thefiestygoat Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 http://www.sportingnews.com/nhl/story/2013-07-31/nhl-expansion-seattle-gary-bettman-phoenix-coyotes-board-of-governors According to Mitch Levy, a talk show host for Seattle radio station KJR, Bettman is pushing for an expansion team that would begin play in the city in the 2014-15 season. Levy reported via Twitter on Tuesday that Bettman is "encouraging" the NHL's Board of Governors to grant Seattle a franchise.Levy tweeted that the group that tried to buy the Coyotes and move them to Seattle is among the groups that would be in play for an expansion franchise, which Levy said would cost $275 million.Levy gave no indication whether a second expansion franchise would be awarded. Quebec City has been open about bringing back NHL hockey and is building a new arena. Las Vegas, Kansas City and the Greater Toronto Area are also seen as potentially viable expansion markets. Mitch Levy on his twitter believes they'd be able to tweak the MOU to get the arena started to allow hockey in first. In terms of that last part, Quebec is the most logical and prepared for a NHL team, but I'm sure Bettman wants to avoid that. I'd remove Kansas City from that list since they have a profitable arena without an anchor tenant and their politicians have made comments along the lines of not wanting or needing an anchor tenant. Greater Toronto Area would probably be successful but you have the whole territorial rights issue as well as the fact that the Markham Arena doesn't seem likely to happen now and the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton is almost 30 years old too. I really do believe that Las Vegas could be an option for expansion (helps even the conferences with Seattle) or relocation (could keep Coyotes in the desert). They'll have a new arena opening in the spring of 2016 that can seat 20,000. Jerry Bruckheimer has pursued bringing the NHL to Las Vegas before, maybe he's still interested. Portland Trail Blazer's owner Paul Allen has toyed with the idea of the NHL coming to Portland, even monitoring the latest Coyotes situation till the end. No idea if the NHL would have interest though. I think it's a long shot but it would be cool to see the Cascadia rivalry develop between Vancouver, Seattle, and Portland in the NHL like how it is in MLS.Houston is one of the largest media markets in the US but it also seems like a long shot due to no clear owner or arena at this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satans Hockey Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Houston could play in the Toyota Center where the rockets and the AHL aeros play. The arena is only like 10 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 One thing that people seem to be overlooking when it comes to expansion is the potential for teams to get rid of bad contracts through an expansion draft, at no cap hit and with no buy out costs. If expansion happens as soon as the article suggests, you can bet that Volchenkov is one of the players the Devils don't protect, unless he has a real bounceback year. Might also give the Devils a chance to get out of the Clowe deal if he turns out to be a disappointment. Both Clowe and Volchenkov have team unfriendly deals, but they're not THAT bad. So long as they can be useful players, they could be among the better players available in an expansion draft. This all depends though on whether players that have no-movement clauses can be made available in an expansion draft. Does anyone know the answer to this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HellOnICE Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Ugh No more expansion please. We can barely fill current NHL rosters with NHL talent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aylbert Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 One thing that people seem to be overlooking when it comes to expansion is the potential for teams to get rid of bad contracts through an expansion draft, at no cap hit and with no buy out costs. If expansion happens as soon as the article suggests, you can bet that Volchenkov is one of the players the Devils don't protect, unless he has a real bounceback year. Might also give the Devils a chance to get out of the Clowe deal if he turns out to be a disappointment. Both Clowe and Volchenkov have team unfriendly deals, but they're not THAT bad. So long as they can be useful players, they could be among the better players available in an expansion draft. This all depends though on whether players that have no-movement clauses can be made available in an expansion draft. Does anyone know the answer to this? I couldn't see if there was a restriction like this in 2000 (I also think NMC are fairly new) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_KHL_Expansion_Draft The KHL's recent expansion prohibited NMC's from being included though; and I would think the NHL would follow suit there as its logical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devs4LIFE Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Ugh No more expansion please. We can barely fill current NHL rosters with NHL talent. This^ I think that adding teams will only spread out talent which ultimately means less skill per team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarpathianForest Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Expansion should truly be intercontinental. Ladies and gentlemen I present to you the Juarez Narcos hockey team! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Rattlehead18 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I hope for this. But only if it's 2 teams. One extra team would be as stupid as the 2 fewer teams the west has than the east. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPntsca Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Expansion I think can be good. I don't think the talent pool is diluted but rather teams have been mismanaged and just places get stigmas against them. I would love to see the league expand if it meant better tangible things, ie increased revenues, getting rid of the new conference imbalance, more players getting opportunities, potentially more owners giving leverage to the smaller market teams (not saying this would happen but I would love it if Seattle and say Kansas City got teams then instantly took sides with the smaller market teams). The skill argument seems too much in line with a smaller league which I personally don't like the thought of, and Ken Campbell for THN has an article where it constructed 2 expansion teams based on UFA rosters, looking at those between those 2 UFA teams and an expansion draft I believe that the skill is there, now its just up to the league's business interests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SterioDesign Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 i dont feel like starting a debate about this, but they have to put a fvcking team in Quebec, it would balance the conference a little and theres people CRAVING hockey there and who's been craving for YEARS. I understand the business support side of it but i strongly believe that the "plug and play" fan established fan base from Canada can infuse enough revenue + pierre karl peladeau's plan. Ridiculous to keep on putting teams where they have to create a fan base and where hockey is like the 5th sport. If you want to sell lots of bananas, make a stand where rich monkeys are. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 i dont feel like starting a debate about this, but they have to put a fvcking team in Quebec, it would balance the conference a little and theres people CRAVING hockey there and who's been craving for YEARS. I understand the business support side of it but i strongly believe that the "plug and play" fan established fan base from Canada can infuse enough revenue + pierre karl peladeau's plan. Ridiculous to keep on putting teams where they have to create a fan base and where hockey is like the 5th sport. If you want to sell lots of bananas, make a stand where rich monkeys are. Unless you want to create a reverse Winnipeg situtuation with a geographically out-of-place team, adding a Quebec expansion team, without adding two more in the West, will throw the conferences even more out of balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubie#8 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Yeah how does Quebec solve the unbalanced conferences? Its in the east.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bibby89 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Put Columbus back to the West. I don't understand them being moved personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zubie#8 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 (edited) Put Columbus back to the West. I don't understand them being moved personally. Detroit and Columbus are in the eastern time zone, plus they had a crazy travel schedule. Problem is there are just too many teams in the East and not enough in the West especially with the Coyotes failing every year. Edited July 31, 2013 by Zubie#8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smelly Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Houston could play in the Toyota Center where the rockets and the AHL aeros play. The arena is only like 10 years old. The Rockets control that building, and effectively forced the Aeros out after a long run in Houston. Their GM was interviewed on NHL Radio, and said that the Rockets didn't want to share with another regular tenant. Perhaps they would feel differently about an NHL franchise, but signs suggest no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouse Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Ridiculous to keep on putting teams where they have to create a fan base and where hockey is like the 5th sport. If you want to sell lots of bananas, make a stand where rich monkeys are. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuHILqDIvis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucifersDog Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 It's hard to accept that Quebec isn't the next NHL site. The fans there are crazy for hockey I know they didn't financially support the previous NHL Quebec team but the Canadian dollar is stronger than the US dollar today so there is parity between the USA and Canada unlike before. Quebec is building a new arena to be ready for play 2015-16 I can't believe they went ahead and built a new arena without a promise of getting a team in the NHL. Some have thought it could be the Quebec Devils not likely with the recent deal between the Devils and the City of Newark. Coyotes are staying put so I can only think expansion team. It would however screw up the new alignment because it puts another team in the East that already is lopsided. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxpower Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 They're not turning around an expansion team in under one full league year. That makes me skeptical to start. Minnesota and Columbus got 3 full league years before they played a game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefiestygoat Posted July 31, 2013 Author Share Posted July 31, 2013 Ugh No more expansion please. We can barely fill current NHL rosters with NHL talent. I don't want expansion for the same reasons but I really think it's going to happen soon anyway. i dont feel like starting a debate about this, but they have to put a fvcking team in Quebec, it would balance the conference a little and theres people CRAVING hockey there and who's been craving for YEARS. I understand the business support side of it but i strongly believe that the "plug and play" fan established fan base from Canada can infuse enough revenue + pierre karl peladeau's plan. Ridiculous to keep on putting teams where they have to create a fan base and where hockey is like the 5th sport. If you want to sell lots of bananas, make a stand where rich monkeys are. Amen. I truly feel for Quebec fans, and Canadians in general when it comes to this league. I was thrilled Winnipeg got their team back, I hope Quebec gets theirs. Sure it's hard with the current re-alignment but there are ways to shift a team in the East back out West. PKP is certainly loaded enough to get a deal done. I may be American, but I'm all for more Canadian teams. The Rockets control that building, and effectively forced the Aeros out after a long run in Houston. Their GM was interviewed on NHL Radio, and said that the Rockets didn't want to share with another regular tenant. Perhaps they would feel differently about an NHL franchise, but signs suggest no. Thanks for pointing that out. I couldn't recall exactly what the situation was in Houston, just that finding a place for a NHL team would be difficult at this moment in time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Rattlehead18 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I read it wasn't only financial for quebec, but because they spoke French over English. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPntsca Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I read it wasn't only financial for quebec, but because they spoke French over English. That would be odd because Montreal is in Quebec and speaks French too, granted they are 100 years old and an original franchise but French is still the primary language. I think even Ottawa (from just quick visits to 4 of the Canadian team websites) has easy access to a French language version of their site. That seems really odd if thats a thing, especially because of Canada having dual national languages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 And to add to the Seattle speculation, it looks like there are still issues with the Coyotes sale and it could fall through. This never ends, does it? http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2013/07/31/phoenix-coyotes-buyers-may-be-running.html?full=true Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triumph Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 That would be odd because Montreal is in Quebec and speaks French too, granted they are 100 years old and an original franchise but French is still the primary language. I think even Ottawa (from just quick visits to 4 of the Canadian team websites) has easy access to a French language version of their site. That seems really odd if thats a thing, especially because of Canada having dual national languages. French is the primary language in Montreal, but there is still a sizable English speaking population. Quebec City is basically all French speakers - according to Wikipedia, only 1.5% of Quebec City residents speak English as their first language, with 90+% having French as their first. Montreal has 13% English-first speakers, and a lot of people know both English and French. I'd be worried about an NHL franchise in Quebec for this reason - most of the NHL probably isn't going to want to play in a place like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadDog2020 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 (edited) That would be odd because Montreal is in Quebec and speaks French too, granted they are 100 years old and an original franchise but French is still the primary language. I think even Ottawa (from just quick visits to 4 of the Canadian team websites) has easy access to a French language version of their site. That seems really odd if thats a thing, especially because of Canada having dual national languages. French is the primary language in Montreal, but there is still a sizable English speaking population. Quebec City is basically all French speakers - according to Wikipedia, only 1.5% of Quebec City residents speak English as their first language, with 90+% having French as their first. Montreal has 13% English-first speakers, and a lot of people know both English and French. I'd be worried about an NHL franchise in Quebec for this reason - most of the NHL probably isn't going to want to play in a place like this. Lol tough sh!t. These dudes get paid tons of money. Learn some French. Plenty of guys played in Quebec City back in the day for far less money and no one died. Edited August 1, 2013 by MadDog2020 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'7' Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 (edited) Not really true, first off QC is a very charming, European style "old world" type city. Also the fans are quite good and the press isn't as nasty and all over your every move as it is in Montreal. Guy Lafleur used to mention that it's also not middle of nowhereseville, like Edmonton so I don't think players not wanting to play there will be an issue Edited August 1, 2013 by '7' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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