league expansion could be here very soon

[JATMtheJATM]

http://www.thefourthperiod.com/columnists/pagnotta/dp131130.html

quebec will almost certainly get the nords back. i imagine seattle will be next as they try to build their new arena. and toronto is about to build its new arena as well.

but alignment, thats a different animal. i wonder how this shakes out. remember, the league doesnt feel columbus can survive in the west anymore. if they stayed, they felt like the franchise was going to have to move at some point.

[black N yellow]

expansion?? How about a little rearranging..like moving the southern teams which lack support to Canadian cities which lost a team.

[DraftBoy]

Is expansion really a good idea?

[JATMtheJATM]

Is expansion really a good idea?

depends on how you look at it. with revenue sharing and the TV deal, the league can expand. with the lopsided conferences, the league planned for expansion.

[DraftBoy]

depends on how you look at it. with revenue sharing and the TV deal, the league can expand. with the lopsided conferences, the league planned for expansion.

Neither constitute good reasons to expand.

[JATMtheJATM]

Neither constitute good reasons to expand.

theres no reason not to either. 32 teams would be perfect. we will see what happens next year.

[DraftBoy]

theres no reason not to either. 32 teams would be perfect. we will see what happens next year.

Also not a good reason to expand.

[BuffaloRedleg]

Whalers FTW

[JATMtheJATM]

Whalers FTW

sadly. itll never happen. the league got too big for smaller regional cities like hartford. grand rapids, michigan wanted a team in the mid-late 90s. they built the arena to be easily expanded just in case. but now it probably wont ever happen. but quebec and seattle and eventually toronto are probably going to happen.

[OpIv37]

**** expansion. Give the Panthers to Quebec and Carolina to Seattle.

[YardRat]

Expansion is the last thing the NHL should be thinking about.

[jamze132]

Don't tell me the Sabres are going to regionalize and play some games in the Rogers Centre...

[gebobs]

Neither constitute good reasons to expand.

I abhor asymmetry.

[OpIv37]

depends on how you look at it. with revenue sharing and the TV deal, the league can expand. with the lopsided conferences, the league planned for expansion.

The solution is contraction, not expansion.

Carolina, Florida, Phoenix, Nashville, maybe even Dallas, TB or Columbus.

Move one to Seattle, move one to Quebec and just eliminate 2 more.

[JATMtheJATM]

The solution is contraction, not expansion.

Carolina, Florida, Phoenix, Nashville, maybe even Dallas, TB or Columbus.

Move one to Seattle, move one to Quebec and just eliminate 2 more.

to me, 28 teams would be perfect. 14/14 conference. every division 7 teams.

that said, the NHLPA would never allow contraction, unless team rosters were expanded from 23 to say 25 or 26.

[DetDannyWilliams]

Nobody showed up for Panthers-Senators

It's easy to pile on the Florida Panthers' attendance (or lack thereof), and all of this has to be prefaced with the facts: Florida is bad, the Ottawa Senators are bad, and they played on a Tuesday night.
But holy cow, was BB&T Center ever empty. http://www.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2013-12-03/florida-panthers-attendance-arena-photos-senators

[DetDannyWilliams]

we don't need expansion! move the Panthers to Seattle and move the BJ's to Quebec...there done!

[Downinfloflo]

You know what's crazy....The Sabres are only worth $10 million dollars more than the Panthers.

[JATMtheJATM]

You know what's crazy....The Sabres are only worth $10 million dollars more than the Panthers.

that doesnt mean much though. the panthers have lousy attendance and bleed money. sabres dont have much of an issue with attendance, and dont bleed money much, so they are much more stable.

[Downinfloflo]

that doesnt mean much though. the panthers have lousy attendance and bleed money. sabres dont have much of an issue with attendance, and dont bleed money much, so they are much more stable.

That will be put to the test these next 5 years.

[JATMtheJATM]

That will be put to the test these next 5 years.

i doubt it. the team has a fanatic owner, and a rabid fan base. i expect attendance to dip over the next season or two but that season ticket renewal rate and season ticket sales are astronomical.

[Downinfloflo]

It's also the Buffalo Bills fan base....And I can assure you, They are tired of rebuilding..Patience will wear quickly!

[JATMtheJATM]

It's also the Buffalo Bills fan base....And I can assure you, They are tired of rebuilding..Patience will wear quickly!

fans are already annoyed. i think as the rebuild take shapes and young players start to mature and contribute, fans will ease up. this year and next year are, in my opinion, the rough spots, and the team will start to trend upward in 15-16.

[ckg927]

sadly. itll never happen. the league got too big for smaller regional cities like hartford. grand rapids, michigan wanted a team in the mid-late 90s. they built the arena to be easily expanded just in case. but now it probably wont ever happen. but quebec and seattle and eventually toronto are probably going to happen.

If memory serves, SaskPlace(aka the Credit Union Centre)was built in part a few years after Bill Hunter's aborted plans to move the St. Louis Blues to Saskatoon-with an 18,000 seat arena as part of the plan. The CUC doesn't have that capacity, but it has passed the 15,000 capacity that the NHL prefers(putting it on par with the MTS Centre in Winnipeg and-soon-the Barclays Center).

[JATMtheJATM]

If memory serves, SaskPlace(aka the Credit Union Centre)was built in part a few years after Bill Hunter's aborted plans to move the St. Louis Blues to Saskatoon-with an 18,000 seat arena as part of the plan. The CUC doesn't have that capacity, but it has passed the 15,000 capacity that the NHL prefers(putting it on par with the MTS Centre in Winnipeg and-soon-the Barclays Center).

i dont think saskatoon is on the NHL radar.

[jdaltroy5]

The economy is a lot different now than when those teams left Canada. The loonie was sitting at $0.60 to the greenback. That wouldn't have that much of an impact to the Leafs or Habs, but for a smaller city like Winnipeg or Quebec, they just couldn't survive.

Now that the dollar is back to par, they want to just throw more teams back in Canada because it's a level playing field again.

They would definitely have to have some sort of provision for an equal dollar because the loonie is expected to dip again.

[JATMtheJATM]

quebec/toronto is on their radar. but sask? not so much.

[jdaltroy5]

quebec/toronto is on their radar. but sask? not so much.
I wouldn't jump the gun on Toronto.

The Markham arena project is nearly dead after city council voted against any public funding.

They have 6 months to come up with the 325mil on their own or the project is dead.

[Downinfloflo]

Hmmm....


With a new arena being built in Quebec City, an early target of the 2015-16 NHL season could result in the return of the Nordiques, via expansion.

[JATMtheJATM]

if quebec comes back, i expect detroit to move back west. the NHL has already said columbus cant survive out west any longer.

[Dude]

I wish Hartford was a viable location simply because the Whalers had the best logo in all of professional sports.

[Downinfloflo]

if quebec comes back, i expect detroit to move back west. the NHL has already said columbus cant survive out west any longer.

It will be Seattle...Wings stay where they are.

[JATMtheJATM]

It will be Seattle...Wings stay where they are.

they wont have the conferences be 15 west, 17 east. itll be 16 each. so if quebec comes in, detroit goes back.

[Ginger Vitis]

Expansion according to these sources is a few years away

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/nhl-expansion-just-a--media-driven--distraction-155937497.html


http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/shoalts-conference-imbalance-works-in-favour-of-seattle-and-las-vegas/article17560340/

[SpikedLemonade]

The Canadian dollar is down to 89 cents. That will suck the profitability of Canadian teams right out the window. Expansion will be delayed to Quebec City.