The NHL is working towards another expansion franchise with Atlanta and Houston leading the way as reported by ESPN’s Kevin Weekes.
Weekes anticipates that a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) has to be signed first, but other reports indicate there may be an agreement ahead of schedule.
League projections show that the revenue is expected to be around $6.5 and $7 billion USD this year.
If the NHL expand to 34 teams, which is now a matter of when and not if at this point, it would bring 27 teams to the United States.
Houston previously had a professional hockey team in the WHA, the Houston Aeros, which competed between 1972 and folded in 1978. The Aeros weren’t around for long but found success in their short existence as they competed in the WHA playoffs in each of their six seasons with two championships.
The Aeros went on to close their doors in 1978, just a year before the NHL acquired five WHA teams in the NHL/WHA merger.
Should the NHL expand to Atlanta, it will be the third attempt to have an NHL team in the city. The Atlanta Flames were the first iteration which started in 1972 before moving to Calgary in 1980 and remaining there.
The second iteration of an NHL team in Atlanta was the Thrashers in 2000, but they weren’t any better of a team. They made the postseason once in 11 seasons (2007) where they were swept by the New York Rangers. In 2011, the Thrashers were relocated to Winnipeg for the second iteration of the Winnipeg Jets.
Both teams enjoyed watching hockey greats play for their teams, Houston watched Gordie Howe play while the Thrashers enjoyed watching Ilya Kovalchuk and more.
The NHL is known to want teams in the bigger US markets which could also see a return to Phoenix, Arizona soon. Houston’s Metro area has the fifth-largest population in the USA with over 7.1 million people while Atlanta’s Metro area sits sixth-place with a population of over 6.3 million people.
ITR 40: Headed For A Repeat? – Inside The Rink
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1) Between 2012-2021 thirteen NHL teams lost money….
All American teams… (in millions USD)
– Florida (-195.9) – GARY BETTMAN EXPANSION TEAM
– Arizona (-141.6) – GARY BETTMAN RELOCATION
– NY Islanders (-132.1)
– Carolina (-108.8) – GARY BETTMAN RELOCATION
– Tampa (-74.4) – GARY BETTMAN EXPANSION TEAM
– Buffalo (-59.9)
– Anaheim (-79.6) – GARY BETTMAN EXPANSION TEAM
– Columbus (-76.0) – GARY BETTMAN EXPANSION TEAM
– San Jose (-13.3)
– Nashville (-64.1) – GARY BETTMAN EXPANSION TEAM
– Minnesota (-55.1) – GARY BETTMAN EXPANSION TEAM
– St. Louis (-43.9)
– Colorado (-23.5) – GARY BETTMAN RELOCATION
Fun Fact:
Between 2005-2010 the Atlanta Thrashers set the record for most money lost by any NHL team in history…$130 million in losses in 5 years
2) Every Canadian team generates money for the NHL…
Between 2012-2021 (in millions USD)
– Montreal (+678.2)
– Toronto (+634.2)
– Edmonton (+139.4)
– Vancouver (+215.9)
– Calgary (+70.1)
– Ottawa (+50.9)
– Winnipeg (+4.9)
3) Every major population center in Canada (except one) ALREADY HAS AN NHL TEAM…
1 Toronto Maple Leafs (5,647,656)
2 Montreal Canadiens (3,675,219)
3 Vancouver Canucks (2,426,160)
4 Calgary Flames (1,305,550)
5 Edmonton Oilers (1,151,635)
6 Ottawa Senators (1,068,821)
7 QUEBEC CITY (839,311)
8 Winnipeg Jets (834,678)
Fun Fact:
Quebec City is larger in population than Winnipeg…so it would be reasonable to assume Quebec City would be another Canadian franchise generating revenue for the NHL.
4) All this talk about Winnipeg having bad attendance is Americans trying to take the Jets away from Canada, don’t believe me?
Capacity in Winnipeg at the MTS Center is “15,321” and the Jets averaged…13,490…
That is a drop of 1,831 fans or 88% capacity.
13,490 is not good. But the number is misleading since Winnipeg is the smallest arena in the league at full capacity…so any drop is noticeable.
BUT 88% capacity…is better than Buffalo OR San Jose…
AND Winnipeg generates more money than Buffalo or San Jose…
Florida Panthers (Miami – 6,091,747) lost $200.8 million more dollars than Winnipeg Jets (the smallest market in professional sports – who use Canadian currency).
Florida:
2 Finals….1 Cup….6 million people using American currency = -$195.9 million in losses
Winnipeg:
0 Finals….0 Cups….800 thousand people using Canadian currency = $5 million in profit
[Note: Jets lost over $40 million during covid19, and still managed to generate net revenue….]
[Note: NHL is a revenue sharing league, therefore the smallest Canadian markets Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa) had to prop up the dying Southern markets (Anaheim, Carolina, Tampa, Florida, Nashville, Arizona, San Jose, Columbus) through revenue sharing.
Canadian teams/markets PAY to keep the dying Bettman expansion teams alive. Facts.