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Assuming the NHL expands to 36 teams, what will schedule look like?

Golden_Jet said:
Hard to say if they expand or not , it’s been about 22 years for the NBA and about 28 years for MLB since expansion.
They obviously aren’t in any hurry to expand.
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Zeitgeist is the same now as it was back in the 90s when all 3 leagues expanded (NHL, NBA, MLB). i may be reading the room wrong but that same je ne sais quoi seems to permeate the business talk that preceded all of the previous expansions.
 
PistolPete said:
Zeitgeist is the same now as it was back in the 90s when all 3 leagues expanded (NHL, NBA, MLB). i may be reading the room wrong but that same je ne sais quoi seems to permeate the business talk that preceded all of the previous expansions.
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Sure go with zeitgeist then, lol.
 
Am I the only one who doesn't get how KC is always a topic when expansion comes up?

Western Missouri/Kansas market doesn't exactly scream hockey hotbed.
 
FriendlyGhost92 said:
Am I the only one who doesn't get how KC is always a topic when expansion comes up?

Western Missouri/Kansas market doesn't exactly scream hockey hotbed.
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You’d be surprised. Look at St. Louis. One of the best hockey cities in the nhl.
 
FriendlyGhost92 said:
I. Do. Not. Care.

They are not a Top 3 American fan base. That's laughable homerism.
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I would agree with you.

I looked into merchandise sales and social media followers. St. Louis wasn’t near the top.

Their TV ratings are poor and declined in 2024. I imagine that they were better for the 2025 season.
 
PistolPete said:
It seems to be a given that the NHL will expand to 36 teams, so how do people see the structure and schedule?

4 divisions of 9? 6 divisions of 6? 12 divisions of 3?

And will they be able to ensure all teams play each other at least twice? That would account for 70 games right there. If they had a division of 6 it'd add another 10 games but then they only have 80 and need to come up with something for the other 2 games.

And the playoffs- they stick to 16? Go with a play in? Or revert to the 70s and grant a bye for the higher seeded team while allowing 24 teams in?

Or maybe they go completely crazy and revert to the 80s and allow 32 of 36 teams, add a whole other round of best of 3? best of 5? Sports leagues are all about making as much money as possible after all.
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Option 1..

35x2=70. 9 4-team groups for 12 more games

Option 2...

4 9 team divisions
54=2x27 outside duvision
24=3x8 within division
78 g
You could have teams pkay 1-3 more games against other teams. This could include 2 additional games internationally.

6 6 team div
30x2=60
5x4 for 20


All options-' 24 team playoffs

I would also have group pkay fiv clinched spot

Rest comf out of st large wild card up to 24 teams based onb70g head to head


The group/ div games are premarked as being for WC standings
 
PistolPete said:
To add to your point, there's no way the NBA and MLB don't expand to 32 teams in the very near future.

Something a lot of fans hate to admit to themselves is these leagues are a business and businesses love to grow- not only revenues but sheer size. Too remain stagnant at a given number is a scary idea since it is equated with an apex that has nowhere to go but down. Owners don't even consider dilution of talent or have an idea of the perfect number of teams, they just see a business.
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Precisely...If business called for 46 teams, I'm sure they would continue to build towards this.
 
We need at least 36 to have a 32 team playoffs without letting every team in now

Houston
Phoenix
Atlanta
and one more (San Diego, Orlando, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Milwaukee?)

But we're already at 82 games a season, down from 84. with 16 more teams in the playoffs it will be a nightmare for those teams in the conference and cup finals.

Unless they go to a 5 game series for the first two rounds (or more likely they'll do just the first) they'll need to chop games off the regular season.
The teams would very much be interested in more of a chance to make the playoffs to get that sweet, sweet playoff money which equals the revenue of the regular season for each round.
 
LuckyDay said:
We need at least 36 to have a 32 team playoffs without letting every team in now

Houston
Phoenix
Atlanta
and one more (San Diego, Orlando, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Milwaukee?)

But we're already at 82 games a season, down from 84. with 16 more teams in the playoffs it will be a nightmare for those teams in the conference and cup finals.

Unless they go to a 5 game series for the first two rounds (or more likely they'll do just the first) they'll need to chop games off the regular season.
The teams would very much be interested in more of a chance to make the playoffs to get that sweet, sweet playoff money which equals the revenue of the regular season for each round.
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if they did a 32 team PO, they could do three rounds of 4 games and two rounds of 7 games and still end up with one extra PO game (17 to 29 vs. 16 to 28)
 
Northernhawk said:
Pacific-Phoenix
Central-Houston
Metro-Atlanta
Atlantic-Quebec City
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The insistence on a team in Quebec City by so many posters is amusing.

No potential beyond Winnipeg's revenue stream

No one wants to play there (even back in the 90s they were having problems with players balking at going to Quebec)

Language barrier
 
With 36 teams they shouldn't have divisions, just have two conferences of 18 teams. 1-8 seeds make the playoffs with a single elimination play in tourney between the #'s 8, 9, 10, and 11 seeds to determine the #8 seed.
 
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