On June 6th, the NHL announced that they were considering expanding the League for the first time since the 2000 season. Shortly after the announcement, 16 groups requested applications to file for a team. However, only two of those applications were actually filed by the Monday deadline of July 20, 2015 which required a $10 million dollar fee and a $2 million dollar non-refundable fee.
The two cities that put in those applications were Las Vegas and Quebec City the former home of the Quebec Nordiques who eventually became the Colorado Avalanche.
Gary Bettman has stated that “both applications are solid and geography is one of the factors we have to consider.” Bill Foley, who is the head of the Las Vegas group, has gotten commitments for over 13,000 season ticket holders, for if and when a team comes to Las Vegas.
Needless to say an NHL team in Las Vegas would be the first professional franchise for one of the countries most popular cities.
Many question though if an 8th Canadian franchise would do well for the NHL because of the questions surrounding the Canadian dollar. Gary Bettman tried to quell any concern surrounding adding another Canadian team saying:
“…the Canadian clubs are doing fine. Other than player salaries, most of their expenses are in Canadian dollars.”
“It’s something the process will have us evaluate,”
“…The Canadian dollar, it tends to get overstated. Our system accounts for the Canadian dollar. The Canadian franchises are seven out of 30 and it gets factored into the system.”
Again the last time the NHL expanded was during the 2000-01 season when the Blue Jackets and Wild, began play in Columbus and Minnesota respectively. These expansions also came during a time span of a decade in which the NHL rapidly grew from 21 teams and relocated others.
As everything finalizes for the expansion teams’ applications, everything will then go to a vote with the board. It will be an orderly process but should be a good one if everything gets approved to help boost the NHL’s fan base for a league that is still in the backseat to the NFL, MLB & NBA.
