(08-27-2014 07:24 AM)Chappy Wrote: (08-27-2014 07:22 AM)Ragu Wrote: Why 4 teams in terms of expansion? The West needs 2 teams so Las Vegas/Seattle make sense. But what good does adding 2 more Eastern time zones do to balance the 2 conferences East/West? Relocation is the only way that make sense at all. 32 teams is enough. Don't see the need for 34 and it would just water down the league and not solve the East/West balance.
Yes, given the current NHL alignment, 2 teams is reasonable and creates balance.
4 is unnecessary (keeps current imbalance) as if the owners just want to collect expansion fees.
Yeah, I agree with you guys on this one. Two Western Conference teams makes some sense. It does further dilute the talent pool but it also brings divisional balance to both conferences, which is a major issue in NHL circles right now.
Four expansion teams makes no sense at all. That would dilute the talent pool far too much and it would also bring the NHL right back to where it is now with unbalanced divisions in the East and the West.
Also, with the Canadian loonie dropping like a stone, the momentum to put teams in the Great White North is not the same as it was a few years ago when the loonie was practically even with the dollar and Winnipeg got its team.
I still think that Quebec City in particular is going to get its team back. However, I do not believe it will be via expansion but rather relocation of a struggling existing franchise.
Honestly, the Islanders would've been a perfect choice to move up to QC but that is not going to happen now with them just agreeing to a long-term lease to play in Brooklyn.
Also, Florida, the other most often rumored team to be on the move, is sinking a ton of money into that franchise and they are sincerely trying to make a go of it in Sunrise. I do not believe that is going to work but they are nowhere near the moving stage.
The Coyotes too or trying to make a serious go of it and Glendale. They just signed a long-term lease there and are committed for at least the next five seasons. Just about everyone else is doing alright for themselves right now so I just don't know where the relocated teams are going to come from?
As for Markham, Ontario, I see them as being the last in line. Having a second Toronto area team would certainly be good for the league at the gate – and the NHL is still a somewhat gate-driven league. However, a second Toronto franchise would not grow the league's television contract by a nickel and that is definitely a MAJOR problem for that group.
My prediction is that Seattle and Las Vegas will be awarded expansion franchises sooner rather than later - there is just too much money out there to ignore. It will lessen the overall quality of the hockey being played out there but the money will be too great for the owners to walk away from. I also believe that somewhere down the line Quebec City will get a relocated franchise – that would almost certainly have to come out of the Eastern Conference - probably Florida. However, that is more of a long-term project.
I do not see the Golden Horseshoe (Toronto and the rest of southern Ontario) getting a second team in the foreseeable future. That is a shame in some regards because that area would definitely support another NHL franchise. I just don't know where that team would come from or what would possess the NHL to expand there?