With the new NHL CBA in place, will there be room for more Canadian teams in the NHL ?
544176
Even with the new CBA agreement I do not see the NHL expanding any time soon.  A canadian city can only hope thast an American city will fold its team such as Pittsburgh.  If that is the case I believe the franchise would move to a US western city such as Seattle or Portland before it would go to a Canadian city.  Sorry!! but this is my opinion.
823439
Highly doubtful.\nThey have a pretty good core of guys, and if the defense (and Hasek!) stays healthy, they should have a decent year.\nAny team can win on any given day in the NHL, but there are quite a few teams with more talent in the league.  \nI'd love to see them hold up the cup again, but I doubt it will happen soon....:(
328988
no, because of the kings and canucks.  \n\nside note:  oilers need a new goalie after the season.
949318
It has!!!! Most games now are spent batting the puck around or else the old dump and chase game! U don't see many pretty plays anymore!!! I don't know what's up with some of these answers here either, the NHL is coma inducing! The NHL has too many teams and too little talent!!!!
885924
As soon as women's hockey is big enough to support it, absolutely.\n\nAs others have said, that's a matter of time.  Maybe not soon, but eventually.
255904
Hopefully that won't happen now. The league has a very nice balance with 16 teams in each conference and with each conference having four 4-team divisions. Adding a teams (or teams) would screw that up again, not to mention putting the league at risk of overexposure.
705475
I have answered many times here about the NHL by summing it up in a phrase that goes "The NHL has the market cornered on Stupidity". \n\nAs much as anyone can argue against it, the unfortunate reality is that money is the principle by which all teams manage themselves. It no longer matters if it is a Canadian or American commissioner, whether the game has been played in Hamilton for nearly a century before a city like Phoenix got a team, or if Wayne Gretzky ran the league. The environment is still the same, teams have to make money and they have a better opportunity to do that in the United States not because any country is better than another, but because the disparity in the values of Canadian vs. American dollars.\n\nSince the league decided that in order to grow, they need more teams. That meant that cities that wouldn't normally be associated with a winter sport will get teams. That meant that the greater portion of fans that would attend the games wouldn't know a check from a Czech. That means the game had to be sold in a way as to attract the non-traditional fan dollar. And that is why the league has morphed into the abomination that we see today.\n\nI never imagined that I would see the day when I would say that I have had enough. I don't like today's game. I miss the rough stuff, and it seems that the goalie is taken from the game. I can't stand the daily penalty-fests either. The Flyers dismal start notwithstanding, no more NHL for this fan of 32 years.
535522
Wong, you're pretty close.  Mob, you're way off.\n\nThe first deciding factor is seed (ranking).  The top seeded team will always have home ice.  When you get to the Stanley Cup Finals, there is a chance of two equally seeded teams meeting up.  If that is the case, it goes to regular season record.  If those are equal, then it goes to total GF (goals for - whoever has more).  If all the planets are aligned and those are equal, then it goes to GA (goals against - whoever has less).  There is one more deciding factor, but I can't remember what it is.\n\nIt doesn't matter at this point in the playoffs - Edmonton will always be the road team.  If it came down to Edmonton and Tampa Bay (8th seed in the East), then it would go to regular season record.
545662
Well first of all how likely is this? I mean ok it COULD happen but really how likely is it. I'm sure they have rules in place but I would guess proably by something like goals. I don't think they would start a new round robin for just those 3 teams.
458941
Not until they relocate to the US.\n\nCanadian Taxes are a killer to recruiting Top players, this has been the reason when top free-agents shy away from Canadian teams.  Remember when Steve Francis was drafted by Vancouver and refused to report?  Think how T-Mac and Vince Carter both left for weaker teams back in the US.\n\nConsidering that you need 2 or 3 top players to win a championship, the Raptors will never be able to have the talent to win it all.
582613
The last teams to enter the league (Wild, Blue Jackets, etc.) were charged a fee of $80 million.  That's up from the $50 million that Tampa, Ottawa, Florida and Anaheim paid.
894166
Fan support isn't the answer.. We all know Toronto has plenty of fan support! And Atlanta doesn't actually have much (not a good place to put any sports team! They couldn't even sell out when the world series was there!) \n\nThe answer is that it's the new NHL. New coaches on the new teams are getting new, fresh players who know how the new NHL works. These coaches know how to build their team from the bottom up, not like some established teams who rely solely on one or two star players who are puck hogs and don't fit into the new NHL at all.\n\nBuffalo's Lindy Ruff has the new NHL all figured out. We're not a new team, but we're number 1 in the standings. The rest of the teams will figure it out and catch up eventually. \n\nThe Leafs are doing fine. Don't worry about them too much... well, until they are up against us in the playoffs! :)
887087
Sens, Thrashers, Lightning, Leafs, Stars, Ducks
667448
New hockey is so much more exciting!  I love it.  I agree with your point on refereeing.  I wish a few of the transplant/expansion teams would actually go back to Canada (who cares about the Panthers anyway?)
714366
Between NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB, NASCAR, golf, tennis, etc. etc. they don't have much time for a "new" sport. Plus there is the fact that the UFC has some proprietary elements which tend to delegitimize it. The octagon cage is trademarked, the organization lacks transparency, etc. Rightly or wrongly, that puts it in the same league as Slam ball or American Gladiators in eyes of mainstream sports journalists. If there was an independent international sanctioning/ranking body for all MMA promotions that would help, but I doubt that is going to happen.
1095265
Normally NHL size rinks are not used and the Internation size is standard, but for the games in Vancouver for 2010 they have decided to use NHL size rinks for the purpose of decreasing costs and increasing revenue by having more seats available for fans.
300322
They've done a good job during the regular season and I see no reason why this won't continue in the playoffs. Bill Clement and company are polished and professional and I look forward to watching as much playoff hockey as possible for the next couple of months. I hope ESPN is crying in their worthless NBA beer for losing the NHL contract.\n\nGO SABRES!!!