BRIGHTON, Mass. – The NHL is going through plenty of planning, pomp and circumstance to prepare for the addition of an expansion franchise in Las Vegas at the start of the 2017-18 NHL season, and the preparations are already underway for each of the 30 teams prepared for an expansion draft following this season.
But aside from the NHL expansion into Vegas for the (insert name here) franchise, Bruins owner and Chairman of the Board of Governors Jeremy Jacobs doesn’t expect to see any additional chatter bubbling up about NHL expansion beyond the Las Vegas entry. Jacobs said it’s about fortifying the health and well-being of the existing 30 (soon to be 31) franchises, and making the NHL as fiscally strong as possible.
The speculation has long been that perhaps Quebec City, or a market like Seattle in the Western Conference, could be brought in over the next couple of years to finally even off both conferences at 16 teams apiece, but that doesn’t appear to be in the plans for an NHL that’s understandably wary of the flagging value of the Canadian dollar.
“I really don’t [see additional expansion talk]. I believe we’re looking for balance now. We have 16 teams in the East and 15 teams in the West. There isn’t as much compelling reason as there was. I think this league is looking for more stability,” said Jacobs. “The saying is that ‘the best new business is to take care of your old business.’ I think it’s really important that all of these franchises are strong and stable. We’ve got tremendous balance in our competition today.
“There’s no dominance [in the NHL] today. Anybody could pop up. Seeing [Sidney] Crosby go down this week is just sad because they’re such great players. But something can happen to them. It’s fragile on one hand, but exciting on the other.”
Although Quebec City absolutely deserves to have the Nordiques back in their rightful Canadian home as soon as it’s feasible for the league, it looks like it’s going to be some time before the state-of-the-art Videotron Centre gets to house an NHL club on a nightly basis.