What Cities Should Be Given An NHL Team?

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Let’s face it, the NHL is ready to expand.

With hockey’s popularity constantly growing (minus the lockout shortened season, let’s just forget about that) the time has never been better for the league to look into creating brand new franchises, moving existing franchises to new cities, or both. Setting aside all of the logistics of what it would take to actually bring an NHL team to a new city, let’s take a look at some potential landing spots that would simply make sense to host a new team.

Canadian Cities

1. Hamilton

With a seating capacity of just over 17,000, the FirstOntario Centre “formerly Copps Coliseum” in Hamilton is already set up and ready to go. Hamilton has been in contention for a team previously, but has been beaten out by other cities for the right to host an NHL team. I believe that if a team were to come north of the border, that Hamilton would again be in strong contention. However, rumours have it that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres don’t want a team there because it will take away from their revenue. Toronto should want a team in Canada, as it strengthens the chance of a team actually winning the cup. God knows that no other Canadian team has figured out how to win it in a long, long time.

2. Quebec City

For a city that had previously had an NHL team in the Quebec Nordiques, I believe this city makes the most sense for the NHL and it’s Canadian fans if another team were to be brought into Canada. Recently moving the Atlanta Thrashers into Winnipeg, a strong case could be made here to move an ailing franchise into a hockey crazed city. Maybe the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, or Phoenix Coyotes could come to Quebec City and reignite these teams. Not to say that they are all doing poorly, but let’s face it, every game would be sold out in Quebec as opposed to in Florida where you have to offer fans everything under the sun to ensure season tickets are bought.

American Cities

1. Seattle

Here’s hoping that the NHL thinks long and hard about creating (or moving) a team into the sports crazed town of Seattle. Already the hosts of an NFL team (One that just won the Superbowl, mind you), an MLS team, and an MLB team, why not complete the sweep by adding an NBA and (most importantly) an NHL team? Yes, the arena needs work, but if I’m not mistaken, if Seattle was able to land a professional sports team from every pro sport in North America, that would put them in the company of places like New York as being one of the only cities to host all of these teams? It’s not as if the fans in Seattle would reject the idea, either. Some of the wildest fans in all of North America live in Seattle, and I have no doubt it would expand to the rink as well.

2. Kansas City

I like the idea of a team in Kansas City, partly because they already have an NHL ready arena, but also because it just sounds right as an NHL host. The fans there get to enjoy minor league hockey, but the excitement of a professional hockey team is a whole other animal. I would choose Kansas City over another potential city like Las Vegas, but because the owners of the Los Angeles Kings also own the arena in KC, there may be a conflict of interest that wouldn’t allow them to own a second team.

Where would you like to see the next NHL franchise end up?

You can follow James on Twitter: @hashtagswag604

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