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NHL wants to expand to 36 teams

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Way too many teams.

How the most niche of the major sports leagues, that’s also very gate driven, in NA is going to support MORE franchises than the NFL, NBA, and MLB is beyond me.

How do you convince the fanbases to care when the talent pool gets super diluted, and 25 teams realistically each year will have extremely small title odds?

This is the kind of crap that drives me crazy as a fan. We suck at marketing to make money, so let’s pyramid scheme our way to more revenue with more franchises.

Shit like this is why so many franchise business’ like Krispy Kreme went bankrupt in the 2000s - made everyone think they were doing well, when in reality the majority of their money came from opening up new franchises that went bankrupt within 2-3 years of opening.
 
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oprah.gif
 
not sure if more expansion is necessary but ahh... are there any NHL franchises that are in troubled waters?? could relocate a team or 2 to the desired locations? just wondering thats all....
 
so people feel like the talent pool was actually diluted? i thought we kind of found out a lot of guys in the league had a lot of hidden potential and just needed more playing time, and a lot of ahl guys weren't any different than the 4th liners who were considered "established nhlers"
 
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Canucks LB said:
I think another team in Toronto would make a lot of sense
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If that team had Vegas type success early, Leafs fans would be insanely pissed.

I wonder how many fans that team would truly have? Leafs have been there for generations now. Would be interesting to see. The market would definitely support it and handle it.
 
StickShift said:
The first three have been telegraphed quite clearly. It'll be Atlanta, Houston, and Phoenix.

I don't think folks are talking about San Diego though. Similar population to the Tampa/St.Pete metro and another sunbelt city. The new arena that they build there is going to be tempting.

Vancouver
Calgary
Edmonton
Seattle
San Jose
Los Angeles
Anaheim
San Diego
Vegas		Winnipeg
Minnesota
St. Louis
Chicago
Colorado
Utah
Arizona
Dallas
Houston		Montreal
Toronto
Ottawa
Boston
Detroit
Buffalo
New York Rangers
New York Islanders
New Jersey		Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Columbus
Washington
Carolina
Nashville
Atlanta
Tampa
Florida
Click to expand...

This aligns with my thoughts as well, regarding the first three.
However, I had not considered San Diego. Could see it.
My initial thought for a fourth team was to just give in and place another team in Southern Ontario. Hamilton? Sure. A better option? No problem. Not gonna cheer for them but It would certainly gain a fanbase quickly.

If the NHL went the San Diego route, it could open the door to another team migrating from the West to East. Nashville? That makes sense. Never considered Tennessee as very western. haha

I gotta be honest. I get the "drain" on talent across the league arguments. I do. That said, I got a kick out of it when San Jose joined the league and enjoyed each round of expansion since then. Sure...its likely that one of them wins a Cup before my Canucks. But, really.....who won't?

Plus: whether you like it or not, new fans join the fun and talented players eventually develop in the cities that the NHL enters. This league needs to work to gain new fans. This is how.
 
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John Mandalorian said:
Pyramid/Ponzi scheme.
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More free money for billionaires. Does it make the product worse for you? Who knows, they certainly don't give a f*** about dumb shit like that.

But it is cool for new fanbases to have teams. Inevitably, though, some of those 36 teams are going to fail at some point. And I can't imagine what any economic downturn does to CBA negotiations with even more players and owners trying to eat.
 
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Killakirillthethrill said:
Which cities do you think deserve a team?
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Quebec City.
HockeyVirus said:
0 reason why Toronto should not have a 2nd team.
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Except one little reason called "the Maple Leafs have already built a fanbase for several generations and the only people who would show up for a second Toronto team would be people who can't afford Maple leafs tickets".

That's not a sustainable way keep a franchise.
 
thecupismine said:
Way too many teams.

How the most niche of the major sports leagues, that’s also very gate driven, in NA is going to support MORE franchises than the NFL, NBA, and MLB is beyond me.

How do you convince the fanbases to care when the talent pool gets super diluted, and 25 teams realistically each year will have extremely small title odds?

This is the kind of crap that drives me crazy as a fan. We suck at marketing to make money, so let’s pyramid scheme our way to more revenue with more franchises.

Shit like this is why so many franchise business’ like Krispy Kreme went bankrupt in the 2000s - made everyone think they were doing well, when in reality the majority of their money came from opening up new franchises that went bankrupt within 2-3 years of opening.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it should be quality over quantity. Seems like the NHL doesn't understand this.

If you want to "grow the game", then there are better ways than to just add more teams and make it even less likely for each team to win a cup. You grow the game by being culturally relevant. The NFL and the NBA are about a 1000% more culturally relevant than the NHL.

You don't become more relevant in any meaningful way by sticking a new team in Kansas or where ever. You might get a tiny short term boost, but in the grand scheme of things it won't change anything.
 
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ItWasJustified said:
Quebec City.

Except one little reason called "the Maple Leafs have already built a fanbase for several generations and the only people who would show up for a second Toronto team would be people who can't afford Maple leafs tickets".

That's not a sustainable way keep a franchise.
Click to expand...
Works for LA / Vegas in the NFL. seats are full of fans of opposing teams or just people wanting to watch a game.
 
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