast I always felt more at home in the Rust Belt.

That being said, I am surprised Tulsa has never thrown its hat in the ring isn't Bok Center a major league caliber arena?

Could say that about a few markets. San Diego is getting a new building, but I don't see them mentioned, and I think that would be the best market to move into.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

The North Division would be guaranteed a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals- is that your way of apologizing to those teams and their fans for putting them in a division covering four different time zones?

So you basically have 5 divisions, 4 of which are in one conference, and one is its own, who only play half of a playoffs? This has to be a put-on

No Canadian team has won the Cup since 1993. And after last year's final four lacked any Snow Belt teams, the NHL needs to do this to help their TV ratings.

Right now I'm always advocating Rogers back out of televising the rest of the playoffs if no Canadian teams are still active and locking them behind Centre Ice. Meaning Canadians who still want to watch in such an event would have to put up with American announcers.

Quite frankly any prospective national TV partners in Canada should demand the implementation of this in order to agree to broadcast the league otherwise the NHL could be without a national TV contract in Canada - quite the irony since for years they didn't have one in America.

This proposal sets a maximum of two Sun Belt teams in the final 8 - one from the South division and one from the West. Last year's Finals were a ratings disaster because of the fact that no Snow Belt team made it to the conference finals. Doing this prevents it from happening again.

 

[aqib]

Could say that about a few markets. San Diego is getting a new building, but I don't see them mentioned, and I think that would be the best market to move into.

Its still in the planning phase. I am just curious if BoK is major league ready or is it an OKC situation where its built basic with the plan to flesh it out if they got a team.

 

[GKJ]

No Canadian team has won the Cup since 1993. And after last year's final four lacked any Snow Belt teams, the NHL needs to do this to help their TV ratings.

Right now I'm always advocating Rogers back out of televising the rest of the playoffs if no Canadian teams are still active and locking them behind Centre Ice. Meaning Canadians who still want to watch in such an event would have to put up with American announcers.

Quite frankly any prospective national TV partners in Canada should demand the implementation of this in order to agree to broadcast the league otherwise the NHL could be without a national TV contract in Canada - quite the irony since for years they didn't have one in America.

This proposal sets a maximum of two Sun Belt teams in the final 8 - one from the South division and one from the West. Last year's Finals were a ratings disaster because of the fact that no Snow Belt team made it to the conference finals. Doing this prevents it from happening again.

The NHL is not going to be without a TV contract in Canada. That's impossible. Just because a team is from Canada doesn't mean every Canadian is watching it.

 

[GKJ]

Its still in the planning phase. I am just curious if BoK is major league ready or is it an OKC situation where its built basic with the plan to flesh it out if they got a team.

I've been told that if an opportunity presents itself, it can be re-engineered to make it larger, but it's not as it currently is set up. Which also doesn't make sense, it's a huge market with huge population, the building should hold at least 18,000.

 

[dj4aces]

Could say that about a few markets. San Diego is getting a new building, but I don't see them mentioned, and I think that would be the best market to move into.

I think it all boils down to level of interest in owning a franchise, and what the market has to offer to the league.

If it's just a building, it's unlikely to garner much attention outside of a passing mention of an email exchange, ala Omaha. But if a place like San Diego had interested ownership and other things to offer the league (sustainability of a franchise, growth of the market, etc), they immediately become a more serious expansion destination.

No Canadian team has won the Cup since 1993. And after last year's final four lacked any Snow Belt teams, the NHL needs to do this to help their TV ratings.

I would argue the NHL should want more sunbelt appearances in the finals to help TV ratings. A lot of sunbelt teams are located in or near very populated areas, and sustained success will not only grow the game in these areas, it will also result in more eyeballs on TV sets in these regions, as well as more ticket sales for future seasons.

The conferences are fine as the are. Just add a team to each and wipe hands on pants. No need to even change the playoff format.

 

[GKJ]

I think it all boils down to level of interest in owning a franchise, and what the market has to offer to the league.

If it's just a building, it's unlikely to garner much attention outside of a passing mention of an email exchange, ala Omaha. But if a place like San Diego had interested ownership and other things to offer the league (sustainability of a franchise, growth of the market, etc), they immediately become a more serious expansion destination.



I would argue the NHL should want more sunbelt appearances in the finals to help TV ratings. A lot of sunbelt teams are located in or near very populated areas, and sustained success will not only grow the game in these areas, it will also result in more eyeballs on TV sets in these regions, as well as more ticket sales for future seasons.

The conferences are fine as the are. Just add a team to each and wipe hands on pants. No need to even change the playoff format.

I agree, I just can't understand how nobody would be interested in San Diego. If I were a billionaire, that's the action I'd want in on.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

The NHL is not going to be without a TV contract in Canada. That's impossible. Just because a team is from Canada doesn't mean every Canadian is watching it.

At this point with how p*ssed off every major Canadian media company is over the fact that there hasn't been a Cup winner from Canada in 30 years I would not rule anything out.

 

[GKJ]

At this point with how p*ssed off every major Canadian media company is over the fact that there hasn't been a Cup winner from Canada in 30 years I would not rule anything out.

Is there evidence of this specifically? The deal with Rogers has been a bad one from the beginning.

 

[dj4aces]

I agree, I just can't understand how nobody would be interested in San Diego. If I were a billionaire, that's the action I'd want in on.

You're not wrong... but on the other hand, there's also the idea that California already has three teams. Does the league really want to add a fourth team, and have it exist within 100 miles of two existing franchises?

Still a fair question. I do wonder if any SD based billionaires have at least inquired about the possibility of landing a franchise... and really, just because they haven't been mentioned yet doesn't mean they won't be. At least SD makes far more sense than Omaha from a population and corporate standpoint alone.

At this point with how p*ssed off every major Canadian media company is over the fact that there hasn't been a Cup winner from Canada in 30 years I would not rule anything out.

Let's assume you actually have evidence to back up this claim. What you're essentially arguing is for the league to engineer a mechanism where a Canadian franchise is always at least one of the four final teams left standing.

I'm absolutely gonna call BS on the idea of a Canada with zero NHL games televised or streamed within its borders. It's simply not going to happen.

 

[GKJ]

You're not wrong... but on the other hand, there's also the idea that California already has three teams. Does the league really want to add a fourth team, and have it exist within 100 miles of two existing franchises?

Still a fair question. I do wonder if any SD based billionaires have at least inquired about the possibility of landing a franchise... and really, just because they haven't been mentioned yet doesn't mean they won't be. At least SD makes far more sense than Omaha from a population and corporate standpoint alone.

Let's assume you actually have evidence to back up this claim. What you're essentially arguing is for the league to engineer a mechanism where a Canadian franchise is always at least one of the four final teams left standing.

I'm absolutely gonna call BS on the idea of a Canada with zero NHL games televised or streamed within its borders. It's simply not going to happen.

San Diego isn't the same as Los Angeles much less NorCal. No NBA or NFL team in the market should make it more attractive, just disappointing that no one seems to be.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

California has almost 40 million residents, Canada has 40.5 million. There’s plenty of people and money to go around, especially when talking about a market like San Diego which is definitively its own thing.

Granted, they lack a viable arena and I don’t recall hearing about a willing owner, so a moot point to even discuss California in all likelihood for the time being.

 

[dj4aces]

San Diego isn't the same as Los Angeles much less NorCal. No NBA or NFL team in the market should make it more attractive, just disappointing that no one seems to be.

Absolutely, 100%. I'm not arguing against a SD team -- hell, I'd like to see it. I just don't know how the league would feel about four of its teams being located in the same state. I'd be interested to see what a team there would look like.

 

[KevFu]

The group trying to build a development in San Diego that would include a new arena that could be NHL/NBA standards is Midway Rising, and the main investor is Stan Kroenke; who's family owns the Avalanche.

I'm not sure how it would work with an NHL owner being the tenant of another? But could the Kroenke family sell the Nuggets/Avs to local investors, and get NHL/NBA expansion in San Diego so his empire is in SoCal instead of LA Rams and Denver?

 

[GKJ]

The group trying to build a development in San Diego that would include a new arena that could be NHL/NBA standards is Midway Rising, and the main investor is Stan Kroenke; who's family owns the Avalanche.

I'm not sure how it would work with an NHL owner being the tenant of another? But could the Kroenke family sell the Nuggets/Avs to local investors, and get NHL/NBA expansion in San Diego so his empire is in SoCal instead of LA Rams and Denver?

Doesn't he own the RSN in Colorado, or is that not a thing anymore?

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

Let's assume you actually have evidence to back up this claim. What you're essentially arguing is for the league to engineer a mechanism where a Canadian franchise is always at least one of the four final teams left standing.

I'm absolutely gonna call BS on the idea of a Canada with zero NHL games televised or streamed within its borders. It's simply not going to happen.

You mean final two, and there would still be regional rights-holders for each individual Canadian team. It's the national broadcasts, which can involve any team, even American ones, that would be jeopardized if this alignment isn't put into place.

By effectively banning American teams from playing Canadian teams in the playoffs prior to the SCF it gives Canadian residents incentive to watch the entire playoffs from start to finish rather than backing out en masse if every Canadian team is eliminated.

This also prevents a situation like in 2016 where  no Canadian team qualified.

 

[ponder719]

I want the NHL to do a five-division alignment as follows with expansion teams:

Good luck getting the (at that point) 32 American teams to agree to giving Canadian teams a 1/8 chance of a Cup final every year, while themselves competing for a 1/32 chance at appearing. This may be the most impractical idea I've ever seen on this forum, and we're in a thread discussing the plausibility of the NHL expanding to Omaha.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

Good luck getting the (at that point) 32 American teams to agree to giving Canadian teams a 1/8 chance of a Cup final every year, while themselves competing for a 1/32 chance at appearing. This may be the most impractical idea I've ever seen on this forum, and we're in a thread discussing the plausibility of the NHL expanding to Omaha.

It's certainly better than the NBA play-in games which cost my Cavs dearly in 2022.

 

[ponder719]

It's certainly better than the NBA play-in games which cost my Cavs dearly in 2022.

No, I'd say granting a massive structural advantage to 1/5 of the league at the expense of the other 4/5 is substantially worse than adding a one-and-done additional round that every team has an equal shot of appearing in.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

It's certainly better than the NBA play-in games which cost my Cavs dearly in 2022.

Not even remotely.

 

[dj4aces]

You mean final two, and there would still be regional rights-holders for each individual Canadian team. It's the national broadcasts, which can involve any team, even American ones, that would be jeopardized if this alignment isn't put into place.

By effectively banning American teams from playing Canadian teams in the playoffs prior to the SCF it gives Canadian residents incentive to watch the entire playoffs from start to finish rather than backing out en masse if every Canadian team is eliminated.

This also prevents a situation like in 2016 where  no Canadian team qualified.

I missed the fifth one, but that actually makes this whole thing even worse.

It's hockey. My Wings haven't been in the playoffs in quite a while, and ... well, we know what happened to the Thrashers. Yet I watch the playoffs whenever I have a chance. Since when did Canadian fans need "incentive to watch"?

I get that a sunbelt only SCF would turn off some viewers, but still, the whole point of sunbelt expansion was to get to this exact point where sunbelt teams experience growth and success. If Canadians care that their teams aren't bringing home a Cup regularly, perhaps it's time for them to do something besides propose ridiculous realignment on the internet and engineer scenarios where they'll get to watch the Leafs lose yet another important series. Vote with your wallets.