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

[Jumptheshark]

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...

it is a ponzi scheme...In my opinion and I suspect we will be seeing questionable owners coming in and causing grief. The NHL does not have that huge TV deal everyone else has and I do no see them getting one soon.

I posted this before

there are
32 NFL teams
30 NBA teams
30 MLB team

They all have huge TV deals to prop up the teams--the nhl does not have that deal. It is a gate driven sport and by all indications we are heading into a dozey of a recession. Some ticket prices are already so high that long time season ticket holders are walking away.

There is a breaking point

 

[brentashton]

Phase 1:
Atlanta
Houston

Phase 2:
Phoenix (redux)
San Diego

I think the first three are where it will land.

I also know San Diego Gulls are well supported as an AHL club but, can SoCal support another NHL team? LA, Anaheim already, who both have solid fan bases and ST a numbers. But I wonder if they are saturated for NHL hockey…

 

[Tawnos]

I think the first three are where it will land.

I also know San Diego Gulls are well supported as an AHL club but, can SoCal support another NHL team? LA, Anaheim already, who both have solid fan bases and ST a numbers. But I wonder if they are saturated for NHL hockey…

There's no such thing as a "SoCal" market and San Diego is distinct from LA/Anaheim. San Diego is about to start building a brand new NHL compatible arena too.

 

[SoupNazi]

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.

Name the big four leagues. Because if you’re referring to NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, you may want to go check your math…

 

[The Crypto Guy]

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

They could barely get people in the door when they stunk.

 

[WiHockeyGuy]

Man, I wish there was some ownership in Milwaukee that would want a team. NHL hockey in Wisconsin would be a dream come true. But, alas, it ain't happening.

That all said, 34/36 teams seems like a lot. I'm not sure the talent pool exists to support that. But the NHL is going to forge ahead regardless.

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Name the big four leagues. Because if you’re referring to NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, you may want to go check your math…

How much do the NHL and MLS make from their national TV deals?

 

[hangman005]

Atlanta is fine, but they are going to have to rebrand. The Thrashers are a tainted brand with not much of a desire to see return. It is cool and the branding was very original, but its tainted. This isn't Winnipeg where the day they left, everybody in the city wanted them back.

I don't know about the lay Atlanta person but the impression I have is the Thrashers brand is still very popular amongst the Atlanta Hockey community.

 

[Tawnos]

Name the big four leagues. Because if you’re referring to NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, you may want to go check your math…

The gap between the NFL and the MLB in revenue is larger than the gap between the NBA and the NHL, as is the gap between the NHL and MLS.

 

[x Tame Impala]

Bedard is going to have 200 pt seasons in 5 years. This talent dilution is going to be nuts

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

They could barely get people in the door when they stunk.

they were 88% capacity last year lol
Atlanta averaged less than the Jets in their final season there, despite 10 times the population

 

[brentashton]

There's no such thing as a "SoCal" market and San Diego is distinct from LA/Anaheim. San Diego is about to start building a brand new NHL compatible too.

Ok. Thanks for illuminating us all with your lack of supporting fact statement to refuting this. Not saying you aren’t right, (I only can go on what other fans who live in the area say) but the lack of context makes your post less pertinent.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

These owners are apparently gonna squeeze every bit of money they can out of the league regardless of the long-term impact.

 

[Regal]

Name the big four leagues. Because if you’re referring to NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, you may want to go check your math…

US teams

 

[Tawnos]

Ok. Thanks for illuminating us all with your lack of supporting fact statement to refuting this. Not saying you aren’t right, (I only can go on what other fans who live in the area say) but the lack of context makes your post less pertinent.

You realize that you didn't bring any supporting facts to grouping San Diego into the LA market either, right?

But if you want, San Diego is considered a totally separate Metropolitan Statistical Area by the Census Bureau and doesn't even get grouped with LA in the broader Combined Statistical Area measure. MSA is mostly about commuting patterns, meaning that San Diego forms a separate commuting center from LA. CSA is about economic gravity, meaning that San Diego's economy has enough gravity of its own to not fall within LA's.

San Diego is also considered a separate media market (Designated Market Area) by Nielsen, who defines these things. DMA is about which areas receive the same TV and radio stations.

 

[ponder719]

Name the big four leagues. Because if you’re referring to NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL, you may want to go check your math…

NFL: 32
MLB: 29
NBA: 29
NHL: 25

Math checks out.

 

[brentashton]

You realize that you didn't bring any supporting facts to grouping San Diego into the LA market either, right?

But if you want, San Diego is considered a totally separate Metropolitan Statistical Area by the Census Bureau and doesn't even get grouped with LA in the broader Combined Statistical Area measure. San Diego is also considered a separate media market (Designated Market Area) by Nielsen, who defines these things.

SoCal is generally understood to include the area of California from LA to the Mexico border. It can and does include separate DMAs. I don’t dispute that. Again, is the area becoming saturated and could it sustain another team in the geographic area?

 

[Tawnos]

SoCal is generally understood to include the area of California from LA to the Mexico border. It can and does include separate DMAs. I don’t dispute that. Again, is the area becoming saturated and could it sustain another team in the geographic area?

I understand what SoCal is. I'm not disputing that such a geographical area exists, but rather that it forms a single market for a professional sports team. It's like treating the mid-Atlantic coast, which includes NYC, Philadelphia, and Washington DC, as if it were a single market.

 

[Chuck Norris Trophy]

f***ing infinite growth and greed.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Atlanta to the Atlantic Division.
Houston to the Central Division.
Phoenix will return eventually as an expansion team and join the Pacific Division.

Move Buffalo to the Metropolitan Division, and have an expansion team from Hamilton or Quebec take their spot in the Atlantic.

 

[x Tame Impala]

The league was at it's best with 30 teams IMO.

With goalies especially. Look at the SV% by year. It's gone down every year since Vegas arrived. I know some of that is goalie pad reduction, what year was that again?

So I'm assuming these Houston and Atlanta teams will be here two years from now. Meaning from 2017/18 to 2026/27 the league will have added 4 new teams and 80 + roster slots. There's a cascade effect here that forces sub-NHL talent to be put on NHL rosters. It also means there's less and less viable options to find a legitimate 1C, 1D, top line forward, etc...

It'll be harder to build through the draft as everyone's picks get downshifted by 2. Whether you're a rebuilding team or not, it's going to suck.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Can we stop expanding? The NHL doesn’t need 50 teams.

Do fans get a say? The majority of fans probably don’t favor expansion.

 

[MoneyManny]

They could obviously support it but even with the Canadian dollar issue aside, I genuinely do think between the weather, taxes and Quebec's aggressive pushback against anglophones they might never sign a non Quebecois free agent. I suppose some of the euros would like it as it might feel closest to home

What?? It's the other way around. Anglophones love playing for the Habs! It's the Francophones that don't want to come here.

You're talking as if Montreal isn't the prime Canadian destination for NHL players.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

Atlanta to the Atlantic Division.
Houston to the Central Division.
Phoenix will return eventually as an expansion team and join the Pacific Division.

Move Buffalo to the Metropolitan Division, and have an expansion team from Hamilton or Quebec take their spot in the Atlantic.

Hamilton or Quebec... Good one!

 

[Mrfenn92]

No more teams please