NHL Megathread (2020-21 Season, Offseason, Trade Rumors)

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junodog4
Future Grumpy Old Man


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Location: Calgary
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  • #31
  • Posted: 07/29/2021 02:32
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Romanelli wrote:
Can't believe that the already paper thin NHL is expanding again. I'd have contracted first...


What makes you say that? Are teams struggling to find talent?

I'd say that's hardly the case at all. There are so many kids who can play now. Look at the youth who show up and push a vet out of a job.
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cestuneblague
Edgy to the Choir



Location: MA/FL

  • #32
  • Posted: 08/02/2021 19:43
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I'm all for a Seattle finally having a hockey team, been a good three decades in the making, with the Sonics long gone it makes a ton of sense. There's plenty of talent so that's not an issue, and there's a lot more parity in the NHL then say the NBA (where I could see expansion being a problem because that would just be two more teams that have no shot at a title). That being said, I can humbly predict the Kraken won't pull a vegas their inagurual season, though I'm interested to see how free agency pans out considering they have a ton of cap space.

The problem with the NHL is that they've tried to expand it's appeal to the warm-weather states to mostly underwhelming results (Tampa Bay's playoff success has definitely helped, Nashville finally caught on, Phoenix is a disaster, Miami was never going to be a hockey city, Colombus is too much of a college town (Cincinatti would've been a better selection) and even with a Stanley Cup win and no professional sports competition the Hurricanes still can't get a lot of fans in seats), it just makes a lot more sense to bring hockey to the canadian markets like Quebec City and Hamilton, or another team in New England or perhaps Kansas City which is a very underrated and fruitful talent pipeline, as even with the limited market size they would have a lot less heavy lifting when it comes to attendance, merchandise, ratings etc. Will be interesting to see if there's any movement in the future but this will surely be the last expansion for a good long while.
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Necharsian
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  • #33
  • Posted: 08/04/2021 20:15
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NHL teams usually catch on, even in warmer places, when the team is good. Tampa, Carolina, Nashville, (Vegas), etc. are doing fine now because they've had at least some success/really great teams. Even Florida isn't doing terribly in terms of attendance, and if the team can maintain the good thing they've got going there's no reason to think they can't be tampa2. Arizona has basically never been good and looks like they are going the Atlanta route of relocating, but I'm pretty convinced that if those teams' management didn't blow it for 20 years they'd also be fine.
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junodog4
Future Grumpy Old Man


Gender: Male
Location: Calgary
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  • #34
  • Posted: 08/21/2021 16:20
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Necharsian wrote:
NHL teams usually catch on, even in warmer places, when the team is good. Tampa, Carolina, Nashville, (Vegas), etc. are doing fine now because they've had at least some success/really great teams. Even Florida isn't doing terribly in terms of attendance, and if the team can maintain the good thing they've got going there's no reason to think they can't be tampa2. Arizona has basically never been good and looks like they are going the Atlanta route of relocating, but I'm pretty convinced that if those teams' management didn't blow it for 20 years they'd also be fine.


I'd love to see the Coyotes move to Quebec. Apart from that, the league is set.

I love the Oilers management Applause . Nurse is a good D man, but 9 million? Adds to the list of self-inflicted wounds (Reinhart for Barzal, Larsson for Hall, turning Eberle into Spooner, Koskinen and Kassian contracts, etc...) I feel so bad for McDavid and Oilers fans (not really the fans... they still insufferably bask in past glories like Canadiens fans). Oilers management is wasting a generational talent. It's a bigger crime than the Flames mediocrity - they're not wasting a golden opportunity.
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cestuneblague
Edgy to the Choir



Location: MA/FL

  • #35
  • Posted: 08/21/2021 17:42
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Well you gotta remember Miami, to be blunt, is one of the worst cities for professional sports. I mean only the Heat have ever managed to draw crowds, and really only started being among the tops in attendance after Lebron's arrival. For what the Panthers do pull in to their arena is pretty good when grading on the Southern Florida curve, and yeah I guess they were bad for so long and it'll be interesting to see what they pull now that they're inching closer to contention (obviously after COVID restrictions ease). I mean i think there is some appeal to try and expand the NHL to non-traditional markets- and they have succeeded in a few like Tampa and Nashville (eventually), and Vegas has been solid even as one of the most transplant-heavy market probably because they were the inaugural sports franchise for the city - but at the end of the day they have to know where the bread is buttered and Canada as well as the cold-weather states near the canadian border in the US is always going to be where most of the ratings, attendance, merchandise etc is sold. So it just makes sense if there is any future re-location to try and have as big a footprint up north as possible.

And well it actually looks like the Coyotes are almost out the door in Glendale, as their lease is not going to be renewed next year. I guess they do want to keep the team in the western conference, but for the love of god don't bring them to Houston, if they are staying out west Kansas City is so much more of a hockey town with a good talent pipeline (and, yes, a cold-weather area) even if it's a smaller media market I think it would probably do even better when it comes to fan interest and ticket sales... and I think an Avalanche-Mavericks? rivalry would be far more intense than the Stars-Areo. Obviously I second Juno in that I would love to see the Nordiques be ressurected, but it's probably not going to happen with the Coyotes unfortunately.


Anyhoo, yeah this offseason has been interesting though I think a lot of the best teams are kind of just resting on their laurels a bit. I think the Kraken have done a good job using their cap space after a perhaps intentionally underwhelming expansion draft, though are probably headed on a much slower and steadier path to contention than the Golden Knights. The Islanders I wish have done a bit more because they're really close, and the Canadiens frankly have a lot of trust that needs to be earned back after that draft night fiasco. Though I'm definitely hoping for an exciting Caufield breakout this season.
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