Speculation: NHL gearing up for another round of expansion!

[Drumman44]

Not sure how to mesh the feeling of a “watered down” product as compared to how well the game appears to be doing with youth? In Illinois the Blackhawks have had a huge impact on kids playing hockey. Wouldn’t more participation lead to more and better players?

Colloquially it seems NHL forwards are in the best shape they’ve ever been with even third line guys having really great offensive skills.

Or is it true that playing hockey as a kid in Canada is simply out of reach for middle class families?

Also I kind of want to see Toronto get a second team with a more “working class” feel akin to the White Sox of old around here.

 

[Bubba88]

Bedard is going to have 200 point seasons in 5 years at this rate. I hate the expansion. Building through the draft is going to be rough. How many players from each draft class play even 100 games in the NHL? A dozen?

40 more players get the chance to get to 100 or more games played
It will only increase the odds to get more players to play the games. They won't be good, but they get to play

 

[dj Mahoney]

All the more reason to move up in the draft a couple more times to possibly have less players but better players .

 

[x Tame Impala]

I'm happy we'll have two more drafts and already have Bedard before this expansion kicks in.

 

[DisgruntledHawkFan]

Anybody surprised is a fool. Capitalism baby!

 

[u2wojo]

prime Seth Jones will be the jewel of the expansion draft.

 

[x Tame Impala]

prime Seth Jones will be the jewel of the expansion draft.

Not with that NMC he won't be. Although maybe he'd waive for Houston

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

This league is watered down as it is. Why does Atlanta deserve a 3rd shot?

2 words - expansion fee. You're looking at roughly $2B to split between the 32 owners. They're each going to get a check for roughly $60M. That's the long and short of it.

EDIT- heard the fee is actually $1.2B, so that is about 75+m per owner.

 

[HeisenBaez]

This league is watered down as it is. Why does Atlanta deserve a 3rd shot?

Absolutely. I'm all for expansion but ATL can eff the right off. I rather see NY get a fourth team instead of ATL getting another chance.

 

[TLEH]

Atlanta and Houston can easily support a franchise. I just think the league doesn’t have the talent to support 34 teams.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Houston and Atlanta (Utah as well) are getting teams because they have the corporate sponsorship to buy up tickets 41 games a year. They're not going to put a team in Quebec where they have to rely on 15,000 "die hard" hockey fans to be at 90+% capacity every game. Tickets are expensive and apparently Canadians are feeling the economic squeeze even worse than we are here in the states. It's hard to justify spending hundreds of dollars on a hockey game when money is tight.