Around the league (signings, RFAs injuries)

[Meds]

This could get interesting quickly.

Graeme Roustan has already said he will apply for an expansion team in Toronto/GTA.

The obvious imbalance in the divisions points to two new teams in the west. Vegas seems like a done deal at this point. All kinds of rumblings keep coming out of Seattle. Quebec wants a team and is going to have an arena soon. Roustan wants to put a team in the GTA.

A team in Seattle would be great. A second team in the GTA makes a lot of sense to me. Quebec City is a small, government city. Who's going to buy the boxes? Vegas seems like a wild card to me.

Teams like Florida, Columbus, Carolina, Arizona and New Jersey are hardly guaranteed to stay in their current locations forever. I think if Quebec City is ever to get a team, or a second team moves to the GTA, it will be because an American based team has floundered and is relocated. This expansion exercise has to be aimed at fixing the imbalance in the divisions.

Vegas will have shitty fans.....similar to Phoenix. They will have the ticket sales though. It'll be a fun arena to go see a game at, and you can bet that if the hockey sucks, the other entertainment will deliver.

What's wrong with Quebec? It's the same size as Winnipeg. Definitely small market, but still doable.

I've wanted to see a team in Seattle for years! It would be great for a NW rivalry.

I don't give a shit about the GTA.....but if they do get a team I want them to win a Cup before the leaves do!

[Island Nucklehead]

Once again the NHL awards show is awkward and terrible.

Karlson wins another Norris. Price wins the Lindsey. Bergeron's got his 3rd Selke.

Jack Adams goes to Hartley.

[Benjo]

Price wins the Hart, Vezina and Lindsey

[Cookie La Rue]

Price wins the Hart, Vezina and Lindsey

And still Cloutier would smash his pretty face in ot's.

[herb]

The league has said the earliest a new team will play is the 2017-18 season. So, two more seasons of 30 teams, then probably up to 32 at least in 2017-18.

Vegas will have shitty fans.....similar to Phoenix. They will have the ticket sales though. It'll be a fun arena to go see a game at, and you can bet that if the hockey sucks, the other entertainment will deliver.

Vegas definitely will not have that home grown feel like Winnipeg or Boston, but there's probably 25,000 Canadians there at any given time, plus tens of thousands of other out of market people from NY, Chicago, LA, etc. Maybe it'll work? They have apparently pre-sold 13,000+ season tickets. All from individuals, not casinos or businesses. The arena and owner are basically waiting. You have to imagine there will be a team in Vegas in 2017-18.

What's wrong with Quebec? It's the same size as Winnipeg. Definitely small market, but still doable.

I don't know much about Quebec City, to be honest. My main concern would be that QC is a big government town. Even Winnipeg is home to some pretty large corporate head offices. Who is going to buy the luxury suites and blocks of $300 a piece season tickets in QC? Winnipeg's owners are two of the richest guys out there to boot.

QC has the arena. Apparently Quebecor is going to make a run. I admit it would be pretty fun.

I've wanted to see a team in Seattle for years! It would be great for a NW rivalry.

Yes, this would be great. Seattle better get serious about an arena though.

Honestly, this is so perfectly set-up for Vegas and Seattle with the divisional situation. I have to think that has been the master plan all along.

I don't give a shit about the GTA.....but if they do get a team I want them to win a Cup before the leaves do!

I want another team in the GTA, but I'd love for it to be a young up and coming team like Florida who comes n and wipes the floor with the leaves for years and years. How many more seasons in Sunrise can the Panthers sustain in front of 11,000 paying spectators?

[Island Nucklehead]

I want another team in the GTA, but I'd love for it to be a young up and coming team like Florida who comes n and wipes the floor with the leaves for years and years. How many more seasons in Sunrise can the Panthers sustain in front of 11,000 paying spectators?

I imagine the NHL is hoping that, like the Lightening, if the Panthers ever get to a sustained level of respectability, the fans will come. They've got a nice young crop of players, but they need to put it all together. One thing's for sure, with the Eastern conference being fairly wide open every season, they could get to the playoffs as soon as next season. They'll need to do it consistently and start making runs into the later rounds to really gain any traction, though.

It's not shocking that the NHL wants to expand. If you believe what Bettman and Daly have said, that $500M is the price, then that means an extra $1B for two teams to be shared amongst the other owners. The players get nothing (besides the extra 46-ish NHL jobs). So for a team like the Panthers, that's a nice little $33M or so cash infusion (even though it only covers their loses for probably one season lol).

[herb]

I imagine the NHL is hoping that, like the Lightening, if the Panthers ever get to a sustained level of respectability, the fans will come. They've got a nice young crop of players, but they need to put it all together. One thing's for sure, with the Eastern conference being fairly wide open every season, they could get to the playoffs as soon as next season. They'll need to do it consistently and start making runs into the later rounds to really gain any traction, though.

I imagine that's the hope as well. Winning cures many ills in pro sports.

I also imagine part of the Panther's problem is being in Sunrise. I wonder if it's like the Coyotes playing in Glendale all these years (arena in the wrong place). One difference is the Panther's owners are filthy rich. Moyes was never that rich. The Thrasher's ownership group was never that rich.

Would anybody really be surprised if after another horrible season or two the Panthers are on the move? Maybe Gina would.

[Aaronp18]

Vegas and Seattle into the Pacific.

The then Scottsdale into the Central.

Sunrise to Quebec/GTA.

Move Tampa into the Metro and C-Bus into the Atlantic and the divisions look better geographically.

The Yotes will probably be pissed, oh well. They either move to Scottsdale in a new rink or somewhere else anyways.

[Meds]

I want another team in the GTA, but I'd love for it to be a young up and coming team like Florida who comes n and wipes the floor with the leaves for years and years. How many more seasons in Sunrise can the Panthers sustain in front of 11,000 paying spectators?

11,000?

That's how many seats are sold, but if there are 8,000 people in there on most nights I would be surprised.

To be honest, that's almost where you want to develop prospects though. No interest, no pressure, the media leaves you alone.....probably half the reason why Louie wanted to head back there so badly.

[damonberryman]

Put a team in Whitehorse and hand out free beer. I would travel from NY to see that shit. Have you ever been to a bar in Whitehorse? If you like to fight a lot it is a great town.

[ESQ]

The players get nothing (besides the extra 46-ish NHL jobs). So for a team like the Panthers, that's a nice little $33M or so cash infusion (even though it only covers their loses for probably one season lol).

I remember the last lockout got stuck on the issue of whether players get a share of expansion fees, but I don't remember what the result of that was.

But, two teams getting added would increase league revenues - if they're successful teams, particularly if its in Toronto for example, that would be a huge bump to the salary cap (or would give players more of their escrow money back). So really, expansion is very much in the players' interest as well.

[Island Nucklehead]

The players get nothing (besides the extra 46-ish NHL jobs). So for a team like the Panthers, that's a nice little $33M or so cash infusion (even though it only covers their loses for probably one season lol).

I remember the last lockout got stuck on the issue of whether players get a share of expansion fees, but I don't remember what the result of that was.

But, two teams getting added would increase league revenues - if they're successful teams, particularly if its in Toronto for example, that would be a huge bump to the salary cap (or would give players more of their escrow money back). So really, expansion is very much in the players' interest as well.

I'm pretty sure expansion fees do not count as HRR (hockey related revenue), so they are outside of the CBA. And yeah the Players should be for it, more jobs for them. Not to mention the employer-funded trip(s) to Vegas every year

[Jovocop]

First trade of the day...

TSN Radio Vancouver ‏@TSN1040
RT @MikeChambers: #Avs have acquired Carl Soderberg from BOS for 6th-round pick in 2016

[Blob Mckenzie]

Put a team in Whitehorse and hand out free beer. I would travel from NY to see that shit. Have you ever been to a bar in Whitehorse? If you like to fight a lot it is a great town.

i wonder if all the season ticket holders in Whitehorse would be 6ft 8 .

[Hockey Widow]

First trade of the day...

TSN Radio Vancouver ‏@TSN1040
RT @MikeChambers: #Avs have acquired Carl Soderberg from BOS for 6th-round pick in 2016

Clearing a spot for Bieksa or Kassian