NHL Expansion back on agenda?

[BMN]

Quebec is definitely in the mix. I believe another expansion round will end at 36 teams. One team per geographic location. Of the current three everyone is talking about, Arizona, Atlanta and Houston, only Houston would have an NHL ready arena to play in....barely. An upgrade would be needed.

Apropos of nothing, it would be kind of oddly fitting (given how much this thread alone provoked mostly messages about Atlanta and Quebec) if somewhere in the far-flung future, the NHL did return to Quebec City and their first game was against Atlanta v3.0. I often forget the Nordiques' first NHL game was vs. the Flames...

 

[GKJ]

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.

That's why I don't think it will be a "process". The NHL should have spoken to Fertittia and the 2 ATL groups. They should have their answers now. This should all go more like the Seattle than it did for LV. All of the work is being or has been done behind the scenes already.

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.

Attendance means a lot less than it did. Florida was death for attendance for the balance of their existence, and now it’s like that almost never happened. Sure, you need people in the building, but he a good franchise and the people will show, but more importantly, they will watch and they will have corporate support

Elliotte Friedman said last season, it’s in the Houston thread, that he thinks there’s a second Houston group that has motivated Fertitta. But the league still seems to want him more than he wants them. Does he want to own a team just to keep others out? Does he just want a team to get a new building? Or does he want to own a team because he is investing in hockey. That’s the difference between him and Ryan Smith or either Atlanta owner, and even Vegas and Seattle.

There just seems to be a lot of landmines around Houston if they’re going with Fertitta, the idea sounds a lot better but we know nothing about the execution. I’d be worried this is setting up similar to the Thrashers where he may just decide he got the building and give up when he loses interest.

 

[OG6ix]

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.

It wasn't the fans it was the ownership that didn't want hockey nor did they want a hockey team in the arena after selling. They never had a chance.

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

When you have winnipeg and ottawa struggling at times why go back to an even smaller market? There's also very little upside to add to a tv contract which is where all sports are now and the NHL wants to be too.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Kansas city maybe? i really dont think there gonna give quebec a team only chance is if one fails again and needs to be moved quebec has arena already waiting then.

QC failed each time they've had a team. They don't deserve a team.

See, I can post uneducated opinions too.

 

[Tawnos]

QC failed each time they've had a team. They don't deserve a team.

See, I can post uneducated opinions too.

Yep, each time.

And the 1920 relocation of the Bulldogs to Hamilton bears exactly the same relevance to the modern economics of the NHL as the relocation of the Flames to Calgary.... which is to say, no relevance at all.

 

[TheLegend]

yep for 15 years max lol enjoy it. i know i will when you forced to move again cause i will be hear saying itold you so

“I told you so”

Ahh yes….. HF is so full of experts on the subject.

Arizona was a last minute desperation move by the league when Gluckstien and Burke couldn’t get an arena deal done in Minnesota.

They lasted 28 years in spite of a revolving door of bad owners (vetted by the league), and bad decision on arena location and 18 years worth of predictions from same HF “experts” they were “100% sure going to be relocating the following year.”

Frankly speaking if I were a betting man for a living m the last place I would look for wagering advice would be HFBoards.

Now….. If Atlanta puts together a bad ownership group full of wannabes then you’re prediction might come true.

That won’t be Atlanta’s fault as a market. Just like it wasn’t Arizona’s.

 

[hockey20000]

“I told you so”

Ahh yes….. HF is so full of experts on the subject.

Arizona was a last minute desperation move by the league when Gluckstien and Burke couldn’t get an arena deal done in Minnesota.

They lasted 28 years in spite of a revolving door of bad owners (vetted by the league), and bad decision on arena location and 18 years worth of predictions from same HF “experts” they were “100% sure going to be relocating the following year.”

Frankly speaking if I were a betting man for a living m the last place I would look for wagering advice would be HFBoards.

Now….. If Atlanta puts together a bad ownership group full of wannabes then you’re prediction might come true.

That won’t be Atlanta’s fault as a market. Just like it wasn’t Arizona’s.

its georgia there attendance wasnt good anyway lol who wants to watch hockey in georgia come on now. if your gonna put a team down in america pick a hockey state.

 

[TheLegend]

its georgia there attendance wasnt good anyway lol who wants to watch hockey in georgia come on now. if your gonna put a team down in america pick a hockey state.

And I will remind you that Ottawa, for a while, was subject of the same things you’re projecting about Atlanta. And they’re still not out of the woods either.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

its georgia there attendance wasnt good anyway lol who wants to watch hockey in georgia come on now. if your gonna put a team down in america pick a hockey state.

Not sure if you saw, but Carolina, Tampa, Florida, and Dallas were all top-10 in attendance last season (all more than Ottawa by the way). Nashville was 100% sold out.

 

[uhlaw97]

This renovation to the Toyota Center last year should have made it clear to everyone that Fertitta had something like this in mind.