Should The NHL Have More Canadian Teams...?

Question

Theres only 6 and no wonder the cup hasnt been in canada in a while cuz most of the NHL are american!!!

Answer 1

I think we could easily have a team in Winipeg again, and maybe even one in Hamilton or Halifax.

It'd be nice to have more teams around, but I don't think the league should be expanding anymore, they have enough teams already.

Answer 2

Nobody has a problem with more Canadian cities being represented in the National Hockey League. It's just harder to put a competitive team on the ice while struggling to make a profit. Right now, the Canadian market is harder to do business in that it is south of the border. And this also occurs in the United States for the same reason.

Despite what any of us feel, and I am one who thinks the NHL doesn't belong in any city that never sees snow, the financial reality is that it isn't practical these days. Winnipeg is probably the only Canadian city that can keep a team afloat. It is attractive to prospective owners because of the absence of territorial infringement. That is a challenge that makes Hamilton and Quebec City long shots to ever see another NHL team in the foreseeable future - among other important factors.

And I take no joy in saying this, but my gut instinct (which has been wrong) says that the next owners of the Oilers will move them to the United States.

Don't take it out on the U.S., its the owners. Canada deserves more teams but it is hard to justify putting them there when there are many times more profitable cities in America. Its unfortunate, and I wish it were different.

Answer 3

Well, yes because there are a lot of hockey fans in Canada ... but the fact is, there are not many major cities in Canada that can support a hockey team. Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary all have teams that do well ... but those cities are the largest cities in Canada. A team in Regina or Halifax wouldn't be successful because they wouldn’t' get the attendance ... not because people in those areas don't like hockey, it would be because those cities have smaller populations than most other cities in North America.

At one point, Canada did have a lot of NHL teams ... but they all moved to the American cities. Why? Because they were greedy and wanted more money. American cities can offer more money than Canadian cities, even if they don't get much attendance, and in the end, the NHL only cares about how much money they are making.

Answer 4

All I want to see are the Jets...maybe a Quebec team too...but there arent too many places that you can put a team where it'll get a huge audience.

I heard people talking about Halifax, Saskatchewan, and Hamilton, and it all looks good on paper, but in practice it doesnt work,

Halifax doesnt have as big a market (although on the plus side, almost all the maritimes would be behind them), and I dont think the NHL wants to put a team in the maritimes, Sasketwan doesnt have a major city to put the team in (Regina has a population of 175,000 thats it) and Hamilton will have too much competition from the Leafs and Sens, not to mention having to pay BOTH teams for TV rights in Ottawa or Toronto...

So i think Quebec City and Winnipeg are the only 2 real choices for a Canadian team

Answer 5

If the did put another team in Canada where would they put it?? There are not many places in Canada that has enough people to support an NHL team. Quebec might be able to support a team, but they've allready had a team and sold it to America.

Being a Canadian, I can honestly say it doesn;t bother me that the cup hasn't been won by Canadian in awhile because all of the good players on other teams are all Canadians anyways!

Answer 6

There used to be 8 out of 24 teams in Canada (1 in 3), now it's 6 out of 30 (1 in 5).

I think we need teams back in Winnipeg and Quebec City, and less teams in the US Sunbelt. There are tons of people in Tampa Bay and Raleigh that still don't know their city has an NHL team, and an NHL team that has won the Stanley Cup.

MajorTom, the Canadian dollar is way stronger than it was just 10 years ago. Like 30% stronger.

Answer 7

No. Canada is not a good market because there are just less people there. Teams move to the US for a reason you know. Besides, the NHL cannot just move teams. And moving teams are not a good thing anyway- it's not good for the team, it has to build a new market, identity, etcetera, etcetera. It's a last ditch move to keep a team alive because of economics.

And the NHL does not need to start any new teams right now, so no. No more Canadian teams right now.

Answer 8

Not until they can make money. Canadian teams are at a disadvantage financially, as players are paid in US dollars. Canadian teams are more expensive to run than an American team is, because the Owner has to essentially pay them more money in Canadian, to equal what they would be making in America. Its unfortunate, but until the Canadian dollar gets stronger against the US dollar, Canada will have a hard time keeping NHL teams financially stable, other than the big market teams they have.

Answer 9

We could easily support another team in Ontario since we can't get Leaf tickets and travelling to the US has become a complete hassle since 9/11 and will only get worse with the new restrictions next year.
I also think the 'Peg deserves it's team back. Not sure about putting on back in Quebec City until they decide if they're separating or not because if they do then all their fans will live in a third world country for a while until they can get things together. So I'd like to order two teams please, with players. We'll rename them and choose new uniforms

Answer 10

This has been asked many times before, and while it sounds good, the weak Canadian dollar (no offense intended) and smaller markets make it difficult to maintain a team outside of the already established areas.