How many teams could the NHL theoretically support?

[egelband]

I actually think there’s more talent than ever. Enough to fill a few more rosters. And there are probably at least three or four more cities which could support a team. Quebec City for sure. Seattle. Portland. Maybe Indy or San Diego. And I’m sure the Toronto area could support another team.

 

[egelband]

Or perhaps a more relevant question;

When do you have a League 1 and a League 2 with promotion/relegation?

If you open up to that; you can potentially have 40, maybe even 50 teams.

Cool idea. I’m not sure NA has the right sporting culture for it though. But it’s a neat idea.

 

[Oilers Propagandist]

If the NHL weill ever be entertaining again, it Needs to Cut the League Down. I would say 12 teams would make for high intensity. Get rid of nonsense American markets like Anahiem.

Your posts are disasters but I agree that nonsense american teams like the Dux should be vapourized. Move them somewhere better like Anchorage. The rest should stay/

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

simply put, the more teams they add, the more we will hear complaints about scoring being down and games not having as much skill as they used to

 

[Ingvar]

This league can support 36 teams easily. 40 teams if hockey actually becomes a little bit more popular in the US.

simply put, the more teams they add, the more we will hear complaints about scoring being down and games not having as much skill as they used to

Nah, the scoring wasn’t at it’s highest in the original 6 times. It’s gradually grew until the 80s and then decreased. I’m going to commit the travesty and state that there was the least amount of average skill in the 80s - masked by incredibly talented players that comprised the top.

 

[JianYang]

Whatever the number is, they have exceeded it. I can't remember a time when I didn't hear about franchise in peril.

 

[Rygu]

Who knows, but they should go back to 21.

 

[agent082]

28

 

[WingsMJN2965]

Stick with 32 and immediately fire anybody dumb enough to utter the words, "European expansion".

 

[Channelcat]

I'd say around 24 max

 

[HanSolo]

If the NHL weill ever be entertaining again, it Needs to Cut the League Down. I would say 12 teams would make for high intensity. Get rid of nonsense American markets like Anahiem.

Your first choice is a team that has made the playoffs more times in the last 11 years than most teams in the league and have a cup win in that time?

Sure we can fold Anaheim but we have to fold your favorite team too.

 

[HanSolo]

simply put, the more teams they add, the more we will hear complaints about scoring being down and games not having as much skill as they used to

Add team to league
Scoring goes up
People still complain about lack of skill
You can't explain that

Honestly there hasn't been a year where I haven't seen people complaining that the league isn't as skilled as the "good ol days" on HF.

 

[Spirit of 67]

20

 

[OVrocks]

I’d say 100, each state has at least 2 major cities that can have a team. 50 states x 2 teams per state = 100

 

[iginlafan77]

I’d say 100, each state has at least 2 major cities that can have a team. 50 states x 2 teams per state = 100

The NHL is in more than one country...

 

[SotasicA]

There's no upper limit. It's just about cutting expenses.

If every player made minimum wage, like $8 an hour, and all travel would be by bus, then you could have a profitable team in every single town with an arena.

Talent would be pretty diluted with several thousand teams, but if tickets are a dollar or two a piece, you'll attract fans.

 

[Faterson]

The NHL needs a European conference. (Though it would no longer be the "N"HL at that point; but, "NHL" already is a misnomer today, seeing as it's played in two "nations".)

 

[dkhockey]

Not any more... the league is already watered down enough as it is.
All the players on Vegas' roster should be on others teams, making them more entertaining for the fans to watch.

No more expanding !

 

[Faterson]

Put teams in Europe in.....

London
Paris
Berlin
Munich
Stockholm
Helsinki
Moscow
St Petersbrug
Prague
Bratislava
Vienna
Geneva

Good concept, but you'd need to include far more Russian teams than that, powerhouses like Magnitogorsk and Kazan.

Europe will never happen, the flights would be ridiculous.

Not at all. My KHL team in Central Europe is the western-most in the KHL, and every year, it's required to play regular-season games in China (!) or Vladivostok (!; yep, that's right next door to Alaska, as Sarah Palin would say). Flying to New York or even LA would be a piece of cake compared to that. Yet it can be done, as long as the incentives are there. My KHL team takes one road trip to the Russian Far East (including China) every regular season, plus two more road trips to remote Siberia, I think, so they could definitely take one road trip per regular season to the American West Coast, and 2 or 3 road trips to the East Coast.