NHL to expand by four by '17?

The viability of franchises in Miami and Arizona is questionable for sure, but one byproduct is that two of the players vying to be the top overall pick in 2016 are from Florida and Arizona. That probably doesn't happen without NHL franchises there. http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/born-in-the-usa-could-be-theme-song-of-2016-nhl-draft/

 

How much of Vancouver's fan base is from the Seattle area?

 

I suspect very, very little. There's 150 miles and an international border between them.

 

But, they can get "Hockey Night in Canada" over the air or via cable, I believe.

How much of the push for a new arena in Seattle slowed since Stern saved the Kings for Sacramento? Where would a Seattle team play while waiting, Key Arena?

 

None

 

I don't believe the "uneven" issue would stop the NHL from greenlighting expansion and raking in big money. The only factors that limit expansion are the considerations of the long-term health of the league. We know that this issue would not prevent the league from expanding because it didn't even prevent the league from making the current realignment for far less enticing reasons, leaving us currently with uneven divisions and conferences.

I'm just pointing out that there is no way to realign a 34 team league to create even groupings, except the large division of two 17 team conferences. The only whole numbers 34 is divisible by are 1, 2, and 17, and obviously we aren't going to have 17 divisions. In other words, if they expanded the league to 34 teams then the issue would be here and here to stay, since one would assume it'd be a long time before further expansion happened.

I believe that the current alignment and the issues it caused were accepted in part because everyone knew two new teams are inevitable. No article throughout the realignment process failed to bring up that inevitability. I think we all know two teams is happening within the next few years. Likewise, I think very few believe that the team will expand to 34 any time soon. The NHL may have a considerable pool of players to draw from thanks to an a growing pool of feeder nations, but it's still essentially a niche sport in the USA. Becoming the first NA league to go past 32 teams by adding 4 within the period of a couple years just isn't believable.

 

Add all four and create a relegation system. Up to 32 in the NHL and the rest are dropped to the AHL, where they can try to fight their way back in.

It works in soccer.

 

As much as I love the promotion/relegation format it just won't work in North America. The travel required is far too severe for a minor league team.

 

Plus what happens if an NHL's affiliate is promoted? And what of the NHL teams that get sent down -- they don't have a parent club to send them players, and if they manage to keep most of their players, it'll wreck the competitive balance of the AHL.

The only even theoretical way promotion/relegation can be viable if you split the NHL into a First and Second Division, but even then it wreaks havoc with the farm system.

It's great that it works in international football, but it cannot translate to the U.S.

 

Relegation will never happen in U.S. sports for the same reason contraction won't : franchise values.
The LEAST valuable NHL franchise is probably worth more than ALL AHL franchises -- put together. The sale value of NHL franchises would instantly go to shit if it became possible they could be relegated to the bushes.

Not to mention that all prospective teevee broadcast partners would say, "hey, if you are going to start relegating two out of 32 teams every other year, we're going to have to take into account the chance those teams might include the Rangers, Blackhawks, Bruins or Flyers or Leafs, so maybe we better just cut your teevee contract a few hundred million bucks ahead of time."

Goddamn I wish people would quit bringing these topics up (especially on talk radio): To even discuss it seriously in public without giggling pretty much indicates you're a moron.

 

That's harsh, Star. I recognize it will never happen but the concept is still pretty cool.

I'm not a fan of hockey in any form but my five-year-old fell in love with it when she watched figure skating with my wife (go figure) and we don't have even a minor-league team within a hundred miles of here. I would love to have an AHL expansion, if nothing else, just so I could take her.