[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

If well run expansion teams can quickly become competitive. Even our Flames when in Atlanta only spent 2 years below .500 before putting in consistent winning records. They can't blame Atlanta's poor attendance on the team performance.

http://www.hockeydb.com/stte/atlanta-flames-4680.html

The Islanders also became competitive after 2 seasons.

http://www.hockeydb.com/stte/new-yor...ders-7085.html

On the other hand, in the following expansion, the Washington Capitals and Kansas City Scouts sucked for years and years. (It didn't help that the talent pool had been severely depleted by the WHA.) Each case is different.

This time around, contrary to what getbak said above, the NHL actually does have a pretty powerful incentive to give the new expansion teams halfway decent rosters: they need to give some kind of value for all that money. The fact that only two ownership groups even submitted applications tells you the price tag is scaring off bids.

Suppose they charge $500 million for a franchise, and the new club turns out like the '74 Scouts or '92 Senators. The streets of Edmonton will be lined with palm trees before they find another sucker willing to pony up that kind of money again.