Maybe it’s the postoperative drugs talking. Maybe it was my old colleague Stewart Mandel’s well conceived plan for a Big 12-Pac-12 merger that sparked the idea. Maybe I’m just bored because we’re in the NHL’s dead season, with little information circulating throughout the hockey world other than bad rumors.
Whatever the genesis, all of this talk of super conferences in college got me thinking what a super league could look like in hockey. To be clear, the NHL is not looking to expand any time soon. Both commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly have made that clear, but the NHL is always looking for ways to increase revenue and expansion fees have provided the league’s owners with big paydays in recent years. Vegas paid a $500 million expansion fee and Seattle paid $650 million.
North American pro sports are already coast-to-coast leagues so the Big Ten’s addition of UCLA and USC barely raises an eyebrow in pro circles. For the NHL to become a super league, it would have to go global.
With that in mind, I reached out to a couple dozen hockey sources in executive and media circles to ask this question: “If the NHL could expand to any hockey-playing markets in the world (yes, world), which ones would be at the top of your list? Selfish replies welcome.”
The latter line elicited some fun responses like Istanbul (Europe’s largest city), Tokyo and New Zealand. While I would gladly hop on a plane and endure the long flight to any of those fascinating places, I don’t think that Turkish, Asian or Oceanic hockey has advanced to the point where it could support an NHL team. Per hockeydb.com, Kunlun Red Star, the KHL’s lone entrant in China, averaged 409 fans per game in 2021-22 and has only topped 3,000 once in its six-year history.
Hockey does not have the same global appeal as basketball or soccer for one simple reason. It costs far more to play it so far fewer people have access to it, and the corresponding opportunity to truly experience and understand it. If the NHL were to go global, it would have to start in Europe before it entertained any dreams of expanding its footprint into areas such as Central Asia where the KHL has already set up shop.
Even European expansion poses major problems. Is the player pool large enough to support more teams, and what about travel? If the NHL were to expand as far east as Moscow (I’ll get into that Russian angle a little later), it would be nearly half a day later on the league’s eastern edge than its western edge. Acclimation days would have to be built into any travel schedule to allow players to adjust to the time difference and perform at their peak after a trans-Atlantic flight.
Then there’s the time and cost associated with that trans-Atlantic travel. Imagine the Los Angeles Kings flying to Stockholm to begin a European road trip. That’s a 10-plus hour flight.
Future innovation in air travel could help. Remember the Concorde, which flew at speeds up 1,354 mph (almost three times as fast as current commercial airplanes)? In my nerdy research I discovered that commercial airplane speeds have not increased in nearly five decades. In fact, they have decreased. This is the biggest hurdle to European expansion.
As noted above, any team traveling across the Atlantic would have to be afforded that travel day and probably two more off days to adjust to the new time zone. Those trans-Atlantic road trips would also have to be substantial in length. You wouldn’t want to have to do it more than twice in a season. Some critics might label this unmanageable. I just think it’s a problem to be solved if the league ever renews its appetite for expansion.
Many of the NHL folks to whom I spoke thought that the league should focus any expansion efforts on untapped U.S. and Canadian markets first. For that reason, I have broken potential expansion cities into two categories: a dozen North American markets, and a baker’s dozen European markets.
Many of these markets have been mentioned already, based on their hockey history, their size, the attractiveness of their media markets and their corporate bases. Some of them are just daydreams.
North America
Houston: It’s the first city off everybody’s lips (and the latest ill-founded relocation rumor for the Coyotes) when the topic turns to expansion. Houston boasts the nation’s fifth largest greater metropolitan population and it is the US’s eighth largest media market. It has some history with the Aeros and the league loves the market. If Houston is to become an NHL market, however, it will happen through expansion, not relocation. Forget those Tilman Fertitta rumors that you have heard. Despite the bluster, he is lukewarm at best to the idea of owning a team and without him the league would need a new arena to be built because the NHL doesn’t do tenancy in somebody else’s building. The revenue streams simply don’t exist in such a model.
Quebec City: The former home of the Nordiques has 7-year-old Centre Vidéotron lying in wait for the NHL’s return, along with a willing ownership group and a rabid fan base. The problem with Québec? It’s even smaller than Winnipeg, it does not carry financial clout from a media market perspective, and it does not have the corporate base that is so vital to sponsorships. Even so, it would be cool to see the home of the famed international Pee Wee tournament get another kick at the can.
Portland: The Coyotes nearly moved here (unlike any of the other rumored relocation markets). It has the Moda Center and it makes sense from a geographical and financial standpoint, given big tech’s footprint there.
San Diego: No market perplexes more than San Diego, which boasts a top-20 metropolitan population, plenty of money and a corporate presence. Somehow, the city with the nation’s best weather has not been able to support NFL and NBA franchises, but the AHL’s Gulls are regularly among that league’s top draws. Seriously, what player would not want to play in San Diego?
Austin: More than a few NHL execs have noted the league’s interest in another Texas market because of its corporate base, its population’s disposable income, its growth, its new arena and the opportunity to be the first pro sport in town.
Kansas City: KC has NHL-ready T-Mobile Center and a (failed) history with the league. The Scouts played there from 1974 to 1976. They had a pretty sweet color scheme (and a nickname that would have to change).
Milwaukee: There was talk of Milwaukee getting a team as far back as the 80s. Former Blackhawks owner William Wirtz may have had something to do with that not happening. Wisconsin is a hockey state, but Milwaukee is a relatively small market for the NHL with a greater metropolitan population around 1.5 million.
Salt Lake City: The NBA’s Jazz always seem to draw well. Could a hockey team follow suit?
Hamilton: The Toronto area could support a second team and Jim Balsillie already tried to bring the Coyotes there.
Halifax: I just like the idea of it. It would be the only NHL city in the Atlantic time zone.
New Orleans: I’m not sure how feasible this one is, but I would never skip this road trip.
Atlanta: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. I don’t think Atlanta will be afforded a third opportunity after the Flames and Thrashers failed, but thanks to Atlanta, Calgary and Winnipeg have NHL franchises.
Europe
Stockholm: Sweden’s capital (and largest) city has a greater metropolitan population of nearly 2.4 million. Many of them are hockey fans, but Hovet arena, home of Djurgårdens, seats a little more than 8,000. Gothenburg (12.0444) and Malmö (13,000) have larger arena capacities. Stockholm’s team would have to move into a larger local venue such as Avicii Arena which is still a bit on the small side.
Helsinki: Finland’s capital has a greater metropolitan population of about 1.5 million but it would need a bigger arena than 8,200-seat Helsinki Ice Hall such as Helsinki Halli, which is also a bit on the small side.
Prague: Czechia’s entertaining capital would instantly become one of the favorite stops on the NHL circuit and O2 Arena’s capacity of 17,383 is NHL ready.
London: Ice hockey is not as big in the UK as it is in other European nations, but it would be hard for the NHL to pass up such a large city with a massive wealth and corporate base.
Paris: See above.
Berlin: Mannheim has the hockey pedigree, but Germany’s capital has a far larger population and corporate base on which to draw. Mercedes-Benz Arena seats 14,200 for hockey, a bit on the small side.
Copenhagen: Add another Scandinavian market to the mix and make Mikkel Bødker and Nikolaj Ehlers happy.
Zurich: Switzerland’s largest city makes sense for a lot of reasons but Bern regularly draws the Swiss league’s largest crowds. Before the pandemic, Bern was averaging better than 16,000 fans per game.
Bratislava: An NHL team in Slovakia’s largest city makes sense again, now that former NHLer Miroslav Šatan has rebuilt the nation’s hockey programs to the point where countrymen Juraj Slafkovský and Šimon Nemec were the top two picks at the 2022 NHL Draft.
Moscow: Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this would have been a difficult proposition, given the existence of the KHL. Now? It’s hard to envision anybody going into business with Vladimir Putin.
Saint Petersburg: See above. Too bad. Saint Petersburg is gorgeous, and it’s a hockey hotbed.
Riga: Latvia’s capital is home to KHL hockey club Dinamo. The Coyotes played an exhibition game there in 2010.
Milan: Northern Italy makes the most sense for that nation and Milan is a wealthy, bustling city of 3.25 million.
Logistics
In my perfect NHL world,the league would add 12 European markets and four more North American markets, bringing its total to 48 teams. There would be eight divisions of six teams, two of them in Europe.
I noted above that trans-Atlantic road trips would have to be long, with built in rest days to acclimate to the time zone. The other issue would be the playoff series formats, but the league could partially solve this issue by having teams play in playoff pods. The two European divisions would compete against each other until one semifinalist emerged. The six North American divisions would do the same in western, central and eastern pods.
Then imagine a final four type neutral site where the NHL semifinals and Stanley Cup Final would be held. It would cut off live viewership to many fans, and that is not an issue that should be lightly dismissed, but it would remove the travel issue and the marketing and revenue possibilities from such an event would be intriguing.
If all goes well in Europe, there is plenty of room for expansion there as well — to the point where that continent could boast as many teams as North America.
Top photo: Getty Images
18 Comments (8 conversations)
lukea
There are so many issues beyond the travel to this idea. What about the draft? If this happened American and Canadian kids may get drafted to Finland. The draft currently at least keeps them all somewhere in North America. The European kids all know they’ll have to come to NA to play in the NHL if that’s what they want. What about trades? It’s hard enough when players suddenly have to pack and move somewhere else in the country, let alone now move to the other side of the world in a completely different culture. Could the European teams even be competitive? I can’t imagine many NA players wanting to go there. NA fans couldn’t watch their team because they would be playing at 3 in the morning. I like you Craig, but this is a terrible idea for many reasons.
mlkinkor
Growing up as a Kansan, I had the same dreams many young kids have, of playing pro sports. I dreamt of walking onto the pitch at Wembley Stadium as a goalie primed to win a champion’s league trophy….or representing the US in the World Cup. I dreamt of pitching a perfect game as the visiting team at yankee stadium in game 7 of the world series. I dreamt of running out of the tunnel at Lambeau field to a raucous crowd. I didn’t care where I played, I cared about the experience. I cared about getting that chance. You’re telling me that I would give up that chance because the only place I get my chance is with the Prague Defenestrators? No. I would gladly go wherever I could to achieve my dreams.
alas, I’m not a professional athlete and I resort to being a fan adopting teams where I can. You know, like Nottingham Forest for my premier league soccer, probably Bayern Munich for my Bundesliga soccer, Packers for football (sorry Craig), Coyotes for hockey…Braves and twins for baseball. Been trying to get into the habit of watching Bandy and I want to get into watching euro hockey but I haven’t found the best streaming options.
ChrisKay1
The Prague Defenestrators would be a great name for a team. When I was in Prague in 1994 (loved it), I took a picture of the window where the poor folks were cast out. Then made a model of it and put on my desk at work. Whenever someone would ask for something outlandish to be done, my coworkers would point at the model and laugh and say to the Requestor “do you really want this to be your fate?” 🙂
Durangutang93
32 teams to 36 teams. 2 conferences, 3 divisions, 6 teams per division. I can’t see the NHL expanding outside of North America though.
I dunno. I think it is something they will always keep in the back of their mind as a possibility.
This is just a ridiculously myopic view. You don’t think European players have the same concerns about moving to North America when they are drafted or traded? Of course they do. And European fans of those players have the same issues with viewership.
lukea
Yes, but most of these European countries have their own pro leagues. Nobody is forcing European players to come to the U.S. or Canada to play in the NHL. If the players want to play pro hockey closer to home, there’s a path, it’s just not in the NHL. And of course most Europeans have concerns about moving to NA, but that’s a personal decision for them. They’ve known the NHL is in NA, that has always been true and there’s no uncertainty about that. They choose to be far from home to play in the NHL. It’s really silly to dismiss these problems as just a myopic point of view when the NHL and the NHLPA would raise those concerns as well. Not to mention the logistical challenge of just starting 16 teams. You think owners want to play the final playoff games at neutral sites? There’s far more involved than just saying it would be cool for Finland to have a team. You can try to play visionary if you want, but these are actual criticisms that would come up from teams and the PA if this was a serious proposal, just dismissing them outright isn’t a compelling argument to fundamentally transform the league.
First off, I didn’t dismiss the issues. I addressed and acknowledged them. What I dismiss is a myopic view that this is a just a terrible idea and it won’t work because of the current state of things.
Of course, there are significant issues to resolve and yet there are many folks in the league and within the PA who still consider this a possibility down the road — a possibility that they continue to monitor.
If the structure of the league shifts to a global perspective then our view will shift to a global perspective instead of a myopic North American view. Players growing up will be born into a new reality where the league is no longer viewed as just a North American league. They will adjust their thinking and goals accordingly.
While Europe has its own pro leagues, none of them are at the NHL’s level so if you want to expand the game and its possibilities, you think beyond the myopic view that this idea simply won’t work.
Again, there are real issues that have to be resolved and again, I have addressed/acknowledged many in this story, but that doesn’t mean you throw up your hands and say it won’t work. If the appetite is there, and I sense it may be in the future as the world gets smaller and smaller and the league looks for more revenue streams, you search for a way to address those issues.
RobB
Craig, check out Boom Supersonic. All the league has to do is buy 32 (48?) of these babies, problem solved!
That’s why I linked to the CNN story: https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/how-supersonic-flights-can-succeed/index.html
I’m fascinated by Supersonic travel.
RobB
Oops! Sorry, missed the link. Should have known you had your background covered.
We need better fuel efficiency; maybe even an alt. fuel source.
RobB
Both part of Booms plan. But we shall see if they can pull it off.
JimA
This article would have been factual had you had 33 teams in N America and 15 in Europe and made the Coyotes switch divisions !!
Heal up
Bill Brasky II
I think this is a very interesting article. If you want my 2 cents, I would suggest that each of European expansion teams be allowed to pick the best 10-15 players currently participating in their country’s league to form the core of the new NHL teams.
An expansion draft and free agency would help fill out the rosters. This would be one way that the NHL could find players for the new teams without significantly diluting the current talent base.
This is kind of what happened when the NHL merged with the WHA as well as when the NFL and AFL merged their two leagues. Many of us remember when the NHL’s 1970s expansion doubled the NHL from the original six to 12 teams overnight. That worked out all right, eh?
Robert
I think Houston would have the very same problems as we do.
Maybe not for the first year or two but eventually they too would have problems with dual loyalties which result in a very spotty and inconsistent fan base.
On the other hand, Dallas too is a town with many transplants and their fan base seems pretty solid.
The first professional hockey game I ever saw was there. The Dallas Blackhawks.
mlkinkor
Ooo I like the neutral site idea. Do a 4 year rotation. Each year have a different zone get the neutral site. Or you could do previous year’s cup winner gets to host. Though if Nashville is a problem to host the draft because of lack of hotel space, I can only imagine hotel space issues for neutral site playoff spots, so it’d probably be better to have a 4 year schedule, where the large markets in each zone get a chance to host.
Canis Latrans
A little belated, but I think a key to expansion that the league has finally figured out with Las Vegas and Seattle, is that the new teams need help getting a solid foundation in place – strong owner, stadium, and potential to compete (Las Vegas) or build into a competitor in a decent timeframe (Seattle).
The previous expansion and by extension the Coyotes’ move came across as selfish moves to solve a problem and let someone else cover the bills while the top dogs of the league continued to reign over a bunch of perennial also-rans. Eventually those also-rans all ran into huge trouble that cost the league far more than if they’d ever lent a small hand in the beginning rather than casting those teams right into the deep-end.