NHL Nola Expansion

[Voight]

Salt Lake is not only growing. Goldman Sachs announced 350 new jobs in Utah last fall. They've been expanding there for years. That's one example. Who is expanding in Louisiana. Also its wealthier. Per capita income in Utah is twice Louisiana. Also Utah doesn't have NFL. Even college football, LSU's stadium holds almost as many as Utah and BYU combined.

I'll add that Utah is/was the fastest growing state. Their population grew by almost a quarter from 2010 to 2023.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/fastest-growing-states

We all saw the video of that guy playing hockey on a frozen Bourbon street last month, clearly the NHL did too

In all seriousness, this seems like an avenue to get back into the ECHL. New Orleans isn't a big market and already has NFL and NBA, plus LSU football is a big deal there and isn't far away, NHL just seems like way too much of a stretch.



Owner of the Monroe Mocassins I think. I think it was at the introduction of the new team and he stated his desire to see the NHL in New Orleans.

Sounds like a late 1800's MLB team

 

[aqib]

So I take it by 2032 we will be at about 40 teams?




But make them count instead of using X games.

Yep. I am talking about regular season games.

Oversaturating an already too-big league with more southern markets that will have zero national appeal and a small local fanbase is not fun. New Orleans is a horrible expansion idea for a number of reasons already mentioned throughout this thread.

The Stanley cup means less when it's a random crapshoot and winning it becomes more and more of a lottery. The idea that it means more just because there are more teams is unbearably naive.

I honestly can't believe there are people here who want to go higher than 32.

I agree New Orleans is a horrible idea, but there are markets that can and would support a team well. No one is going to move any time soon so filling these other markets would require expansion. Also with the explosion of media outlets there is more demand for games to broadcast which requires more teams.

 

[KevFu]

I can also see them taking a shot at the AHL, and can see that working if it's done right. The NHL is a whole different situation, though. Way to much money involved, and I don't think there's enough corporate support to make it sustainable in the long run.

Absolutely. I'd think minor league hockey could work in NOLA.

One of the things that bugs me is how the NHL just has never bought the entire AHL outright. We've seen TEAMS buy AHL teams and move them so their affiliates are in better places. But having AHL teams in like, 25 of the top 32 markets without NHL teams would make a lot of sense.

Obviously you don't want to be like "Ottawa's AHL team is in San Antonio" but a dozen of the matchups are already perfect (ANA-San Diego, BOS-Providence, NYR-Hartford, etc), and another dozen or would be pretty easy to line up. And you leave some of the charming small-town ones like Hershey and either Laval or Belleville, simply because you're not putting Ottawa's team in Indianapolis or Memphis or something crazy like that.

 

[JMCx4]

... Sounds like a late 1800's MLB team

In reality, it sounds JUST like the name of a Western Pro Hockey League team in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Tempted the Monroe FPHL franchise owner to rebrand it for attracting lingering hockey fans in the market. His early business success in very low minor pro hockey may just yield more bombastic quotes on the NOLA resurrection topic ... stay tuned ...

 

[Daximus]

Been designing a bunch of NHL Expansion team ideas figured I'd share this one. I'm not from New Orleans so I don't know the history as in depth as the people who live in and around it but I had an idea for team.

New Orleans Corsairs. MLB and NFL already have pirate themed teams so it's time the NHL get in on the action. I went with an undead pirate because undead pirates are cooler than regular pirates. This is just a rough look so please be kind. Went with the Mardi Gras palette because it's cool. Okay now tell me how terrible these are.

 

[Daximus]

Changed up the colors a little bit as I thought adding white to the secondary logos might make them pop better.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Solid crack at a design. Not sure if I'm a fan of the Corsair moniker, as I don't think New Orleans Corsairs rolls off the tongue, but solid logo and color combination. I'm all about prominent usage of the fleur-de-lis anywhere and everywhere, too.

 

[Daximus]

Solid crack at a design. Not sure if I'm a fan of the Corsair moniker, as I don't think New Orleans Corsairs rolls off the tongue, but solid logo and color combination. I'm all about prominent usage of the fleur-de-lis anywhere and everywhere, too.

Thanks! I was going for something a little bit more fun. Really wanted to do a pirate logo and thought the NHL could use some piracy. Also really like the Corsair moniker and it being a French word I thought it fit in New Orleans the best.

 

[adsfan]

Why not bring back neutral site games? Not just as a way to "test expansion" markets but grow the game that way. There are many markets that may not be able to support a team for 41 games but would sell out 2-3. They would take a random game that isn't necessarily a premium matchup. Like I don't thing Oilers fans would complain if their game against the Ducks got moved to Portland. Would it be a big deal if Nashville-St Louis was played in New Orleans? Now if you're a hockey fan in New Orleans you'd go to that game just to see NHL hockey.

I want the Preds to play in Milwaukee first.

I will never go to see a Chicago-Minnesota preseason game, even if they paid me $100!

Milwaukee averaged 13K the last time they played neutral site games. Since then, we lost M&I Bank and Miller Brewing HQs

 

[aqib]

I would think resurrecting the New Orleans Brass name would be the move for whatever team they get (AHL, ECHL). I thought the Pelicans should have used that name.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Thanks! I was going for something a little bit more fun. Really wanted to do a pirate logo and thought the NHL could use some piracy. Also really like the Corsair moniker and it being a French word I thought it fit in New Orleans the best.

Oh sure, Corsairs as a concept fits very well. I just personally don't think the cadence of "New Orleans Corsairs" works all too well. Certainly better than hockey club, though, or Pelicans.

I do second Brass as a team name option. Music and mardis gras are the most famous aspects of New Orleans culture, so leaning into that is where I'd cast my ballot. Jazz and Blues sadly not an option, and Soul would seem forced, so Brass might be the best music option.

Krewe is a very local option that could work, albeit one that confuses 95% of folks not from New Orleans. Voodoo also seems like an idea that'd be popular but get backlash, too.

In terms of locality and history, Deltas and Privateers are options as well, though I'd say that the latter is awkward akin to my complaint regarding the Corsairs.

And obviously, not saying a team should limit themselves to something specifically local. For all we know, they really want to be the Dragons or something if they get a team. Don't have to have a hyper-localized team name, after all.

 

[Cams]

Oversaturating an already too-big league with more southern markets that will have zero national appeal and a small local fanbase is not fun. New Orleans is a horrible expansion idea for a number of reasons already mentioned throughout this thread.

The Stanley cup means less when it's a random crapshoot and winning it becomes more and more of a lottery. The idea that it means more just because there are more teams is unbearably naive.

I honestly can't believe there are people here who want to go higher than 32.

Agreed - They can't expand anymore. Move a franchise sure, but New Orleans??? I don't see it surviving. It didn't work in Arizona, failed in Atlanta twice. The NHL has to realize you can't force a fan base to accept a new team in a sport that will probably never be near the top of fans interest - in many of these cities you would be trying to compete with NASCAR, NBA, NFL, NCAAB, NCAAF.

Quebec City I am pretty sure has new arena ready for a team. Didn't KC recently build an arena that would be NHL ready???

In my opinion, a place like Quebec City should be at the top of the list - restore the old Montreal - Quebec rivalry.

Also...the NHL needs to be in a city where the fans are going to be in the seats all the time. Not just when they are winning - which seems to be an American problem. A lot of times fans just don't go if your team isn't very good, and you can see by the attendance records on hockeydb this being the case in places like San Jose recently, Buffalo, Carolina (when not a top team).

Probably a good idea to look at the way does revenue sharing/salary cap type things as well. Also scheduling and playoff format kind of need a review in my opinion.

 

[thebeernerd]

I don't remember how the old ECHL New Orleans Brass drew, but the reason why they left is because the state of Louisiana sided with the Hornets/Pelicans (whatever they were called at the time) in saying that the Brass had to pay for their own icemaking. And I'm sure their numbers never approached, say, the Houston Aeros, who were consistently top of the AHL in attendance until they were forced out by the Rockets owner and the Wild's desire to put them closer to Minnesota.

Any move back to N'awlins will probably need to get that icemaking capability back for the Smoothie King Center. Even then, it's firmly not in the top four markets. That goes Houston, Atlanta, Quebec City, and Phoenix for me.

 

[GKJ]

Changed up the colors a little bit as I thought adding white to the secondary logos might make them pop better.

I like it. Captures the essence of the city more than the Saints or Pelicans do

 

[OG6ix]

The Habs long last rival - The french quarter

 

[Chan790]

Quebec City I am pretty sure has new arena ready for a team. Didn't KC recently build an arena that would be NHL ready???

I have the vague sense that the NHL is about as interested in ever returning to QC as Bettman is in having his toes removed. Which is to say "not at all." I wish they'd just be honest about that with the people of Quebec rather than stringing them along for hope and money.

It seems obvious that the NHL's main criteria are:
1.) Not in the US Northeast or Eastern Canada.
2.) Major cities, ideally in the US.
3.) Expansion into nontraditional hockey markets.

I'm pretty sure being comparably large and wealthy cities... they'd shove a square peg to make NOLA fit rather than choose QC. NOLA seems like a long shot, QC seems like a dead dog.

 

[PistolPete]

The Stanley cup means less when it's a random crapshoot and winning it becomes more and more of a lottery. The idea that it means more just because there are more teams is unbearably naive.

Why would the Stabley Cup mean less?

NCAA football and basketball championships are highly sought after despite the number of colleges competing.

The UEFA Champions league and the CHL in hockey are highly desirable despite being open to over 100 teams.

It could be argued can it not that the mire teams there are to win it the more important it will be to fans everywhere compared to a closed competition of only 32 teams?

For example, how much more interest would fans in AHL cities have if there team competed in a SCPO? One of the things- besides betting- that garners ibteret in the March Madness is the sheer number of schools that can qualify and then the upsets.

 

[dj4aces]

Why would the Stabley Cup mean less?

The argument I've seen from people is, with more teams, there's less of a chance their team will win the Cup, so it means less to them. What they forget is, in the playoffs, anything can happen. All it takes is a key injury, a scoring slump, an undisciplined team falling flat on the PK, and you have a Cup final where your team is in it.

The reality isn't that the Cup means less, it's that they're anti-expansion and are trying to come up with justification that doesn't include the usual suspects of "32 is perfect", "talent dilution", or "expansion? we should be contracting".

 

[PistolPete]

The argument I've seen from people is, with more teams, there's less of a chance their team will win the Cup, so it means less to them. What they forget is, in the playoffs, anything can happen. All it takes is a key injury, a scoring slump, an undisciplined team falling flat on the PK, and you have a Cup final where your team is in it.

This argument makes no sense to me since it's not as if a of the teams have an equal chance of winning as if it's a raffle and everyone has only one ticket.

Given the disparity in talent, it's already more like a raffle where some people have 20 tickets and others just 1.

The irony is these same people will likely argue that 7 games is perfect, often citing the reduced role of luck to win.

Well, a greater role of luck as a factor actually increases the chances of lower seeded teams to advance.

Given this lack of logic I think you're right, it's just an anti-expansion version of grasping at straws

 

[GindyDraws]

You're right, this is a proactive way to grow the game. The NHL has struggled more than any other top tier pro sports league to have broad appeal on the national level.

Dropping in neutral site games in potential expansion markets like Portland, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, others that simply suit neutral games like NOLA, QC, KC, and even playing one-off games in smaller AHL-sized markets is a great way to reward existing fans and expand fan bases.

Is the league just too conservative or timid to think of this?

They did this in the early 90s.

 

[Takuto Maruki]

The argument I've seen from people is, with more teams, there's less of a chance their team will win the Cup, so it means less to them. What they forget is, in the playoffs, anything can happen. All it takes is a key injury, a scoring slump, an undisciplined team falling flat on the PK, and you have a Cup final where your team is in it.

The reality isn't that the Cup means less, it's that they're anti-expansion and are trying to come up with justification that doesn't include the usual suspects of "32 is perfect", "talent dilution", or "expansion? we should be contracting".

In reality, if it isn't for the explosion of expansion in the late 70's, early 80's, and the subsequent boom periods both leagues had with inarguably their most *important* players in league histories in Bird, Johnson, later Jordan, and Gretzky, then the NHL *and* NBA are still second tier sports basically beating the brains out of each other to get fall/winter eyeballs in the majority of US markets while the NFL is slowly rising in the same timeframe. Again, a lot of the anti-expansion zealots forget that the NHL wasn't the one to latch onto Gretz first, the dying WHA did, and it was the Oilers who benefitted the most from it by going from likely bottom feeder in the new Canadian hockey TV set up, to arguably the next important level in the pyramid after MTL and TOR, alongside VAN. If they had their way, I guarantee that Gretzky would have been dispersed to a more 'preferable' teams roster and both the Jets and Oilers would be dead by the time the 80's ended, if not earlier.

 

[Spydey629]

Been designing a bunch of NHL Expansion team ideas figured I'd share this one. I'm not from New Orleans so I don't know the history as in depth as the people who live in and around it but I had an idea for team.

New Orleans Corsairs. MLB and NFL already have pirate themed teams so it's time the NHL get in on the action. I went with an undead pirate because undead pirates are cooler than regular pirates. This is just a rough look so please be kind. Went with the Mardi Gras palette because it's cool. Okay now tell me how terrible these are.

Love the idea. Can't help to wonder if the New Orleans University Privateers would be okay with it though...