How many teams should the NHL consist of?

[Vic Rattlehead*]

30

 

[Vic Rattlehead*]

SectionX..............

Great topic........I say get rid of 6-teams right away.......Phoenix, Nashville, Carolina, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Washington.........then all we have left is 24-teams.......then I'd borrow a page from European Soccer League and form a Primier division with 12-teams and a Second division with another 12-teams there........each season the last place team in the Primier division would drop down to the second division.....and vice versa the first place team in the econd division makes the jump up to the Primier division...........BUT of course something like this would never happen in the NHL simply because it makes too much sense.

Cheers!

Buffalo? Washington? Thankfull you don't run the NHL....

EDIT--The system is also insane. Makes too much sense? Well then, Football, Baseball, and Basketball must be stupid too for not having that. It would never happen because the system doesn't make sense at all.

 

[jacketracket*]

30, with an eye towards further expansion if/once a new CBA stabilizes the league financially.

I think places such as Hamilton, Winnipeg, Houston, and Oklahoma City should be given dibs on future franchises, or as potential relocation locales, given a CBA that suits the league and players.

 

[Ismellofhockey]

30 with the hopes of 32.

21 teams was a great number for a league depending almost solely on North American players.
With the huge influx of european players, the league can handle more teams.
Granted the expansion was much too fast, far quicker than the import of european players but I think that will stabilize over the next few years. Already I feel rosters look better than in 2000.

 

[Habsfan 32]

30 with the hopes of 32.

21 teams was a great number for a league depending almost solely on North American players.
With the huge influx of european players, the league can handle more teams.
Granted the expansion was much too fast, far quicker than the import of european players but I think that will stabilize over the next few years. Already I feel rosters look better than in 2000.

You realy think the NHL can have two more teams?

 

[ZombieMatt]

30 with the hopes of 32.

21 teams was a great number for a league depending almost solely on North American players.
With the huge influx of european players, the league can handle more teams.
Granted the expansion was much too fast, far quicker than the import of european players but I think that will stabilize over the next few years. Already I feel rosters look better than in 2000.

FINALLY!

Why do people have this absurd idea that the talent of the league has been watered down since the early 90's when in reality the influx of European players almost exactly matches the number of new jobs in the NHL.

The league has grown proportionately with the international player base which it is able to draw from. EXPANSION IS NOT THE PROBLEM. Any perceived problems with the game are within the games itself, not the surrounding structure.

The problems are based in the emphasis many teams put on defence, the size of goaltenders equipment and such. Scoring and excitement being down has very little to do with the number of teams in the league. And why does everybody list those teams as the ones to contract? It's based purely on perception of who "doesn't deserve" a team.

Why not base it off the bottom line of teams over the past five seasons? Do you still want to contract a team if a Canadian team falls in that category? How fair is it to take a team away from a city who has had it for less than five years? IT takes time to introduce a fairly new sport. The ONLY way hockey is going to be better off is to enter new markets and be successful in them. That is the only way that the overall finances of the league will improve.

 

[Sotnos]

I think 30 teams are too many, and that they need to reduce the number.

Why?

I personally think that 22 teams would make a better balance.

In what way?

Do you agree that 30 teams are too much?

No

Which teams should get kicked out?

Well, we should start with whichever one you like best, though I don't see why someone in Sweden would care about this issue.

 

[BLONG7]

I like the idea of 28...4 divisions of 7 each and the top 16 teams irregardless of where they are in the division, get to the playoffs... Then go 1 vs 16, 2 vs 15 etc. for the playoffs...

 

[Dave is a killer]

30 with the NHL expanding BACK into Canada ... possibly Hamilton (if enough luxury suites to offset their smallish arena) and the Leafs let it happen ... and one of QC or Winnipeg for a total of 32 teams in a couple of years

 

[habitue*]

Total of 32 TEAMS with 20 players on each roster instead of 23 (18 playing per game)

A CANADIAN CONFERENCE
8 teams in Canada (with teams in Quebec and Winnipeg)

16 teams in USA - A US WEST and a US EAST CONFERENCES

A EUROPEAN CONFERENCE
8 teams in Europe (they starting to have nice, big arenas - and they have lots of good players and money too)


Each team would play 8 games against the 7 other teams of their own conferences
TOTAL: 56
+
One game against the remaining 24 teams. TOTAL 24 (receiving 12 and visiting 12, and vice-versa the following year).

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

FINALLY!

Why do people have this absurd idea that the talent of the league has been watered down since the early 90's when in reality the influx of European players almost exactly matches the number of new jobs in the NHL.

There are at least 12 goalie, 40 defensemen, and 75 forwards who don't belong in the NHL. The Euro invasion would have supplemented 3 teams nicely, bringing the league from 21 to 24. The owners got greedy when the dollar signs of expansion fees were flashed before their eyes. The NHLPA got greedy when they saw 210 jobs being created. Salary disclosure and expansion were the two driving forces in the escalation of salaries that have created the mess the league is in now.

 

[AdvDave]

You people can sit and talk about contraction, relocation, and the entirely absurd idea of a european division all you want.
And I can talk about having a 3-way with the Olsen twins.
They are both not going to happen.

Or at least anytime in the near future...

 

[Ismellofhockey]

There are at least 12 goalie, 40 defensemen, and 75 forwards who don't belong in the NHL. The Euro invasion would have supplemented 3 teams nicely, bringing the league from 21 to 24. The owners got greedy when the dollar signs of expansion fees were flashed before their eyes. The NHLPA got greedy when they saw 210 jobs being created. Salary disclosure and expansion were the two driving forces in the escalation of salaries that have created the mess the league is in now.

As I said, expansion was too fast but IMO as the sport grows, the talent pool will grow enough to support 30 teams. Switzerland, Slovakia and Germany have made pretty good strides, combine that with what little strides the sport has made in the southern US and 30 shouldn't be a problem.

 

[MacDaddy TLC*]

As I said, expansion was too fast but IMO as the sport grows, the talent pool will grow enough to support 30 teams. Switzerland, Slovakia and Germany have made pretty good strides, combine that with what little strides the sport has made in the southern US and 30 shouldn't be a problem.

and that is 100% correct. The NHL really needs to start apying attention to how the NFL does business. The NFL expansion was done to perfection. 9 teams were added between 1991-2000. It is no wonder they are in the mess that they are in today. Maybe by 2030, they would have been able to support 32 teams if done properly, but greed go in the way of common sense.

 

[PredsFan77*]

55

 

[SuperNintendoChalmrs]

87


Once we expand and bring about the Arab league....that will be awesome


I envision great success for the Beirut Barracudas.

 

[McDonald19]

30

Keep things the way they are. Just bring back hockey!!!

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

32 teams? are you nuts?? how watered down is the league right now?! anyone else notice that goals-per-game has gone down every year since 93'? theres a reason for that...too many teams!!!

24 or 26 is good IMO

 

[nyrmessier011]

24 teams, 4 divisions

right on

 

[Buffaloed]

87


Once we expand and bring about the Arab league....that will be awesome


I envision great success for the Beirut Barracudas.

The Egyptian Pharoahs would be a cool name.

If the NHL and the major European leagues merged and all the players were under one CBA, where would they go during a lockout? :lol

 

[Bruinaholic]

6! Bring back the Originals!

 

[djhn579]

32 sounds good to me

 

[David Puddy]

32 teams? are you nuts?? how watered down is the league right now?! anyone else notice that goals-per-game has gone down every year since 93'? theres a reason for that...too many teams!!!

What the hell does the goals-per-game have to do with talent level!!!???? There is a hell of a lot more to hockey than scoring. There are goaltenders and defensemen. The forwards also have defensive responsibilities.

Barry Melrose has been been replaced by Zdeno Chara, and Darren Pang has been replaced by Dominik Hasek.

 

[Three Stars]

Have you heard of the Dubai Mighty Camels?

 

[David Puddy]

6! Bring back the Originals!

It was originally four, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators and Montreal Wanderers. The "Original Six" refers to the time between the folding of the Brooklyn Americans after the 1941-42 seasons and the six team expansion of 1967-68 (Philadelphia, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Minnesota and Oakland.)

Have you heard of the Dubai Mighty Camels?

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