Expansion plans "Southward Ho" were set prior to Bettmans appointment; painting the guy as the one primarily responsible for the relo's out of Winnipeg, QC & Hartford is both revisionist & completely unfair. In wishing for a new Commissioner, be careful, because you could well wind up with one that is truly pro-American in terms of franchise location, possibly a contractionist, leaving Canada with 3 teams, let alone the possibility of 9 some sunny day.
All due respect, that's impossible. The CDN clubs are already sending loads of cash south to keep the NHL afloat through a good chunk of the US. Even if you contracted back to 21 teams, it's hard to imagine any scenario where even a single one of the CDN teams would be scrapped. The US owners would be insane to authorize something like that, no matter how pro-American any Bettman successor might be.
Of course not. Hockey is a MotherHood issue up here as you well know, however, when guys' like Shoalts, Brunt & McCown et al pour on the Kerosene it doesnt help matters for Canada or Canadian fans one little bit. Its absolutely undeniable that these guys along with many other pundits harbor simmering resentments' towards the league in general, Gary Bettman specifically. The medium is the message, they've got their soapboxes, they spew invective & theory that does nothing but lather up a wide swath of the fan base in forming opinion.
Ive wondered about this as well. We know the NHL's inflexible in its price & terms for a local sale, losses last year (09-10 @ $25M) and in staying put as they did for 10-11 with the COG providing $25M to cover losses, now reportedly as high as $40M, were looking at app. $205M. The league likes to claim franchise value is roughly $200M so either they get $205M from Hulsizer/COG or the same plus a $15-$25M relo fee from TNSE. Though I put no credence in Atlanta moving, hypothetically if they did, Im sure the NHL would charge TN whatever the difference in sale price might be with a relo fee in order to clear the bar of $200-$225M. Based on franchise values elsewhere, Id say thats actually a pretty reasonable & equitable price for Winnipeg or QC to pay for a relo'd team.
But that's crap. Tampa went for something like $110 million. Buffalo went for $175 million. The NHL can claim approximate franchise value of $200 million, but good luck getting it for about 75% of the teams in the league.
Also, the NHL can't just slap a tax on owners looking to sell clubs for relocation. It would wind up in a huge legal battle and put a chill on the franchise marketplace. Look at it this way. Atlanta Spirit sells to TNSE for $170 million, after it gets offers of half that to keep the team in the city. The NHL steps in and says no way, or maybe way, if you give us $100 million for a relocation fee to get up to what the league deems a franchise value to be. The deal then collapses.
Who's happy with this scenario? You've enraged the Atlanta owners and TNSE, and are also possibly forcing another bankruptcy scenario as the best way for the owners to escape. In the end, the NHL cannot force owners to operate with huge losses just because it wants to decide what teams are worth, or even what markets it wants to deal with. At some point, an existing owner is going to up and sell to a TNSE or Quebecor and force the issue. Then we'll see the NHL quietly cave.
Based on all of that, how comfortable would you feel buying an NHL club? Why sink money into a team outside of the core money makers like Toronto, Montreal, Philly, etc. if you would be forbidden by the league from even getting your money back if the only buyer during a sale demanded relocation?
The NHL has to be really careful with this sort of thing. You don't want a ton of uncontrolled relocation, but you can't hamstring the right to move, either, because that will incense some current owners and make possible new investors think twice. It's not like the NHL is working from a huge position of strength here, either. The league has at least six clubs in serious financial trouble, and more on the bubble.