NHL Board of Governors to approve opening of expansion process; Atlanta and Houston believed to be leading candidates

[LiveLongandProspal]

Relocate, don't expand. Enough of expansion. No more watering down the product.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

Actually even if they were "talented enough to be in it" there clearly weren't 40 players as talented as the players they took from other teams.

Otherwise why have an expansion draft.

You can also look at it this way. If Vegas and Seattle folded, would other teams not get better by way of picking up their best players?

I mean, you could reverse this argument and say that the league would greatly improve talent wise if they contracted to 6 teams.

Doesn't mean it's a good idea.

 

[KeyserSoze81]

Thank you

NHL teams are just desprate for expansion money and nothing else.

Yup, it's a Ponzi scheme. Have other people buy into a failing business model, all while share the expansion fees with their upstream partners. Surely Atlanta will support a team on their third attempt...

 

[Canadienna]

I mean, you could reverse this argument and say that the league would greatly improve talent wise if they contracted to 6 teams.

Doesn't mean it's a good idea.

I agree, I would never make that case.

I quoted somebody who claimed it had been disproven that the talent diluted with last expansions.

I was pointing out why that's false.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

I am happy with this

More NHL teams is good thing and its great if Houston finally is in. Should have been one of the late 90's expansion teams if not for the mutliple bids, potential legal fights, etc that sunk Houston's chances

And I think Atlanta will do great in suburbs like Braves. And area will only continue to grow

With all the speculation/interest reported this past year it's not surprising. And for this process to begin its clear NHL and those interested have been having preliminary talks for a while now

Atlanta and Houston seem safe bets for #33 and #34

Wonder if any other interested parties will put together enough of a bid to be #35 and #36

Yea because Atlanta always works out well. I’m sure the 3rd time will be much better

 

[PositiveCashFlow]

Yea because Atlanta always works out well. I’m sure the 3rd time will be much better

Worked out for Calgary and Winnipeg

 

[Viqsi]

Metro size is important, sure but look at Atlanta in the past - HUGE metro and they've lost two teams due to lack of interest.

This is incorrect. The second team was not lost due to fan interest, but due to deliberate sabotage by their ownership (who never wanted to own them in the first place but were obliged to buy them as a package deal to also get the arena and the basketball team).

 

[Albatros]

That's not the point. The point is twofold:
1) We have fans of all teams here and it's a dick move to kick folks while they're down, and
2) So many folks are perfectly happy to toss off "oh, just relocate teams" without considering the implications and impact that has on actual people.

So if you're going to push for relocation and claim it as a benefit, put your money where your mouth is and offer up your own team rather than obliging others to take the hit for it.

That's already been taken care of in the 1990s, but ultimately you move on and take it or leave it with the other teams. There are still several markets that have significantly stronger organizations within less than 200 miles. From Atlanta it's 250 to Nashville and from Houston about the same to Dallas.

 

[Viqsi]

Relocate, don't expand. Enough of expansion. No more watering down the product.

Let he or she who would take a team away from fans first volunteer his or her own. Absolutely no exceptions, no matter who you are or what team you're cheering for.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

I agree, I would never make that case.

I quoted somebody who claimed it had been disproven that the talent diluted with last expansions.

I was pointing out why that's false.

Ahh. Yeah that's fair. Obviously if there's 46 players not good enough to make the NHL that suddenly have NHL jobs because of two new 23 man rosters, it dilutes it.

 

[FiveFourteenSixOne]

Watering down the quality of the league is one way to ensure somebody manages to score 216 points in a season.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

this would have to be the format

european sports have this premise. a bedard-led team should be able to get to the A league within a couple years



agreed

but there's a way to pitch it*

double (?) the cap for the higher league, no cap floor for the lower league. you don't think owners of teams naturally rebuilding would be thrilled to not have to overpay for vets just to lose 55 games a year? the b-league teams playing only each other should be fairly competitive. parity on steroids.

meanwhile the a-league is basically an 8 month playoff

*i have less than zero faith in the NHL as is exists to pull it off

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Atlanta for a 3rd time lol

Houston makes sense but why the f*** do we need 34 teams? absurd the watering down of the product

Simple. The NHL still has the least amount of teams in the US out of the Big 4 leagues. Whether this is the right approach or not, that's one of the reasons.

 

[EpochLink]

The Atlanta market is massive for the NHL, getting in there again would be good for them.

Houston is the 4th largest population market in the US, that’s massive potential.

 

[Satans Hockey]

Saw someone else say this but it's amazing that the least popular of the "big 4" leagues is somehow going to end up with the most teams.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Worked out for Calgary and Winnipeg

Calgary who left in 1927?

And winnipeg who is barely holding on when the team stinks and wont likely last there?

Great examples.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Simple. The NHL still has the least amount of teams in the US out of the Big 4 leagues. Whether this is the right approach or not, that's one of the reasons.

That's a silly reason to continue to water down the product for a league that's not even close to the top 3 league in the US

 

[StickShift]

Not surprising. The NHL’s best product the last decade has been its expansion teams in Vegas and Seattle. They’ve handled expansion with them better than any other North American League ever has.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Damn the product quality. The owners got their taste of expansion fees and want more. Bring on a 56 team league!

 

[Viqsi]

Calgary who left in 1927?

And winnipeg who is barely holding on when the team stinks and wont likely last there?

Great examples.

Winnipeg's fine. They're solid on the two actual things that traditionally kill franchises - ownership and control of their home arena.

 

[StickShift]

Phase 1:
Atlanta
Houston

Phase 2:
Phoenix (redux)
San Diego

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Calgary who left in 1927?

And winnipeg who is barely holding on when the team stinks and wont likely last there?

Great examples.

huh? I don't see any proof they're "barely holding on"

 

[pabst blue ribbon]

If the league wants to market it star players more it needs to give them more opportunities to control/dominate games. Making the league average player and replacement level player marginally worse gives the elite more opportunities for this. Talent dilution is probably more beneficial than harmful for the league

 

[Satans Hockey]

Artificially inflate revenues via expansion fees while keeping ticket, concession, merchandise and viewing packages prohibitively expensive while making every team less likely to win anything. Neato! Fabulous idea.

You're also leaving out ads on jerseys, helmets, digital ads on the boards and more ads on the ice, physically and digitally imposed.

Those poor billionaires and millionaires don't make enough.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Seems like Bettman's run out of ideas to generate income other than through expansion fees.

Why think of ways to improve the existing product when you can just water it down and pull in revenue that way instead.