Expansion seems inevitable
TSN: With the way revenues are heading in the NHL and the increase of franchise values, talk of expansion is inevitable according to Darren Dreger, and a group from Atlanta is hanging around the Board of Governors meetings.
“For example, there is a group here representing the interest of Atlanta. Nothing formal, but making sure they’re getting in front of the right influential owners, lets say, just to make sure everybody understands that the interest is real and the opportunity in and around Atlanta is real.”
Questions then become, do you expand by two years? Do you expand to 20 playoff teams?
Chris Johnston wonders what the next expansion is going to be. Some think it could be $2 billion, though Johnston doesn’t know if it will get that high.
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TSN: Darren Dreger mentions there are untapped markets for the NHL, like China and Europe.
“…and when I say untapped it’s not necessarily from a competitive aspect but you could see, down the road, an affiliate league with a team in Prague or Sweden or China. It seems a bit strange because the National Hockey League probably doesn’t want to create another competitive playing field for a player who maybe looks at the NHL differential differently than he does in his home country.
We’re talking about the finances here. I think there’s a fair comparison to what’s going on with the NBA. The NBA has done a masterful job of maximizing merchandising dollars in other parts of the world. The NHL has failed in comparison.”
Could we see some scheduling alterations?
TSN: Pierre LeBrun said there are some who don’t like the Stanley Cup being award on June 24th, like it was last season, and that the NHL and NHLPA have held some very preliminary talks about altering their schedule format. A shorter preseason, an 84 game schedule and an early awarding of the Cup. It’s not a top priority for the league. The Networks like ESPN and TNT may not be in favor of any early October start.
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