NHL Insider Reveals Next Expansion City For The NHL
The NHL appears to be in a new age of expansion after the additions of the Golden Knights and Kraken. Rumors of new teams have been circulating around the internet and a lot of speculation has been going on as to where the next team will play, not if. Now we just might know.
Friedman Reveals New Details That Could Lead NHL To Expanding To Utah
Utah is not know for much outside its natural beauty and abundance of Mormons. Now though, Salt Lake City, one of the fastest growing metro areas in the country, may be on pace for new major attractions including an NHL team. The insider touched on this topic in this morning's edition of 32 thoughts.
Apropos of nothing, the International Olympic Committee bestowed Salt Lake City with «preferred bidder» status for the 2034 Winter Games. Basically, it means the organizing committee enters exclusive talks with the IOC to close the deal. (The official decision will be made next July.) A successful Olympic bid means a new arena for hockey, which makes Utah an even more attractive (and likely) NHL destination.
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If Salt Lake City does end up hosting the 2034 winter games, that would mean the city must have a building capable of hosting ice hockey events to the highest international standard. Such a building should also meet the NHL's standards, meaning the city will likely have a brand new building within a decade. As Friedman points out, this would make the city an even more attractive expansion option.
Salt Lake City Pushing Hard For NHL Expansion Team
We already know that there are people in Salt Lake that have directly expressed interest in owning an NHL club to the league.
Bill Daly confirms the NHL has heard directly from Salt Lake City (Utah Jazz/Ryan Smith) about their interest in having an NHL team.
(Potential relocation spot for the Coyotes although Bettman doubles down on saying he hopes to find a solution in Arizona)
(Potential relocation spot for the Coyotes although Bettman doubles down on saying he hopes to find a solution in Arizona)
While some believe the Coyotes may be relocated there, the league remains adamant that they will remain within the Phoenix metro area. Additionally, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith has expressed a preference for an expansion team rather than a relocated franchise.
The NHL seems to be perfectly content with expanding further as long as the league is still bringing in those juicy expansion fees. At this point it only seems like a matter of where, rather than one of when the next expansion team will be joining the league.
| POLL | ||
7 DECEMBRE | 219 ANSWERS NHL Insider Reveals Next Expansion City For The NHL Should the NHL continue to expand? | ||
| Yes, the more the merrier | 77 | 35.2 % |
| No, the league is big enough already | 142 | 64.8 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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