A 32 team league.

[KevFist]

Would this really apply? Today's "older" hockey fans are few in number, especially on message boards. I know of a token few who can actually recall the 6 team league, and most of them were very young children at the time. The "majority" of today's fans probably don't recall much of the 70's or 80's. Their hockey heroes hail from the 90's or later.



That location needs an owner willing to cough of the $170-200m to acquire a team.

Totally applies... I live it everyday, just in a different way.

here in Alabama, College Football is king. the fans of the University of Alabama develop this complex about their alleged 14 National Championships. If you try to point out that most of those championships were not issued by the AP or UPI, they get all defensive and claim that the 1923 Bowler's Wax Weekly is a legitimate championship to claim.

Funny thing is, most of the people doing this are in their teens and 20's....Alabama won the vast majority of their championships in the 20's, 60's and 70's....also known as, before they were alive.

Transfer that over to the hockey side, and the presitge of being an Original Six fan. Hockey is the only sport where fans ever make a big deal about their league's founding members. doesn't make it wrong at all, but to some people it does seem to give a sense of entitlement....that somehow because they're a fan of the Blackhawks or Canadians, they know more about the sport than a fan of Atlanta or Dallas.... that outside of those six teams, the hockey world is just a farce.... Granted, like you said, those numbers are decreasing.... But it still exists.

What fans of other teams have to realize is those traditions are deeply rooted and don't go away easily....nor SHOULD they go away. Look at all the traditions in hockey as opposed to other team sports..... It's just not there!

Bottom line is Original Six teams need expansion to grow fervor for the game they hold so dear just as expansion teams need the Original six teams to lead the way in tradition and the storied history of the game.

 

[Hoser]

I've always felt one reason there's such an elitist attitude amongst some NHL fans is because from 1917 to 1967, this was a league that consisted of just 6 teams... It's a league steeped in tradition, so change can be a bit difficult to grasp.

From 1942 to 1967 it consisted of six teams. Prior to the '42-'43 season there were teams in Ottawa, Quebec City, Hamilton, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and other teams in Montreal and New York.


I for one am tired of this "grow the game" bullcrap. The best way to "grow the game" is stability. The NHL needs to reinforce the teams it has already has before wasting their time expanding again. The league is too big as it is. Teams from opposing conferences only play each other twice in three years!

 

[Dado]

I like the idea of growing the game.

But that isn't the same as growing the league.

IMO the league is already six teams too big.

 

[KevFist]

From 1942 to 1967 it consisted of six teams. Prior to the '42-'43 season there were teams in Ottawa, Quebec City, Hamilton, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and other teams in Montreal and New York.


I for one am tired of this "grow the game" bullcrap. The best way to "grow the game" is stability. The NHL needs to reinforce the teams it has already has before wasting their time expanding again. The league is too big as it is. Teams from opposing conferences only play each other twice in three years!

EDIT.....misread what you said.....I'm in agreement that the league needs to stabilize the existing teams before expanding....thought you meant something else...Sorry..

 

[DeathToAllButMetal]

Expansion would be awesome. There aren't yet enough marginal teams-in-trouble - we should add more!

I don't understand how this topic just keeps coming up here. It ain't happening, at least not any time in the next 20 years. Adding teams just makes no sense. The NHL just needs to stop denying reality and start fixing the problems it created with the last expansion, by relocation and contraction. And looking beyond the NHL to the great economic realities in the US -- no pro league is going to be crazy enough to expand any time in the near future. Maybe the NFL back into LA, but that would be it, and the NFL labor meltdown has put the kibosh on that for a little while, you would think.

What would you rather have? A healthy 24-team league? Or a 30-team league in the present locations, with a good eight clubs in horrible financial shape?

 

[Rink Rage]

I think the NHL needs to add 2 teams on the West Coast. One in Portland, one in Seattle.

 

[GordonGraham]

That would be great to add 2 more teams so many older guys are getting pushed out of the game(retirement, khl, ahl) due to salary cap that would create 50 new nhl jobs.

Im from quebec city and id much rather have an new team than getting one from the US

 

[LeftCoast]

I think we will see an expansion at some point, but I doubt it happens with so many team's ownership and finances in flux. The NHL owns Phoenix, has taken control of Dallas and is actively seeking new investors / owners for Dallas and Atlanta. Teachers is looking to sell its stake in the Leafs, and the long term future of the Islanders is tied to the seemingly deadend Lighthouse project.

If expansion does come, it also might be more than 2 teams. Winnipeg and Quebec both desperately want a team, but they are not the most compelling choices for expansion. A second team in Southern Ontario (either GTA or Hamilton) is a no brainer. Seattle would be very interested if it meant a 2nd chance at the NBA. Portland would be a great market, if Paul Allen were interested. Kansas City just needs an owner. But Las Vegas is also compelling. The MGM Garden Arena could be used temporarily, but a new arena would have to be on the horizon.

 

[Finlandia WOAT]

Expansion was only warranted because of the end of Communism, and the subsequent wave of hockey talent that came to the NHL.

I really don't think that adding 2 teams would help anything right now. It would stretch the talent thinner than it is now. So honestly, unless adding a team is critical to a TV deal this year (don't know if this has a precedent), the NHL probably won't add a team.

 

[leoleo3535]

On the topic of Kansas City......

- does the hockey market in MO. support 2 teams with 250 miles?
- is KC a hockey market?
- tv numbers do not suggest that it is......lower than the national avg. , lower than basketball viewers

 

[TaketheCannoli]

I don't see how any of these markets will work better than the current markets. Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Sacramento are all untested and three of them are smaller than Atlanta or Phoenix.

Hartford, Milwaukee, and Seattle are in current team's market areas and are not likely to be approved.

Portland has an arena issue.Since Paul Allen has said he has no interest in owning a hockey team, I understand the Rose Garden would not be available. They would have to build a new arena.

I would like to see an expansion team in Winnipeg and perhaps another city like Quebec City while leaving all current teams in their markets. I believe Atlanta and Phoenix are important markets for the NHL and wouldn't it be interesting to see how a typical expansion team does in a small Canadian market? Would Winnipeg sell out and sell out their corporate suites and sponsorships after 10 years of losing with no end in sight like Atlanta?

 

[CommunistDayKare]

Are they passionate hockey fans?

nearly 10,000 went to see a kings/islanders game on a tuesday night in preseason, so who knows

 

[Jarko2004]

How about an 18 team league? Just the one's that sell themselves and make money

 

[ThrasherMinion]

On the topic of Kansas City......

- does the hockey market in MO. support 2 teams with 250 miles?
- is KC a hockey market?
- tv numbers do not suggest that it is......lower than the national avg. , lower than basketball viewers

The Kansas City Scouts and the Cleveland Barons are mere memories......

 

[ThrasherMinion]

How about an 18 team league? Just the one's that sell themselves and make money

And no one will even care to watch them either.

How about go back to the original 6 and let them ride the bus to games.

No wide landscape equals no interest outside your small markets equals no big deal.
How exciting is the 4 team MSL or however many teams they have?

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

Ya, dontcha love it?. Seems David Stern & Gary Bettmans plans are coming together like a dream. Lets further expand the NHL right on out to the fringes of relevancy with a product thats just about on par with the Corvair, the Pinto, the Lada, Pontiac Sunfire, Hyundai Stellar, Audi Fox.....

Can't be that bad if you're still watching it...

 

[LeftCoast]

Hartford, Milwaukee, and Seattle are in current team's market areas and are not likely to be approved.

Seattle and Vancouver 120 miles or a 2 1/2 hour drive (not including border line ups) apart. Montreal and Ottawa are closer and don't have a international border between them (unless you're a sovereigntist )

 

[Killion]

but to some people it does seem to give a sense of entitlement....that somehow because they're a fan of the Blackhawks or Canadians, they know more about the sport than a fan of Atlanta or Dallas.... that outside of those six teams, the hockey world is just a farce.... Granted, like you said, those numbers are decreasing.... But it still exists.....Bottom line is Original Six teams need expansion to grow fervor for the game they hold so dear just as expansion teams need the Original six teams to lead the way in tradition and the storied history of the game.

The so called "Golden Era of the Original 6" really only existed post WW2-1967. The only reason the league expanded was to fight off accusations & threats of Anti-Trust, combined with the self dealing interests of member clubs, Norris-Wirtz in particular the main beneficiaries of teams in places like St. Louis; and of course to try & stave off the threat of a rival league in not only the WHA, but so too with the increasingly competitive WHL/AHL/IHL operators who were also eyeing the feasibility of taking a run at the NHL's premiership. I grew up in the 60's in Toronto, so ya, Im more than familiar with the "elitism" that defines a generation or 3 of hockey fans of the Golden Era.

Its very difficult for many to be objective, to accept the change & permutations that have followed over the past 44 years. Many however, myself included, embraced expansion and do indeed support teams in places like Atlanta, Nashville, Phoenix & Dallas. Hockey USA has done a bang-up job in "growing the game", welcome competition at the junior & pro levels, womens hockey and at the amateur levels, much of it kick started via expansion & of course the brilliant Miracle on Ice in 1980.

All that being said, IMO the league expanded far too quickly, reactive as opposed to being pro-active, everything based on chequebook marketing. I happen to think its time the NHL considers consolidation & retraction, strengthening its position throughout North America. I dont think Habs, Leaf, Bruins or Ranger fans of my generation or older feel any sense of "entitlement", its more of a profound sense of loss. The continual disappointment bordering on dis-belief at times that so many blunders & errors in judgment, outright malfeasance, fraud & greed (and much of it had been hatched right here in Canada) shouldve' been allowed to corrupt what were once the passions of our youth, disrupting our sense of community while hijacking the game.

 

[Kebekoi]

Seattle and Vancouver 120 miles or a 2 1/2 hour drive (not including border line ups) apart. Montreal and Ottawa are closer and don't have a international border between them (unless you're a sovereigntist )

Somebody called?

Seattle would be a great place for location purpose (US Northwest) and for the instant rivalry with Vancouver. Can they get an owner and arena?

Seattle Starbucks?

 

[Dave is a killer]

to hell with the East Coast ... the NHL needs to cut the map in half north/south wise ... I'm tired of Detroit crying like *****es ... have everyone play on the West Coast every year, period

 

[Fugu]

to hell with the East Coast ... the NHL needs to cut the map in half north/south wise ... I'm tired of Detroit crying like *****es ... have everyone play on the West Coast every year, period

When have you heard Detroit whine?

 

[Killion]

Can't be that bad if you're still watching it...

Wrong assumption Haymaker. I dont watch regular season games on TV; catching the highlights post game. The seasons' too long, their are too many teams, just on & on.... Bores me to tears quite Frankly.

 

[MoreOrr]

So, the NFL already has 32 teams. Which League will be the next at 32? By 2020, will any of the major leagues have more than 32 teams? If so, how many? Will the NHL try to keep up? Or is it possible that the NHL could even take the lead?

It all really comes down to how expensive it is to run the League, and how expensive it is to run the average team. Supposedly, the League is bringing in profits, since the Salary Cap keeps increasing.

Ironically, I picture this scenario in which lower across the board profits could have greater potential for expansion. The higher profits a certain proportion of teams makes, the more it pushes up expenses for all teams, thus making it more difficult for weaker marker teams, and therefore also more difficult for adding new market that teams that could have difficulty getting established.

 

[Dado]

Wouldn't adding new teams with below-average revenues decrease the salary cap?

 

[MoreOrr]

to hell with the East Coast ... the NHL needs to cut the map in half north/south wise ... I'm tired of Detroit crying like *****es ... have everyone play on the West Coast every year, period

There's really only 2 or 3 Eastern Time Zone locations that potentially be new NHL team sites: Quebec City, Virginia Beach-Norfolk, and yes I suppose southern Ontario. Beyond that, the great potential is westward.