TequilaBay
Registered User
- May 30, 2019
- 108
- 153
Thought this would make for a fun topic. 
As we all know, Gary Bettman is most definitely the most disliked person in the hockey world. Of course, when you're a commissioner, you're not there to win any popularity contests, quite the opposite actually. But one aspect about Bettman that tends to get the most flack is how he handled Expansion and Relocation, more specifically about his so called "Southern Strategy". Therefore, I decided to make this thread to ask y'all what you would've done if you were in Bettman's position, looking at it retrospectively from the perspective of someone in the 1990s, while ignoring the knowledge we have in 2019.
In this alternate timeline, you would've became commissioner in February 1993. Now, in any of these scenarios, the foundation of the Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim would've still happened, as they were awarded by the NHL before Bettman took over. The Minnesota North Stars moving to Dallas and becoming the Dallas Stars would've still happened, as owner Norm Green had already chosen to relocate the team before Bettman took over (although he didn't announce it until after).
Now here comes the fun part, where we change history, or in the case of this first post, how I would change history. Let me know how you would've changed history in this regard in the comment section below.
To save time, skip to the next bolded statement to get to a quick recap of how things would play out in this alternate timeline.
Instead of focusing on a "Southern Strategy", I would be focusing on a "Western Strategy", by that I mean I would be looking at 4-season markets west of the Mississippi River that would support an NHL team. I would still be looking at US markets instead of Canadian ones, because US markets are more profitable, that's just the truth.
First, let's start with relocation.
One thing to know about relocation is that the decision is made by the owners, not the commissioner. The commissioner can certainly influence the matter, but the decision ultimately belongs to the owners.
Sorry to say, but in this alternate scenario with me as commissioner, the Nordiques, original Jets, and Whalers would have still left QC, Winnipeg, and Hartford respectively, as it would've been the owners who would've decided to move those teams out. The only difference here is in this scenario, only one of these teams would've gone to the same market as it did in the real events.
The Quebec Nordiques moving to Denver and becoming the Colorado Avalanche would've been a move I would've approved of, and still would've happened in this alternate scenario. Colorado is a 4-season market that is a hot spot for winter sports, it is a natural hockey market. Sure, the original Colorado Rockies may have failed, but that's because they were an abysmal team.
Now, here's where the timeline starts to change, and that's with the original Winnipeg Jets.
As commissioner, after having the North Stars relocate to Dallas, one of my top priorities would be trying to get a team back in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Minnesota is hockey's hotbed in the US, there's no reason to not have an NHL team there. The original Winnipeg Jets were supposed to relocate to Minnesota, the problem was that negotiations for a lease failed with the landlords of Target Center. I would've stepped in, and done what I could to influence the landlords to allow the team to stay at Target Center for a short time before a new stadium in St. Paul would be completed.
So, here's the first change in the timeline. Instead of relocating to Phoenix and becoming the Phoenix Coyotes, the original Winnipeg Jets would instead relocate to Minneapolis (eventually St. Paul) and become the Minnesota Wild. Minnesota's hockey drought would end in 1996 instead of 2000.
Next, we have the Hartford Whalers. It's worth noting that not only is North Carolina not a natural market for hockey, but also after relocating in the real events, the Carolina Hurricanes had to play in Greensboro while waiting for an arena to be built in Raleigh. Their arena wasn't ready yet.
Not only that, but during the Whaler's last season in Hartford, another arena was being built in West Valley City, Utah that would be finished by September 1997, right before the start of the 1997-98 regular season, that arena was the E Center (now the Maverik Center). Knowing about the Whalers' woes, I would've swayed Karmanos to relocate the team to Utah instead of North Carolina if relocation was absolutely necessary. Utah is a natural 4-season market where hockey would work, and it would make for a natural rivalry with the Colorado Avalanche, plus they already had an arena that would be ready in time. So in this scenario, the Hartford Whalers would relocate to West Valley City and become the Utah Grizzlies.
Next we get into expansion.
Two expansion teams would join the NHL, both starting in the 1998-99 season as they would already have NHL-ready arenas by then.
One of these teams would be in Kansas City, they would be the new Kansas City Scouts, they would play at Kemper Arena, where the previous Kansas City Scouts played. By this point in time, the Colorado Avalanche have already proven a market that failed previously could still be successful. Plus it would make for a great natural rivalry with the St. Louis Blues.
The other team would be in Portland, Oregon, they'd be the Portland Buckaroos, they would play at Moda Center. I would pick Portland over Seattle since a team in Seattle would be too close to Vancouver and would have to compete with the Canucks for market share, and it would also have to compete with the Seahawks, SuperSonics, and Mariners. A team in Portland on the other hand would only have to compete with the Trail Blazers, and that's it. Plenty of hockey fans in Seattle suburbs would drive down to Portland to watch the Buckaroos, as would hockey fans in Salem and Eugene that would drive north.
Another two expansion teams would be added to start in the 2000-01 season. By this point, I would decide to add a couple of teams east of the Mississippi, as I've already planted plenty of teams west of it. These two teams would be the Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets.
I would approve of both these markets joining the NHL. Even though Nashville is a southern market, it's a market that in retrospect I feel would work, as it's close to cities like St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, and Pittsburgh, it doesn't have that much to compete with besides the Tennessee Titans, and with the gimmick of live country music being played during the intermissions, it's definitely a market I would see working if I were commissioner. The reason why I would've waited a bit later than in the real events is because I would've wanted to focus on 4-season markets I know would work before gambling with a southern market.
The next would be Columbus. Not only is it a big 4-season city, but it also lacks an NFL, NBA, or MLB team, so it wouldn't have to compete with anybody.
Also, by this season, the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul would be finished, so the Minnesota Wild would start playing there this season, instead of at the Target Center.
As for anything after 2001, anything can happen from that point, which is why I'm stopping here. We would already have a 30 team league we would want to stick with for a while. Perhaps down the line, the Florida Panthers would run into financial trouble and get relocated to Winnipeg or Quebec City, maybe the league would expand to 32 teams, who knows?
Skip here if you want a quick recap.
1993-94: No change from real events.
Divisions change names from Adams, Patrick, Norris, and Smythe to Atlantic, Northeast, Central, and Pacific respectively.
Florida Panthers join league as an expansion team, join Atlantic Division.
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim join league as an expansion team, join Pacific Division.
Minnesota North Stars relocate to Dallas and become the Dallas Stars, stay in Central Division.
1994-95: No change from real events.
1995-96: No change from real events.
Quebec Nordiques relocate to Denver and become the Colorado Avalanche, switch conferences and join Pacific Division.
1996-97: Winnipeg Jets relocate to Minneapolis and become the Minnesota Wild, stay in Central Division.
1997-98: Hartford Whalers relocate to West Valley City and become the Utah Grizzlies, switch conferences and join Pacific Division.
Colorado Avalanche join Central Division.
Toronto Maple Leafs switch conferences and join Northeast Division.
1998-99: Kansas City Scouts join league as an expansion team, join Central Division.
Portland Buckaroos join the league as an expansion team, join Pacific Division.
Utah Grizzlies join Central Division.
Detroit Red Wings switch conferences and join Northeast Division.
1999-00: No changes from previous season.
2000-01: Nashville Predators join league as an expansion team.
Columbus Blue Jackets join league as an expansion team.
Minnesota Wild make minor move from Minneapolis to St. Paul.
Division Realignment;
EAST
Atlantic: Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning
Metro: Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals
Northeast: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs
WEST
Pacific: Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Portland Buckaroos, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks
Mountain: Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Utah Grizzlies
Central: Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Kansas City Scouts, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues
As we all know, Gary Bettman is most definitely the most disliked person in the hockey world. Of course, when you're a commissioner, you're not there to win any popularity contests, quite the opposite actually. But one aspect about Bettman that tends to get the most flack is how he handled Expansion and Relocation, more specifically about his so called "Southern Strategy". Therefore, I decided to make this thread to ask y'all what you would've done if you were in Bettman's position, looking at it retrospectively from the perspective of someone in the 1990s, while ignoring the knowledge we have in 2019.
In this alternate timeline, you would've became commissioner in February 1993. Now, in any of these scenarios, the foundation of the Florida Panthers and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim would've still happened, as they were awarded by the NHL before Bettman took over. The Minnesota North Stars moving to Dallas and becoming the Dallas Stars would've still happened, as owner Norm Green had already chosen to relocate the team before Bettman took over (although he didn't announce it until after).
Now here comes the fun part, where we change history, or in the case of this first post, how I would change history. Let me know how you would've changed history in this regard in the comment section below.
To save time, skip to the next bolded statement to get to a quick recap of how things would play out in this alternate timeline.
Instead of focusing on a "Southern Strategy", I would be focusing on a "Western Strategy", by that I mean I would be looking at 4-season markets west of the Mississippi River that would support an NHL team. I would still be looking at US markets instead of Canadian ones, because US markets are more profitable, that's just the truth.
First, let's start with relocation.
One thing to know about relocation is that the decision is made by the owners, not the commissioner. The commissioner can certainly influence the matter, but the decision ultimately belongs to the owners.
Sorry to say, but in this alternate scenario with me as commissioner, the Nordiques, original Jets, and Whalers would have still left QC, Winnipeg, and Hartford respectively, as it would've been the owners who would've decided to move those teams out. The only difference here is in this scenario, only one of these teams would've gone to the same market as it did in the real events.
The Quebec Nordiques moving to Denver and becoming the Colorado Avalanche would've been a move I would've approved of, and still would've happened in this alternate scenario. Colorado is a 4-season market that is a hot spot for winter sports, it is a natural hockey market. Sure, the original Colorado Rockies may have failed, but that's because they were an abysmal team.
Now, here's where the timeline starts to change, and that's with the original Winnipeg Jets.
As commissioner, after having the North Stars relocate to Dallas, one of my top priorities would be trying to get a team back in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Minnesota is hockey's hotbed in the US, there's no reason to not have an NHL team there. The original Winnipeg Jets were supposed to relocate to Minnesota, the problem was that negotiations for a lease failed with the landlords of Target Center. I would've stepped in, and done what I could to influence the landlords to allow the team to stay at Target Center for a short time before a new stadium in St. Paul would be completed.
So, here's the first change in the timeline. Instead of relocating to Phoenix and becoming the Phoenix Coyotes, the original Winnipeg Jets would instead relocate to Minneapolis (eventually St. Paul) and become the Minnesota Wild. Minnesota's hockey drought would end in 1996 instead of 2000.
Next, we have the Hartford Whalers. It's worth noting that not only is North Carolina not a natural market for hockey, but also after relocating in the real events, the Carolina Hurricanes had to play in Greensboro while waiting for an arena to be built in Raleigh. Their arena wasn't ready yet.
Not only that, but during the Whaler's last season in Hartford, another arena was being built in West Valley City, Utah that would be finished by September 1997, right before the start of the 1997-98 regular season, that arena was the E Center (now the Maverik Center). Knowing about the Whalers' woes, I would've swayed Karmanos to relocate the team to Utah instead of North Carolina if relocation was absolutely necessary. Utah is a natural 4-season market where hockey would work, and it would make for a natural rivalry with the Colorado Avalanche, plus they already had an arena that would be ready in time. So in this scenario, the Hartford Whalers would relocate to West Valley City and become the Utah Grizzlies.
Next we get into expansion.
Two expansion teams would join the NHL, both starting in the 1998-99 season as they would already have NHL-ready arenas by then.
One of these teams would be in Kansas City, they would be the new Kansas City Scouts, they would play at Kemper Arena, where the previous Kansas City Scouts played. By this point in time, the Colorado Avalanche have already proven a market that failed previously could still be successful. Plus it would make for a great natural rivalry with the St. Louis Blues.
The other team would be in Portland, Oregon, they'd be the Portland Buckaroos, they would play at Moda Center. I would pick Portland over Seattle since a team in Seattle would be too close to Vancouver and would have to compete with the Canucks for market share, and it would also have to compete with the Seahawks, SuperSonics, and Mariners. A team in Portland on the other hand would only have to compete with the Trail Blazers, and that's it. Plenty of hockey fans in Seattle suburbs would drive down to Portland to watch the Buckaroos, as would hockey fans in Salem and Eugene that would drive north.
Another two expansion teams would be added to start in the 2000-01 season. By this point, I would decide to add a couple of teams east of the Mississippi, as I've already planted plenty of teams west of it. These two teams would be the Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets.
I would approve of both these markets joining the NHL. Even though Nashville is a southern market, it's a market that in retrospect I feel would work, as it's close to cities like St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, and Pittsburgh, it doesn't have that much to compete with besides the Tennessee Titans, and with the gimmick of live country music being played during the intermissions, it's definitely a market I would see working if I were commissioner. The reason why I would've waited a bit later than in the real events is because I would've wanted to focus on 4-season markets I know would work before gambling with a southern market.
The next would be Columbus. Not only is it a big 4-season city, but it also lacks an NFL, NBA, or MLB team, so it wouldn't have to compete with anybody.
Also, by this season, the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul would be finished, so the Minnesota Wild would start playing there this season, instead of at the Target Center.
As for anything after 2001, anything can happen from that point, which is why I'm stopping here. We would already have a 30 team league we would want to stick with for a while. Perhaps down the line, the Florida Panthers would run into financial trouble and get relocated to Winnipeg or Quebec City, maybe the league would expand to 32 teams, who knows?
Skip here if you want a quick recap.
1993-94: No change from real events.
Divisions change names from Adams, Patrick, Norris, and Smythe to Atlantic, Northeast, Central, and Pacific respectively.
Florida Panthers join league as an expansion team, join Atlantic Division.
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim join league as an expansion team, join Pacific Division.
Minnesota North Stars relocate to Dallas and become the Dallas Stars, stay in Central Division.
1994-95: No change from real events.
1995-96: No change from real events.
Quebec Nordiques relocate to Denver and become the Colorado Avalanche, switch conferences and join Pacific Division.
1996-97: Winnipeg Jets relocate to Minneapolis and become the Minnesota Wild, stay in Central Division.
1997-98: Hartford Whalers relocate to West Valley City and become the Utah Grizzlies, switch conferences and join Pacific Division.
Colorado Avalanche join Central Division.
Toronto Maple Leafs switch conferences and join Northeast Division.
1998-99: Kansas City Scouts join league as an expansion team, join Central Division.
Portland Buckaroos join the league as an expansion team, join Pacific Division.
Utah Grizzlies join Central Division.
Detroit Red Wings switch conferences and join Northeast Division.
1999-00: No changes from previous season.
2000-01: Nashville Predators join league as an expansion team.
Columbus Blue Jackets join league as an expansion team.
Minnesota Wild make minor move from Minneapolis to St. Paul.
Division Realignment;
EAST
Atlantic: Florida Panthers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning
Metro: Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals
Northeast: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs
WEST
Pacific: Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, Portland Buckaroos, San Jose Sharks, Vancouver Canucks
Mountain: Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Utah Grizzlies
Central: Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Kansas City Scouts, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues
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