Your ideal NHL

[Lowerdeck]

With recent news that the NHL may expand to 32 teams, new franchises in Kansas City and Las Vegas, many are upset. Most people will agree that the NHL should *contract* and abandon horrible mistakes of placing teams where they shouldn't have.

With that said, what would you like to see the NHL look like?

Here's my view...

East E: Boston*, Hartford, New York (Rangers), Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto

East W: Buffalo, Columbus, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Carolina, Tampa Bay

West E: Detroit, Chicago*, Minnesota, Dallas, St. Louis, Winnipeg

West W: Colorado, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Anaheim, San Jose

* The Blackhawks and Bruins get dumped, but replaced with the best organizations/rosters that got contracted. Just for the sake of argument, the Predators move to Chicago and become the new Blackhawks. The old Blackhawks are dissolved. Two other pre-existing teams become the new Jets and new Whalers.

[The Sultan of Swank]

I always liked Hartford.

What I'd like to see, not really seriously, but just like to see, is a 26 team league with 12 Canadian Franchises in it. Hell instead of Eastern and Western Conferences, you could make a Canadian and American conference... travel would be brutal.

[ROC]

My ideal NHL? One that didn't get the lowest ratings in a long long era of programming for the National Broadcasting Company.

[Toe]

I don't think the league needs to contract, as I think there are markets that can sustain a hockey team out there. I know Canada could have a few more teams, but that is a move that the League is resisting as they know that America is a bigger potential market and has more advertising revenue.

Boston and Chicago are classic franchises, and they aren't going anywhere. Quebec and Winnipeg could probably support teams now with revenue sharing, the higher Canadian dollar, and the salary cap. Southern Ontario could easily support a team, although the Leafs and Sabres would not like to see a team move there. Any major US city that does not have a pro sports team already could be a potential market for a NHL franchise, depending on location and size. A team in Vegas could survive I think, as they have been clamboring for some sort of professional team there from any sport for a long time.

My ideal NHL would be one where the Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup in 2007/08.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

One in which the guy running it has a hockey background and can deliver a great public image of himself.

[ACCBiggz]

* The Blackhawks and Bruins get dumped, but replaced with the best organizations/rosters that got contracted. Just for the sake of argument, the Predators move to Chicago and become the new Blackhawks. The old Blackhawks are dissolved. Two other pre-existing teams become the new Jets and new Whalers.

[Toe]

Gary Bettman sees the NHL as a top league in North America, so I don't think he would be willing to sign a deal for next to nothing with ESPN. Of course, any deal is an improvement over the current deal with Versus, as no one even knows what the hell Versus is!

[ACCBiggz]

Well tha't's why I said my ideal NHL, which is what this thread is about. My ideal NHL wouldn't have Bettman as the commish either.

[OGpistolpete]

East North: Ottawa, Buffalo, Montreal, Toronto, Boston, Detroit

East South: NY Rangers, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, Carolina

West Central: Nashville, St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota, Colorado, Dallas

West Pacific: Anaheim, San Jose, Phoenix, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton

Dumped: Philly, NY Islanders, Florida, Washington, Columbus, Los Angeles

Eight Team playoffs, four from each conference, two from each division.

I don't know anything about the NHL, so don't hate me.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Why exactly are you posting here if you know nothing about the subject (as evidenced by wanting to dump one of the strongest hockey markets and one of the most entertaining)?

[lari]

* The Blackhawks and Bruins get dumped, but replaced with the best organizations/rosters that got contracted. Just for the sake of argument, the Predators move to Chicago and become the new Blackhawks. The old Blackhawks are dissolved. Two other pre-existing teams become the new Jets and new Whalers.

That makes little to no sense to me. Why "dump" those two storied franchises... then just replace them with one of the contracted teams? I don't think the Presidents, GM's, Cities, or Fans would like that.

[The Sultan of Swank]

I'd like to move Toronto to the West so that if one day when the stars are all aligned and Toronto has gotten their shit together, and the Habs put together a respectable season, there's the chance of a decent all canadian final. But if Toronto(or most Eastern teams) went to the West right now, they would get Ker-Pwned.

[Gabriel]

I'd like to move Toronto to the West so that if one day when the stars are all aligned and Toronto has gotten their shit together, and the Habs put together a respectable season, there's the chance of a decent all canadian final. But if Toronto(or most Eastern teams) went to the West right now, they would get Ker-Pwned.

[SeanDMan]

Yeah, nothing says great hockey like matching up the speed freak goaltender and his filthy trap team compadres with a bunch of lazy Russians and pussy frogs led by a fucking blind guy. Why not just put it under a big top and play Benny Hill music while we're at it.

[Gabriel]

Yeah, nothing says great hockey like matching up the speed freak goaltender and his filthy trap team compadres with a bunch of lazy Russians and pussy frogs led by a fucking blind guy. Why not just put it under a big top and play Benny Hill music while we're at it.

[Toe]

Yeah, nothing says great hockey like matching up the speed freak goaltender and his filthy trap team compadres with a bunch of lazy Russians and pussy frogs led by a fucking blind guy. Why not just put it under a big top and play Benny Hill music while we're at it.

I was thinking about it more positively... the Russian presence in Montreal means lots of shots, which means lots of showcasing how great Kiprusoff is... plus, there's nothing better than watching some good hitting, and the Flames have the size, especially on defense, to do some major damage with good legal bodychecks. (And the occasional backup goalie baseball swing)

[oldskool]

Yeah, nothing says great hockey like matching up the speed freak goaltender and his filthy trap team compadres with a bunch of lazy Russians and pussy frogs led by a fucking blind guy. Why not just put it under a big top and play Benny Hill music while we're at it.

I was thinking about it more positively... the Russian presence in Montreal means lots of shots, which means lots of showcasing how great Kiprusoff is... plus, there's nothing better than watching some good hitting, and the Flames have the size, especially on defense, to do some major damage with good legal bodychecks. (And the occasional backup goalie baseball swing)

[Lowerdeck]

Anyway, a few comments. Why Anaheim and not LA? The Ducks may be the champs, but the Kings at least have some history AND they have a superior location. Also, I think it would make a lot of people unhappy if the Islanders were contracted. So much hockey history there. I'd take the Isles in my league ahead of Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Hartford, San Jose or Columbus.

The only reason the Ducks, Lightning, and Hurricanes are all in there is because of the Stanley Cup victories. I wasn't too proud of those being in there, but it made better sense than some other teams. My original plan was with the Islanders and Devils instead of the Lightning and Hurricanes. But on the other board, which is where I got the idea for this topic, I got laughed at for removing two of the last three champions and all the teams out of the Southeast ... I still don't agree with them having teams though.

Hartford - needs a new arena. The state wouldn't give them one, so they moved to Raleigh. Once they get a new arena, they should be fine.

Columbus - this is a pretty large city, and it's the only professional franchise (Big 4, MLS we won't count here) there.

San Jose - Team seems to be a mid runner in the West, does fairly well for itself in the Bay Area. Maybe I'm biased because they also put their AHL team in Worcester.

Pittsburgh - needs a new arena as well. That's the major problem.

Upon looking at the Islanders, they never seem to draw major crowds. They have a cult following, yeah. However, it's not all that big. It's like a southeastern city, except they compete against the much more popular Rangers. The Devils... not even the Newark Arena is going to help them. They might be a great team, but nobody gives a shit. Move them to Boston, tell Jeremy Jacobs to fuck off, and we got a Bruins that doesn't suck ass for the first time in decades.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Pittsburgh just signed a deal for their new arena.

[SeanDMan]

The only reason the Ducks, Lightning, and Hurricanes are all in there is because of the Stanley Cup victories. I wasn't too proud of those being in there, but it made better sense than some other teams. My original plan was with the Islanders and Devils instead of the Lightning and Hurricanes. But on the other board, which is where I got the idea for this topic, I got laughed at for removing two of the last three champions and all the teams out of the Southeast ... I still don't agree with them having teams though.

You kept the Lightning and Hurricanes there because they've won cups, but you want to contract the Islanders and the Devils?

Columbus - this is a pretty large city, and it's the only professional franchise (Big 4, MLS we won't count here) there.

Just because a city doesn't have another sport doesn't mean it needs an NHL team. The NHL is not a charity for sad cities and bored citizens, it's a business. The viability of putting a sport in a city that has no sports is obvious but it doesn't make a non-viable market suddenly economically solvent. That's just basic math; a+b=c, not f.

San Jose - Team seems to be a mid runner in the West, does fairly well for itself in the Bay Area. Maybe I'm biased because they also put their AHL team in Worcester.

...oh god.

Pittsburgh - needs a new arena as well. That's the major problem.

There's also the fact that their team was drawing WCW Nitro style numbers for a decade.

Upon looking at the Islanders, they never seem to draw major crowds. They have a cult following, yeah. However, it's not all that big. It's like a southeastern city, except they compete against the much more popular Rangers. The Devils... not even the Newark Arena is going to help them. They might be a great team, but nobody gives a shit. Move them to Boston, tell Jeremy Jacobs to fuck off, and we got a Bruins that doesn't suck ass for the first time in decades.

The Islanders arena is one of the oldest in the league. It's a veritable death trap and was built before the implimentation of luxury boxes, leading to a haphazard renovation removing much of their appreciable capacity. With a billionaire owner, they will get a new arena, although knowng the owner it will probably be in Korea. And the Islanders are in a huge market. You want to keep around the Blue Jackets because they can draw from an untapped market but would like to contract away two New York franchises? This is like someone asked "Can YOU out-suck Bettman?" and you put your moron cap on and said "I FUX THIS SHIT H4RD C0RE!"

Besides hating Boston, you're wrong in almost everything you say. I'm amazed, I thought the board had some stupid hockey fans, but the search for the dumbest ever continues everlong.