The NHL would seriously consider an expansion bid from the Atlanta area if the league did decide to add a 33rd franchise, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski Tuesday.
There’s been a quick one-two punch of recent expansion adds with the inception of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017 and the Seattle Kraken in 2021, the league’s first adds in nearly two decades since bringing in the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild in 2000. That’s led to more public chatter about further expansion, fuelled even further by the record-setting sale of the Ottawa Senators for nearly $1B. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman maintains that expansion isn’t top of mind for the NHL right now, however, and more pressing concerns for the league and the NHLPA revolve around returning to a consistent international tournament schedule. When the league does decide to add to its family, however, Daly told Wyshynski they’ll employ an “open-door policy” when considering potential markets.
Daly believes the past reasons why two Atlanta franchises (the Flames and Thrashers) failed can be “overcome” if the league did accept a bid for a third franchise in the area, the eighth largest metropolitan statistical area in the United States.
“Market demographics have changed pretty dramatically since the first time we went there and then again in 1999,” Daly told Wyshynski. He believes a more suburban arena site, such as the one currently under construction in Alpharetta, would yield better attendance returns, citing the MLB’s Atlanta Braves as a platform for success after their move in 2017.
Atlanta will face fierce competition should an opening for a 33rd NHL team arise, however. Salt Lake City and Hartford-based ownership groups have been hot on the trail of the Arizona Coyotes should relocation become necessary, while Houston and Quebec City remain obvious choices (with the latter receiving significant government support from the province).
“The definition of insanity is to keep trying the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result” – attributed to Albert Einstein
So when are the men with straitjackets coming for Bettman and Daly?
The best way to get another team in Canada is to put another team in Atlanta. 2 for 2.
Atlanta Nordiques. Won’t have to rename ’em when they move.
Third time’s a charm I guess…?
Still pushing that rock up a Hill. 3 strikes and your out!!! I’d rather see 10 teams in Canada starting with Quebec and moving the Coyotes to Houston and then realignment with the usual 2 conference’s but in each conference have 4 divisions of four with a emphasis on geography. Example. Eastern Conference Southeastern Division. Carolina, Florida, Nashville, and Tampa Bay.
If the Yotes failed again they moving to SLC.
Gary just can not admit he was wrong. Hopefully some owners finally say enough Gary. Atlanta ended up in Winnipeg because no would buy team. At least try somewhere new like salt lake city. Quebec only gets team if only other option is team folding. That is only thing worse for Gary then another team in Canada.
You can yell and scream about Gary Bettman all you want but you obviously don’t understand his role. Like commissioners in other major sports, he works for league ownership, so any decision made to consider an Atlanta bid was made by other owners not just the commissioner. Simple concept. Amusing that it continues to confuse a bunch of you.
Post of the week!!!!!!
Right. They all said, Let’s put a team in Arizona that loses money every year and we’ll donate our profits keeping it going.
Now, believing that… that’s amusing!
So the nhl is willing to bring back a city that has already failed 2 times but not another canadian city.
Bettman’s still pushing his “Sunbelt! Sunbelt!” mantra, I see.
League revenues have gone from $400 million a year to over $5 billion a year pushing that mantra.
Even the innocuous corner pieces are part of the puzzle.
League revenues have increased in EVERY major sport, whether or not they’ve had large expansions, no matter the policies of the leagues.
Increased tenfold and change?
The NHL was basically a glorified beer league with no national cable deal before Bettman.
Over the last thirty years? (Heck, on nothing more than inflation, effective revenues would’ve increased fourfold or better.) Take the Premier League, which has gone in that time from a touch over £300 million to over £6 billion, and with twelve fewer teams than the NHL has. The NBA’s gone from under 1 billion to over ten billion. The NFL’s gone from under $2 billion to over $18 billion.
Went to a Columbus (Ga.) Cottonmouths’ game years ago and the extremely inebriated crowd starting chanting for the goalie to “shoot the puck, shoot the puck.” The goalie looks over with this bemused grin and with about 20 seconds left, stops a shot, skates out and lets it rip. Crowd goes wild, goalie howls, and another meaningless game for a now defunct team. NO ONE in Georgia cares about hockey. Football is king. Forever.
Take Salt Lake, QC and Hartford and merge them into one media market and it’s still not as big as Atlanta. Still trails Atlanta in corporate money.
Atlanta is a bad pro sports town and has no hockey history, so I personally wouldn’t do it again, but the appeal is obvious.
It’s the same reason they will never leave Phoenix.
Both Atlanta teams had horrible ownership, first sold out of desperation, 2nd never tried to make it work and had investor fighting, was not the fans
People keep making the mistake of not differentiating population size and actual demographics. Salt Lake City or Quebec have the right demographic for the game of hockey, some of these bigger cities don’t.