NHL Expansion to Europe?!?!

[JBM73]

HockeyBuzz.com - Eklund - Is European Expansion the Wave of NHL's Long-Term Future?

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

I don't have a problem with having a team in Europe, but I wouldn't take the expansion route. I would just have the Florida Panthers move to France or something.

 

[awaz]

i dont think NHL teams in europe are viable. same with the NFL talking about expanding to London, though that one is a little more feasible.

How are you going to handle the travel? It would be very unfair to have a team in LA play the team in Finland and then a day or two later have to play in LA again. And you cant just let every team have a couple days off after they play the Finland team so they can recover from the travel. And what are you going to do with the Finland team, have them go on super long road trips and have super long homestands? That's what you would have to do because you can't have them flying back and forth across the atlantic multiple times a week, it doesn't make sense financially or in terms of the mental/physical toll on the players. I just don't see how you could work around the logistics with a single team, you'd have to have a european conference.

 

[mall3013]

i dont think NHL teams in europe are viable. same with the NFL talking about expanding to London, though that one is a little more feasible.

How are you going to handle the travel? It would be very unfair to have a team in LA play the team in Finland and then a day or two later have to play in LA again. And you cant just let every team have a couple days off after they play the Finland team so they can recover from the travel. And what are you going to do with the Finland team, have them go on super long road trips and have super long homestands? That's what you would have to do because you can't have them flying back and forth across the atlantic multiple times a week, it doesn't make sense financially or in terms of the mental/physical toll on the players. I just don't see how you could work around the logistics with a single team, you'd have to have a european conference.

Agree. I don't see any reason for expanding outside NA period? Leave it the way it is, eliminate teams like the Florida Panthers etc. who don't support their teams anyway. I think there are way too many teams in the league now. It doesn't make sense to add to the league just for the sake of making it bigger. Leave it the way it is. I would be for Quebec coming back. Get the old Canadian rivalry back w the Diques and Habs.

 

[lasgop8]

Having a team in Europe is the most idiotic idea the NHL has come up with in a long time. Make the product more effective in NA prior to taking it over seas.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Having a team in Europe is the most idiotic idea the NHL has come up with in a long time. Make the product more effective in NA prior to taking it over seas.

Expansion in general is a bad idea IMO. If anything, NHL should consider contraction.

 

[awaz]

Expansion in general is a bad idea IMO. If anything, NHL should consider contraction.

 

[Maverick426h]

You could dump Tampa and Florida, then have a 28 team league with 14 teams in each conference. Aside from a Cup win nearly a decade ago for TB, these remain two of the worst franchises in the Nhl and with some of the lowest attendance figures around. They were 14th and 15th in the east last season too, so neither of them is improving.

 

[mall3013]

With Bettman at the helm, don't expect anything to make sense. Never liked him from day 1 and he is responsible for at least 2 maybe 3 lockouts. His idea of expanding the league is dumb in my opinion. Eliminate 2-3 franchises, maybe one of the teams can relocate to Quebec. That I wouldn't mind.

 

[Maverick426h]

With Bettman at the helm, don't expect anything to make sense. Never liked him from day 1 and he is responsible for at least 2 maybe 3 lockouts. His idea of expanding the league is dumb in my opinion. Eliminate 2-3 franchises, maybe one of the teams can relocate to Quebec. That I wouldn't mind.

Well, eliminate TB and Florida, then move the Coyotes to Quebec.

 

[lasgop8]

With Bettman at the helm, don't expect anything to make sense. Never liked him from day 1 and he is responsible for at least 2 maybe 3 lockouts. His idea of expanding the league is dumb in my opinion. Eliminate 2-3 franchises, maybe one of the teams can relocate to Quebec. That I wouldn't mind.

I think whoever they would bring in would be just the same as Bettman if they were to make a move. I think it's in all commisioners contracts to screw with the players at one point or another.

 

[mall3013]

Well, eliminate TB and Florida, then move the Coyotes to Quebec.

This is pretty much what I had in mind. No reason to have any of those 3 teams where they are. Terrible move by Bettman. Also, no reason to have any NHL team in Seattle either. They don't support pro sports, exception of the Seahawks. It's more of a college sports town, much like Columbus. We will see if the BlueJackets survive?

 

[awaz]

This is pretty much what I had in mind. No reason to have any of those 3 teams where they are. Terrible move by Bettman. Also, no reason to have any NHL team in Seattle either. They don't support pro sports, exception of the Seahawks. It's more of a college sports town, much like Columbus. We will see if the BlueJackets survive?

seattle would support a hockey team i think.. the thunderbirds and silvertips (WHL) both have pretty solid attendance i think and seattle sold out all of century link (70,000+ for an MLS game, seattle/portland sunday at 10pm est).. seattle does pretty well for sports.. the mariners just have bad attendance because they've been horrible for like 30 years, and the sonics had bad attendance because key area is terrible (and the team wasn't very good)

 

[mall3013]

seattle would support a hockey team i think.. the thunderbirds and silvertips (WHL) both have pretty solid attendance i think and seattle sold out all of century link (70,000+ for an MLS game, seattle/portland sunday at 10pm est).. seattle does pretty well for sports.. the mariners just have bad attendance because they've been horrible for like 30 years, and the sonics had bad attendance because key area is terrible (and the team wasn't very good)

Are the Thunderbirds still around? I lived in Seattle back in '92-'94. They were giving away tickets. I pretty much thought they were non existent? Super Sonics had some decent teams back in the day. I know that the area definitely could support hockey, w Tacoma nearby, I just don't see it unless things have changed?