NHL Expansion?

[njmeadowlanders]

I think somewhere in the Kitchener/Waterloo area could work as a more successful Devils situation out when they were in Bergen County at the Meadowlands. I've only been there once for a night, but that's the sort of vibe I get, based on me just driving through it once and nothing else.

Then again, at that point you may as well just go with Mississauga if you're looking for a suburb.

Regardless of where they would have an arena though, it'd be packed with Leafs fans all the time, and it'd be like 44 home games for them.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

I think somewhere in the Kitchener/Waterloo area could work as a more successful Devils situation out when they were in Bergen County at the Meadowlands. I've only been there once for a night, but that's the sort of vibe I get, based on me just driving through it once and nothing else.

Then again, at that point you may as well just go with Mississauga if you're looking for a suburb.

Regardless of where they would have an arena though, it'd be packed with Leafs fans all the time, and it'd be like 44 home games for them.

Kitchener-Waterloo is a completely different community, whereas Mississauga is a Toronto suburb.

[njmeadowlanders]

Right. However, my second point was that if you're going to have it out in the suburbs, why not build it in a suburb that's closer to the population center?

[The_Admiral]

Hey, if we expand by two teams, how are we going to fill 100 roster spots? There's an entire middle class of European talent that's been all but removed from the NHL in recent years, and they aren't coming back. To the benefit of people who complained that there were too many furrners in the league 10 to 15 years ago, there are hardly any of those Krivokrasov/Samsonov type players left because if they can't get superstar money and ice time, they're better off closer to home; they don't want us and we don't really want them. So unless we're banking on the Russian petrogangsters losing everything, the KHL will still exist and still siphon off the bottom-six/third-pairing guys who could play in the NHL but would rather not.

The conventional wisdom is that the QMJHL is woefully underscouted and just waiting for someone to exploit it, but it's hard for me to believe that there are that many guys right under (or above) our noses that could make the NHL but don't.

Are teams supposed to rely on 20+ NCAA players more? The Sharks load their system up with 20+ NCAA players, and it's Plug City bitch Plug Plug City bitch.

Or, and oh this one's my favorite, are we just waiting for Florida, California, and Texas to start magically growing these dominant physical specimens that are specifically indigenous to Florida, California, and Texas, like human palm trees? That's what I keep hearing: once our Florida kids from where we Grew The Game grow up and start playing organized hockey, Canada will never win another junior title ever again because these Floridians are like nothing we have seen. Except the problem there is that while this may hold true for baseball and football where they can play year-round in ways northerners can't, ice hockey as organized sport is exclusively indoor and no more year-round there than it is in Saskatchewan. So, um, derp. UNLESS I've just failed to tune my ears to semi-subtle racial coding and the actual thrust of the "wait till the FL/CA/TX kids grow up" cry is "wait till we have those really fast black people who would otherwise be playing SEC football," in which case um I don't think this is actually happening and so Canada can rest knowing it might still win in international play.

Also, where are we getting two new AHL teams, since it's a small miracle we've held steady at 30 for a while now without teams folding and moving and being seized for being unlawfully claimed as collateral?

And with regard to bending over backwards to give Seattle a ready-made team because they Demand A Winner and making Quebec City eat its own feces because those poor bastards are just that hungry, did we forget that the expansions to Minnesota and Columbus, which, like Seattle, were places the NHL could theoretically succeed once it got there, both had ridiculous sellout streaks and terrific support in the face of terrible management? Bearing this in mind, why is it more urgent to make sure Seattle gets its team first even if it means losing more money in the meantime with the Coyotes, when they could just put the fire out right now with a relocation to a much more prepared and motivated Quebec City, and then get the expansion money and dedicated support down the road, with a well-planned run-up to make sure the Seattle team has the same level of support that the Wild and Beej enjoyed?

[IceCap]

The NHL in Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge is NOT happening any time soon, nor should it. Yes, the area's experienced tremendous growth over the past ten or so years, but that was mostly RIM/Blackberry fuelled, and look how that ended.

Fact is the area's just a set of three interconnected suburban sprawls with three nominal downtown areas. The OHL's perfect for the area. It's just not a NHL market though.

[DarkJourney]

What is the likelihood of an actual NHL team being placed in Markham?

[IceCap]

What is the likelihood of an actual NHL team being placed in Markham?

Well it doesn't make sense to put a team there but by all accounts the NHL is interested in putting one there. You'd think they'd only discuss it if they already cleared it with MLSE, but this is the NHL.

It wouldn't surprise me if the NHL went through the process of granting the expansion team without actually getting the Leafs' permission to put a team there though. Because OITGDNHL.

[The_Admiral]

Every defense of putting a second team in the GTA that I've ever heard is somehow informed by how it improves quality of life for a Maple Leafs fan.

1) "I can't get to the ACC. This way, I'll be able to see the Leafs."

2) "Competition for my entertainment dollar will inspire the Leafs to try harder."

3) "The indemnification fees will help the Leafs spend money."

4) "An expansion team will lose a lot, which will help the Leafs make the playoffs."

The only people who seem to want a team for the sheer sake of having a team are the Hamilton dead-enders, and they're out of the conversation at this point. So yeah, this will work out well!

[IceCap]

Every defense of putting a second team in the GTA that I've ever heard is somehow informed by how it improves quality of life for a Maple Leafs fan.

1) "I can't get to the ACC. This way, I'll be able to see the Leafs."

2) "Competition for my entertainment dollar will inspire the Leafs to try harder."

3) "The indemnification fees will help the Leafs spend money."

4) "An expansion team will lose a lot, which will help the Leafs make the playoffs."

The only people who seem to want a team for the sheer sake of having a team are the Hamilton dead-enders, and they're out of the conversation at this point. So yeah, this will work out well!

Pretty much, yeah. There's a contrarian crowd that'll support the Toronto Fighting Mongooses just because they're local and not the Leafs, but while they may be vocal they're in no way representative of the majority of the region's hockey fans.

[illwauk]

Every defense of putting a second team in the GTA that I've ever heard is somehow informed by how it improves quality of life for a Maple Leafs fan.

1) "I can't get to the ACC. This way, I'll be able to see the Leafs."

2) "Competition for my entertainment dollar will inspire the Leafs to try harder."

3) "The indemnification fees will help the Leafs spend money."

4) "An expansion team will lose a lot, which will help the Leafs make the playoffs."

The only people who seem to want a team for the sheer sake of having a team are the Hamilton dead-enders, and they're out of the conversation at this point. So yeah, this will work out well!

Pretty much, yeah. There's a contrarian crowd that'll support the Toronto Fighting Mongooses just because they're local and not the Leafs, but while they may be vocal they're in no way representative of the majority of the region's hockey fans.

That's a cool team name!

[CS85]

Anyone who watched Jets/Senators today can see exactly why the NHL in no way needs to expand and further water down the talent pool.

Sorry to keep ragging on this game, but it was honestly one of the dullest hockey games I've ever seen.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

Is the plural of Mongoose, Mongeese? Then you could play on the whole Canadian Geese aspect too. Win-win.

[pollux]

Is the plural of Mongoose, Mongeese? Then you could play on the whole Canadian Geese aspect too. Win-win.

Isn't the plural of leaf, leaves? They :censored:ed it up once, they can do it twice...

[The_Admiral]

It's mongooses; the etymologies of "goose" and "mongoose" aren't related.

I did a report on the mongoose in 3rd grade and got an A+.

[JayMac]

This realignment talk is kind of funny to me. I completely agree that it is definitely needed but I'm not sure how much sense it makes if they don't have expansion. Most likely there will be two divisions with 7 teams. Another issue may be that they may have to redo it if Phoenix moves east.