NHL Expansion back on agenda?

[GreenHornet]

atlanta LOL just leave that awful place permantly already oh well quebec city by 2050 if atlanta comes cause we know it wont last AGAIN.

Oy, THIS crap again.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

Put a team in Quebec City. Right that wrong, once and for all.

The wrong was righted when Nordiques left, Quebec should never have gotten the an NHL team in the first place. That whole WHA merger was a bullshit move by idiot Zeigler.

 

[BMN]

They want Houston and Atlanta, circumstances are lining up that they'll have owners, so that's why they're going to open up now. I still have a mild amount of skepticism about both (skepticism not about the markets "working" or anything like that, just ownership logistics). But is there anywhere else anyone here can think of that opening up a process would be catered to?

atlanta LOL just leave that awful place permantly already oh well quebec city by 2050 if atlanta comes cause we know it wont last AGAIN.

Oy, THIS crap again.

To be fair, @GreenHornet , we also have half this thread $#!++!ng on the idea that Quebec City could work but we're basing that on hypotheticals also. Let no one say this board doesn't love a good flogging.

Re: "this crap again" whenever the topic of Atlanta pops up, it's really hard to frame the conversation correctly. As some of us have said in other threads, if the league grants Krause (or Carter) a franchise, this isn't even like going back to Atlanta the third time.......it's going to north metro for the FIRST time. But it's hard to frame it in those terms for a national or international discussion.

It's a lot like if the NHL decided to go to Cleveland. If someone told me "well it didn't work the first time," I'd reply "Richfield didn't work the first time..."

 

[aqib]

Can we not talk about Quebec

Feel free to ignore Quebec posts. Freedom of speech is still a thing.

 

[GKJ]

It doesn’t feel like it was never not on the agenda

 

[Melrose Munch]

Feel free to ignore Quebec posts. Freedom of speech is still a thing.

But seriously a us poster brought it up to mock Canadians. Do you think the league wants to go there? They pretty clearly want Houston and Atlanta.

The wrong was righted when Nordiques left, Quebec should never have gotten the an NHL team in the first place. That whole WHA merger was a bullshit move by idiot Zeigler.

It was the right move to prevent another WHA. Hockey was still (is) a Canadian Sport based in Montreal.
But it was 40 years ago. Let's move on.

 

[ORRFForever]

The wrong was righted when Nordiques left, Quebec should never have gotten the an NHL team in the first place. That whole WHA merger was a bullshit move by idiot Zeigler.

 

[GindyDraws]

Fertitta is worth 10 billion. He can afford it. I think he wants a new arena, and Houston and Harris County told him there won't be one without an NHL expansion team.

He CAN afford it. The question is will he actually pay the money, or will he just go buy another casino or steakhouse chain.

 

[voyageur]

I'd be surprised if it's an actual "process" like it was for LV round.

I think the NHL has targeted Hou and ATL. They want those markets after they have basically exhausted all non NBA markets (got into LV and SEA before NBA did).

Houston, really 2 questions. 1 will Fertitia pay the price the NHL wants which is going to be over $1 billion USD. Second is the arena. Will a big renovation be around the corner as the arena is 21 years old now or will they build a new one. Think it is located in the right place, so a reno should be all that is needed to secure another 25 years.

ATL, as I understand have 2 parties looking at building a new arena. NHL is going to have to pick from one of those.

I think you are dead on. The NHL has been choosing its markets since it began the expansion process in 2015. Vegas was a shoe-in. Seattle would have been in earlier, but the NHL had to wait out all the red tape around retrofitting Key Arena.

The NHL have been sniffing out Houston for at least the last 5 years. I think Ryan Smith getting the Coyotes might have been the wakeup call for Fertitta that he will get passed over if he doesn't pony up. TNT getting back into hockey bodes well for Atlanta. Guaranteed that the league is looking at some big time corporate sponsors in both cities to add to the league brand.

And let's face it, there are 3 Canadian teams struggling to fill their rinks this year, where you see non traditional markets, that are winning regularly, becoming among the attendance leaders in the league. The landscape of hockey is changing. And if nothing else expansion fees keeps the profit margins going from top to bottom.

It's a matter of time.

I really hope expansion subsequently changes the current divisional format and playoff format.

 

[HockeyScotty]

The wrong was righted when Nordiques left, Quebec should never have gotten the an NHL team in the first place. That whole WHA merger was a bullshit move by idiot Zeigler.

And proof that the snub of the Aeros being a part of the merger was short sighted.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

And proof that the snub of the Aeros being a part of the merger was short sighted.

Yeah Houston was the WHA market the NHL should have brought in but that was how the NHL rolled with Zeigler in charge.

 

[Melrose Munch]

He CAN afford it. The question is will he actually pay the money, or will he just go buy another casino or steakhouse chain.

He'll pay. Does he want a new arena? Because sounds like that's the deal.

Yeah Houston was the WHA market the NHL should have brought in but that was how the NHL rolled with Zeigler in charge.

There was no proof Houston would work.

 

[voyageur]

Yeah Houston was the WHA market the NHL should have brought in but that was how the NHL rolled with Zeigler in charge

The landscape of the late 70s NHL was entirely different. There was no U.S. TV money keeping the league going. Molson's ran the league. CBC subsidized it, with 3 Canadian owners taking in all that revenue. Bankruptcy was problem for several U.S markets: Washington, Pittsburgh, St. Louis. K.C moved to Denver and were epicly struggling. Cleveland folded, which was the franchise I believe Houston's owner was trying to purchase before he folded the Aeros, realising the NHL wasn't going to take him in. Atlanta moved 2 years later. There was no guarantees beyond Chicago and L.A in the West, in the U.S at that time, and I am not surprised the NHL owners didn't want to take that gamble, as Texas wouldn't have only increased travel costs for everyone, with little guarantee of profits.