Life and politics from the Sunshine State's best city

NHL to start looking at possible expansion cities

in Sports/Top Headlines by

The Las Vegas Snake Eyes?

The Seattle Salmon?

The Toronto Even-Leafiers?

Evidently, the race is on for the next NHL expansion hockey teams. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the formal expansion review process will begin July 6, although he cautioned that “this process does not necessarily mean that an expansion team will be granted.”

Still, it seems that the league wants to learn what is available and how much revenue it might bring in.

Las Vegas is among the early leaders, since an arena is already under construction. Seattle is intriguing since it is a major city with no NBA team to be a rival. Both teams could fit nicely in the NHL West, which has only 14 teams compared to 16 in the East.

A second team in Toronto has been mentioned. Quebec City, Kansas City and Portland also have been mentioned.

Tags:

Gary Shelton is one of the most recognized and honored sportswriters in the history of the state. He has won the APSE's national columnist of the year twice and finished in the top 10 eight times. He was named the Florida Sportswriter of the Year six times. Gary joined SaintPetersBlog in the spring, helping to bring a sports presence to the website. Over his time in sports writing, Gary has covered 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics, Final Fours, Masters, Wimbledons and college national championships. He was there when the Bucs won a Super Bowl, when the Lightning won a Stanley Cup and when the Rays went to a World Series. He has seen Florida, FSU and Miami all win national championships, and he covered Bear Bryant, Bobby Bowden and Don Shula along the way. He and his wife Janet have four children: Eric, Kevin, K.C. and Tori. To contact, visit [email protected].

Latest from Sports

Go to Top