by Bruce Johnson

Created on: May 07, 2008

Over the years, the view taken regarding expansion teams has changed quite radically. For almost 30 years, from the 1930's until 1967, 'purists' believed that having six teams was sufficient. Not just sufficient, but that adding more teams would dilute the talent pool. The 6 teams in 1967 had around 120 players, arguably the best 120 players in the world. Adding teams could only lower the standard of play. But in 1967, the desire to expand the audience for the game beyond Canada and a couple of states in the northern US override the talent pool objection and the NHL was increased from 6 to 12 teams.

Fortunately for the NHL, the talent pool argument turned out to be specious. By the early 1970's, four additional teams (Buffalo and Vancouver in 1970 followed by Atlanta and the New York Islanders in 1971) had been added. As well, the World Hockey Association (WHA) was formed with an additional 10 professional hockey teams. Hockey franchises could be found all across the U.S and Canada, making it a truly continental sport. And yet the level of play continued to be quite high

The expansion boom petered out in the mid 1970's. Although Kansas City and Washington were granted franchises in 1974, by the end of the decade, the WHA had collapsed and four of the teams (Edmonton, Winnipeg, Quebec and Hartford) were merged into the NHL. For the decade of the 1980's, the league's teams remained constant. But the number of teams and the relative lack of players caused the NHL to start looking further afield.

Until the 1980's the vast majority of players were Canadians. There were some American players, but there had been no real system built to develop young American talent. However, there was a large body of players who, as it turned out, did have the skills to play in the NHL - Europeans. More accurately, eastern Europeans. Russia was surprising hockey powerhouse, as demonstrated by the 1972 Canada-Russia Summit Series. But Sweden, Finland and Norway also produced it's share of hockey talent. And that talent started to arrive in the NHL. The NHL was on the way to becoming an international league, at least from the standpoint of the participants.

The addition and movement of franchises picked up again in the 1990's. Ottawa, Tampa Bay and San Jose joined the league. Quebec moved to Denver, Minnesota moved to Dallas and Hartford moved to Carolina. The reach of the NHL increased yet again. By the year 2000, it was up to 30 teams covering all of North America. And it has stayed at this size to the present.

What expansion has given the NHL is the ability to broaden its reach across the U.S. It is an fast-paced sport that should have a national broadcast contract. And yet it doesn't. The lockout that wiped out the 2004-2005 season is part of the reason. But it is not the main one. The other is fan interest. When a franchise has a passionate fan base, it is successful. But in places like Tampa Bay and Phoenix, it is challenging to keep local interest high. And without local support, the franchise will eventually move or collapse.

Ultimately, there is no widespread interest in hockey outside of the cities that have NHL teams. At least, not in the U.S. Certainly not like there is in football or basketball. So to this point, expansion has been the NHL's way to spread interest in the sport. But the ability to do that is disappearing. There are few cities that have the population base necessary to support a team. The NHL needs to find another way to market its product to the masses without expanding. That is the main challenge facing the league at the moment and one that I know the league executives are struggling to solve.

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