OTTAWA, ON – JANUARY 14: A Quebec Nordiques fan shows his support for their return to the NHL at a game between the Calgary Flames and the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place on January 14, 2011 in Ottawa, Canada. (Photo by Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images)
Is the NHL ready for expansion?
Barring any unforeseen issues with the potential owners of two new NHL franchises, we may see expansion of the league in about a month.
The NHL has moved along the process for expansion for the Quebec City and Las Vegas applicants to “the third stage”, which really just means the league is now looking into the applicants business and revenue plans for the prospective teams.
With the NHL not looking to expand until 2017-18, the process may be long and drawn out, but if the league really wants this happen, and there is doubt about that, we could see a decision well before next year.
It’s been 15 years since the NHL expanded, and the application fee has jumped almost $80 million since the Blue Jackets and the Wild came into the league. The price for admittance now is around $500 million.
For Quebec, the idea of having an NHL team return after 20 years is heartwarming. The city already has an 18,259 seat arena, called Videotron Centre. The publicly funding arena is set to open up next month. The Quebec Nordiques left the city in 1995 when they moved to Colorado to become the Avalanche.
Las Vegas has already locked in over 13,000 season ticket holders with help from the group “Vegas Wants Hockey” led by billionaire Bill Foley. Vegas has never had a major professional sports team, and the NHL would love to be the first.
Both groups have already coughed up their $10 million down payment, with $2 million of that being non-refundable. Quebec and Las Vegas were the only two applicants to be accepted when the NHL opened their doors to applications from 16 different cities. A lot of fans, including myself, were hoping the NHL would take a shot at Seattle. The location would have been perfect for travel with the West Coast teams, and a rivalry with Vancouver had a lot of potential.
With expansion on the horizon, there is the idea that this will only water down the league, however there are a ton of younger players coming into the NHL and one look at the current free-agent market only strengthens the argument that the league needs to expand. Veteran players, like Michael Ryder and Cody Franson haven’t found a home yet because of the salary cap. These players will find homes eventually, but they may not get the value they think they deserve, or what the would get if there was more room for teams to sign them.
I’m torn about whether or not the league should expand. The skill level of younger players has never been better, and the talent coming into the league will only enhance the draw for fans. During the last expansion, I really felt like the skill level was diluted which led to “scrubs” getting in the lineup which led to more injuries. The games weren’t as exciting and the flow was dull.
Would that be the case again? Maybe, maybe not. Ice hockey has grown exponentially just in the U.S. over those last 15 years, and there is a lot more talent to be had. I guess we’ll find out eventually.
Expansion is going to happen whether we want it to or not.
