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FireCaptain

Paul Kelly: Expansion coming

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Wow, look at that Great Lakes division. Perfect! I think that you're overlooking one thing though...the elimination of East/West. You'd have to develop another system so that Toronto 2 could play the Leafs enough to form a rivalry. They wouldn't go for this 1 game a year crap.

Alright here's an alternate scenario then

newnhlalternate.png

Awesome for us in the Central because we get some great rivalry games. Not so awesome for some other rivalries like Philly and Pittsburgh and Boston and NYR.

Also Toronto probably won't be happy joining the west and having to travel like we do.

.

Second Alternate Scenario

newnhlalternate2.png

Probably geographically better but Nashville gets the hose. Also the caps get a nice watered down division.

Edited by CrimsonFlame

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Let's step back and look at cities with a realistic shot in the next 4 years of having a team:

Seattle: Arena deal completed, construction soon to be underway, AND they're getting the sonics back (Sacramento gets to eat it in this deal). Unknown of the ambition toward having an NHL franchise in Seattle, but we'll see that soon enough, now won't we?

Quebec City: Construction is underway on the currently titled New Quebec City Amphitheatre. Quebecor has openly stated they want a team.

Cities with a shot in the next 5-7 years if planning works out

Markham, ON

Much longer shots due to needing an owner not named Balsillie

Hamilton, ON

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Let's step back and look at cities with a realistic shot in the next 4 years of having a team:

Seattle: Arena deal completed, construction soon to be underway, AND they're getting the sonics back (Sacramento gets to eat it in this deal). Unknown of the ambition toward having an NHL franchise in Seattle, but we'll see that soon enough, now won't we?

Quebec City: Construction is underway on the currently titled New Quebec City Amphitheatre. Quebecor has openly stated they want a team.

Cities with a shot in the next 5-7 years if planning works out

Markham, ON

Much longer shots due to needing an owner not named Balsillie

Hamilton, ON

Yes, good analysis. QC is basically a lock to get a team, the league just doesn't want to show their cards at the moment. I see them getting an expansion team since relocation will be uncertain and turn into a mess, potentially delaying plans.

Seattle, on the other hand, seems poised to get a relocated Coyotes or Panthers. Vancouver wants a team in Seattle, and they will get their way. The eternal saga of the Phoenix Coyotes sale makes it look like they will go.

So then, that leaves us with an unbalanced league. Either Markham gets Toronto 2 as an expansion, or we see one team fold. League won't forego the nice fat expansion fee, so it looks like Markham gets a team.

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Surprised they aren't putting teams in Nevada and New Mexico.

Smart decision to put a couple teams in Canada, not entirely sure if expanding is the best decision but if it helps the NHL recover from it's losses during the lockout then why not?

The Los Vegas Gamblers

I can see the head lines

The gamblers go broke in a 6-0 loss to the "card" sharks

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Surprised they aren't putting teams in Nevada and New Mexico.

Smart decision to put a couple teams in Canada, not entirely sure if expanding is the best decision but if it helps the NHL recover from it's losses during the lockout then why not?

You haven't been out here lately, have you? Those are among the most economically depressed areas in the nation, and will be for the foreseeable future.

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You haven't been out here lately, have you? Those are among the most economically depressed areas in the nation, and will be for the foreseeable future.

I think he was more going on the fact of Florida, Phoenix, Atlanta all getting teams, it has been Bettmans MO to put teams in ridiculous areas

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I think he was more going on the fact of Florida, Phoenix, Atlanta all getting teams, it has been Bettmans MO to put teams in ridiculous areas

Yeah this, it was a bit of sarcasm. Nashville wasn't exactly the smartest move either but a fan base surprisingly caught on. But yeah, more a stab at them putting a team in Phoenix, Florida, and Atlanta (That failed once already).

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Yeah this, it was a bit of sarcasm. Nashville wasn't exactly the smartest move either but a fan base surprisingly caught on. But yeah, more a stab at them putting a team in Phoenix, Florida, and Atlanta (That failed once already).

Ya well if you throw out enough seeds one will grow, too bad all the other seeds cost the farmer way too much money to keep watering

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The League needs to set up new franchises in the Guam and Puerto Rico.

From TSN:

"There's never been a plan to expand to 32 teams," Daly told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com. "Whether we talked conceptually at some point if things are going well whether we could expand to 32, I'm sure we suggested we could, but we certainly never reached the point where that was appropriate when Paul Kelly was executive director of the NHLPA and I'd say we haven't got there at this point.

"I'd say any sports league aspires to be in a position where expansion is a good idea," added Daly. "But again, it's got to be the right circumstances."

And there you have it, straight from the opposite end of the horse's mouth.

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Guest Johnz96

I was going to suggest Regina, but I think its strange pronunciation would create too many jokes here in the US.

If I was rich I would purchase some sort of team for Regina just so I could call them the Regina Vaginas

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... Unknown of the ambition toward having an NHL franchise in Seattle, but we'll see that soon enough, now won't we?...

Google "Don Levin Seattle"

Don Levin is the owner of the AHL Chicago Wolves, and has PLENTY of money to burn. I recently get the impression he's silently got a deal (either through expansion or relocation) like True North had put together for the Thrashers.

Levin has the finances to support a team, and the passion to make it a winner. He knows how to put the right people in place. Two IHL and two AHL championships in just 20 years of minor league hockey.

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Windsor :hysterical:

We don't have nearly close enough a population for a nhl team to survive, it would probably do as bad as Phoenix

I've always had a fantasy about a Windsor team. Although it's not pragmatic. imagine how epic a Detroit/Windsor rivalry would be. The fan interaction alone would make it worth it. Plus, I haven't had a reason to go to Windsor since I've turned twenty one.

Edit: I'm pretty sure Windsor has more hockey. Fans than Glendale. When you include the cities that are closer to Windsor than Toronto and Ottawa I don't think it's absurd to think there are enough people to sustain a franchise. There's no way that a Windsor team will have worse attendance than the panthers.

Edited by The Greek

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With several teams in a very precarious financial state, I think the word that should be being discussed, is contraction. It would seem a more fiscally responsible thing to do. I can't, for the life of me, see why they would want to add teams, when more than half of the current teams are swimming in red ink. Or at least wading in it.

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With several teams in a very precarious financial state, I think the word that should be being discussed, is contraction. It would seem a more fiscally responsible thing to do. I can't, for the life of me, see why they would want to add teams, when more than half of the current teams are swimming in red ink. Or at least wading in it.

Maybe it's all about taking a loss and writing it off and not logic that they keep these teams where they are. :/

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The only upside of expansion would be that it would mean more jobs for players.

I was thinking the same thing. The players may or may not get behind it because it meant more players with jobs. Unfortunately, it also means expansion draft and a spreading thin(ner) of the real talent in the league. I'd prefer contraction to expansion any day: creates healthier competition (more frequent meeting) and ups the overall talent level team to team. Because of what it does to owners pocket books, the overall number of employed players, and the perception of the league, this will never happen, so fingers crossed for relocation. Besides the higher ups in the league who lose face when cities lose teams, the league would OBVIOUSLY be better for it. Like a bandaid, do it quick, get it over with. Bettman and company need to take their licks and move on for the good of the league. The comparison between this fight for staying put or expanding over relocation and the recent lockout is becoming eerie.

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Maybe it's all about taking a loss and writing it off and not logic that they keep these teams where they are. :/

I can see that from the teams that are losing money, but that makes no sense from a team that is making money and has to give some to the ones losing money. I can't imagine The IRS has a form asking, "How much did you give to The Coyotes, last year?"

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Because I'm sure I"m not the only one thinking it...

An increase to 32 teams means Bettman would need to have 9 votes on his side to ensure he can't be overruled, up from the 8 he currently needs. Though, I doubt that would be hard for him to do...

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