Quote:
Originally Posted by Bingo
The two markets for expansion will be money generators and healthy, but won't they add to the issue of the last CBA where they boost HRR moving the cap up, the floor up, and add to the woes of the bottom five teams in the league?
I keep wondering if they should fold 2 teams, and move two teams and get a healthy 14 14 conference structure and go from there.
Fold Phoenix and Columbus
Move Tampa and Florida to Quebec and Markam
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Why would you move a team drawing 19,000 fans per game?
Anyway, the four-conference format begs for expansion, so nobody should get their contraction hopes up. The NHL isn't going to throw $400-$500 million away buying/folding teams when it can make the same expanding.
The only real problem the original proposal had from that perspective is the Florida teams in the wrong conference. Markham and Quebec are the most logical expansion sites, and they would belong in the same division as the other Canadian teams. That means someone will have to move from the NE to the SE when it happens.
Problem is, most of the Eastern teams are paired off. I think the best solution, really, is to put Washington and Carolina in the north and the Florida teams south. Once the league expands, move Carolina to the south where it belongs, and leave Washington in the north.