In a recent episode of Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun expressed confidence that the NHL will be expanding, sharing it’s a matter of when rather than if. The TSN panel shared four cities that could be up for a new NHL team: Houston, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, and Quebec City. LeBrun added, “It felt like [Bettman] was so close to saying it was just going to happen… he kept talking about the recurring conversations of interest he’s having with those four cities.”
However, the TSN group also shared that before the league can worry about adding new teams, they’ll need to find clarity around the Arizona Coyotes arena situation. This certainly makes sense – the league needs to keep any relocation options open – but may also freeze any expansion talks for the short term. Bettman has recently expressed optimism in the Coyotes’ ability to find a new, more permanent home in the desert, although nothing is set in stone just yet. Arizona’s situation will be key to watch as the NHL considers where to add new franchises, and how many cities could be in line for expansion.
Other notes from around the league:
- Minnesota Wild captain Jared Spurgeon took a hard hit in the team’s Thursday night preseason game. He sat out of the rest of the game and may be dealing with an injury that holds him out for even longer. Head coach Dean Evason said, “It’s not positive, but we’ll get a better evaluation tomorrow.” This will be an important thing to monitor, as Spurgeon’s impact in Minnesota is second to none. In addition to serving as their captain for the last three seasons, Spurgeon has also become a consistent double-digit goal-scorer capable of 40-point seasons. Wild fans will hold their breath, as his availability for opening night now seems uncertain.
- The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel shared that Toronto forward William Nylander gave his agent, Lewis Gross, permission to continue negotiating a contract extension into the regular season. However, Nylander said he doesn’t want to hear updates until negotiations are closer to the finish line. Gross, notably, also represents Johnny Gaudreau, who had his own round of contract extension discussions with now-Leafs general manager Brad Treliving. The two sides, Gross and Treliving, aren’t unfamiliar with big-money extension discussions, which should be an interesting contributor to Nylander’s ongoing discussions.
I have also heard San Diego recently with NHL expansion, Bottom line is that there are more than enough teams now, I would certainly like to see the Coyotes in Houston and then realignment, Four divisions of 4 teams in each conference. Example. Southeast Division, Carolina, Florida, Nashville, Tampa Bay.
Beating the dead horse of expansion, once again…
The massive expansion fees that are being paid is driving this. Owners won’t turn down free money.
@MotownWings – That’s true, but the fans will turn off a diluted product. Corporate $$$ buying most of the tickets won’t keep all markets afloat, especially if they try the B.S. game of keep-away from the real fans with said tickets.
I agree the overall product and quality dilutes as you add more teams but the owners won’t care as long as their pockets are lined. Sucks for us fans but the owners are loving the fees which are going to continue rising.
@MotownWings – Eventually, the well runs dry. While one or two teams in the league seem to be regularly in a “Decade of Darkness”, dilution will cause that number to go up. And, the fans will start staying home in droves. Some owners would, no doubt, resort to the old Bill Wirtz “strategy” of screwing their own fan bases over by denying them TV and Radio access. This is not the millennium for trying to get away with that anymore. And, thanks to the tagging of expansion fees as non-HRR, yes, the owners will fall all over themselves to line their own pockets, until the NHLPA demands that be changed.
@Mac
NHL owners are like crack addicts looking for a fix. They’ll greedily line their pockets with cash, and to hell with the future, as long as they get their fix of quick cash, they don’t care. As a fan, I’m overjoyed to see them make a quick buck, at the expense of my beloved game. Next up: ads covering every inch of jersey space.
@KRB – Treating the NHL like a fly-by-night sham. Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Cartooned-up sweaters, too? Yep. They need to keep up with the European Tour, which must be awash with funny money. They stupidly forget that us longtime fans who really watch and study the game are the ones who educate the newbies. Some broadcasters dumb the game down so far, the “rooters”, as I refer to them, will never become real fans. Just wait until the PxP guy shouts and raise your arms like you know what’s going on. The good PxP and color guys/ladies may get overrun by the rubes sometime in the future. This is why I collect various game replays for that day. I’ll have to wait a week or two, so I can see where those avenues will be this year. Worst case, will be to upgrade my interweb service, so I can literally record complete games, minus the spam garbage, of course.
Well … “the well runs dry” is a mantra that’s been pushed from 1968 on forward. So have predictions that disillusioned fans will stay home in droves. And as far as the NHLPA goes, I think that, as in the previous twelve expansions, they’re going to grab those extra jobs and be thankful.
We have no reason to think that there’ll be any meaningful revolt or pushback — not from the fans, not from the players, not from the politicians, not from the media. When has there ever been?
@Nha Trang – Sure, the NHLPA will be happy for that. The real growth of the league, isn’t anywhere near what it should be, though. And, people have shown teams that they won’t pay for a garbage product. Just because there are limited seats available, doesn’t mean John & Jane Q. Public have to pay for something they may deem to be poor value for their hard-earned money. “Winning solves everything.” That’s true for a while, but then the bloom’s off the rose.
Eh, look … I get it, Mac. The last NHL game I paid to see (other than a rookie preseason game going into the 2011 season, which cost me $10) was the last playoff game in Boston Garden, which I believe dates me. I just refuse to pay NHL prices, and I’m quite content with AHL and college hockey.
But facts are facts: people just keep coming in to see the games, no matter what. The average NHL attendance in 1967 would have been among the worst in the league last year, beating only Winnipeg, San Jose and Arizona. The BEST attendance in 1967 (the Black Hawks, which that season had the first 1st place finish of their forty year history, comfortably leading the league) would have ranked 18th last year, between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The NHL ranks 5th in the world in professional sports league revenue (behind the NFL, NBA, MLB and the Premier League), and 3rd in the world in total attendance (behind MLB and the Nippon Baseball League), as well as the third highest attendance as a percentage of capacity (behind the Premier League and the NFL).
I have a hard time looking at these numbers and seeing any widespread fanbase view that the NHL is a garbage product that’s driving fans away. You may not think it’s good value for the money. *I* obviously don’t think it’s good value for the money. But we are plainly and overwhelmingly outvoted.
@Nha Trang – We may be outvoted, but they aren’t getting any extra $ from either of us, eh? Works for me. If they keep degrading the listening experience on the radio side in many of the markets, as well as the poor decisions on the TV side of using personnel who either don’t care about hockey or think clowning it up garners new viewers, they’ll start going backward again. Geez, even the revamped Gamecenter on NHL.com is crappola. One of the barometers that can be used is to see how much gear is sold and worn in public. My stuff is several years old and slowly wearing out, since they’ve overpriced many of the products and third party retailers aren’t doing right by us, either.
If they have to do it, at least make it Houston
1. Large, wealthy and diverse population. 5th largest metro population in US
2.Thriving business community, with plenty of corporate sponsorship available
3.Hockey history, as the Aeros were relatively successful, surviving almost to the end of the WHA
4. And most important: a built in geographical rivalry with Dallas. The rivalries between the cities in football and baseball are intense
Thought Hartford was also on the list. Would be great to see the Coyotes figure it out but maybe a move to Houston would suit them best. Have to feel for QC, they’ve done everything to draw a team but would be hard to compete with cities with deeper pockets (Salt lake, Atlanta)
I believe I’ve heard it said that QC lacks one of the most important things to an NHL expansion committee: corporate sponsorship. It’s no longer just a gate driven league. Texas has corporate sponsors up the wazoo, so that makes me believe Houston is a front runner.
Neither Hartford nor Quebec City stands a chance as long as Bettman’s still in the chair, for the same reason that Arizona’s the hill he’s decided to die on: his ego’s in it.
The mayor of Hartford is the only one saying something. No ownership group there.
One ownership group apparently?
link to sportsnet.ca