Seattle gets its NHL team

[UWS]

Yesterday, it is announced that the NHL will make its expansion in Seattle and that Seattle will have its NHL team that will have the KeyArena as its home arena and will begin play in the 2021–22 NHL season.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_NHL_team

https://www.nhl.com/news/seattle-can-begin-nhl-expansion-process-says-bettman/c-293782092

[Lechasseur]

I didn't even know that Seattle didn't have an NHL team lol

[Santander]

People don't even watch hockey there, lol. (and there's no obvious business reasons like Las Vegas)

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Quebec got screwed. This will miraculously be a slightly better venture as a rival to Vancouver than Phoenix is to Vegas, but that's not saying much.

[Comrade Funk]

People don't even watch hockey there, lol. (and there's no obvious business reasons like Las Vegas)

Seattle is a good sports city unlike Miami/Raleigh/Phoenix. They support MLS of all things, so I'm sure this will succeed. Ofc Sonics should be brought back however. And Quebec deserves a NHL team as well.

[Frodo]

I'm glad they chose to renovate the existing Key Arena instead of building an entirely new stadium in SoDo.  

[Santander]

People don't even watch hockey there, lol. (and there's no obvious business reasons like Las Vegas)

Seattle is a good sports city unlike Miami/Raleigh/Phoenix. They support MLS of all things, so I'm sure this will succeed. Ofc Sonics should be brought back however. And Quebec deserves a NHL team as well.

Of all the states on the Canadian border, Washington is probably the place where hockey is the least popular, and probably by some distance, considering most of those states are crazy about hockey (AK, ND, MN, VT, upstate NY, etc.) Wisconsin would've been a far better place to put a team. (although the Hawks would obviously have something to say about that)

[Joe Republic]

People don't even watch hockey there, lol. (and there's no obvious business reasons like Las Vegas)

Nobody watched hockey here either until last year.  Now every other car has a VGK logo somewhere on it.  This last spring everybody just went nuts.

[JGibson]

People don't even watch hockey there, lol. (and there's no obvious business reasons like Las Vegas)

Seattle is a good sports city unlike Miami/Raleigh/Phoenix. They support MLS of all things, so I'm sure this will succeed. Ofc Sonics should be brought back however. And Quebec deserves a NHL team as well.

I agree with this. It's a shame that Quebec City doesn't have an NHL team.

[NewYorkExpress]

It could be worse.

They could have put a team in San Diego, Houston, San Antonio or New Orleans.

That said they should put a team in Quebec...and bring back a team in Hartford.

[136or142]

Here are some actual facts on this:

1.Seattle has an senior amateur Western Hockey League team (mostly 18-20 year olds), that Seattle Thunderbirds, that has averaged between 4,500-5,000 a game for a number of years, which places it in the middle of the pack in the WHL.

2.From Wiki: On March 1, 2018, a ticket drive began to gauge interests in season ticket deposits. Oak View reported that their initial goal of 10,000 deposits was surpassed in 12 minutes,[19] and that they received 25,000 deposits in 75 minutes.

3.When the Major League Soccer Seattle Sounders were in the minor A-League (formerly the American Professional Soccer League - APSL) before the league was renamed the United Soccer League (USL) they averaged around 4,000-5,000 a game (after drawing about 8,000 a game or so for their first couple seasons.) At the time, they were one of the top drawing teams in the A-League.  Since being in MLS, they've averaged around 40,000 a game, which was by far the highest draw until Atlanta United entered the league.  Seattle is simple a great spectator sports city.  

In regards to MLS attendance, most of the teams play in 'soccer specific stadiums, with capacities of around 20,000, which obviously means they are in no position to compete with the Sounders in attendance, whether they could or not.

4.Quebec City is an excellent market for an NHL team, but Metro Seattle has something like four times the population as Metro Quebec City (about 4 million vs 1 million.)

5.Interest in hockey seems to have actually dropped off in Milwaukee. However, the Cleveland Monsters in the top minor league the American Hockey League  (formerly named the Lake Eerie Monsters) has averaged around 9,000 a game for a number of years which places it near or at the top.

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Also,

1.Houston has actually been a decent city for hockey support historically. Although it goes back a ways, the Houston Aeros of the old World Hockey Association in the 1970s was one of the best draws (around what the Quebec Nordiques drew) though certainly having Gordie Howe and his sons play for the team must have helped the attendance.

2.For the name of the team, being a soccer fan, I recommend Seattle Hockey Club (Seattle HC or HC Seattle), being something of a Canadian Football League fan, I also recommend the Seattle NHLers (the Baltimore team in the CFL - don't ask - was named the Baltimore CFLers - don't ask.)

[Strudelcutie4427]

Seattle Sasquatches.

Im calling it now. Thats the name

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

They should revive the Seattle Metropolitans name so as to already have one Stanley Cup to their credit.

[Orser67]

Seems like a safe choice.

Also, I wonder if the NHL will become the first major U.S. sports league to break the 32-team barrier.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I wonder if the NHL will become the first major U.S. sports league to break the 32-team barrier.

Doubtful. They've explicitly stated they have no plans to do so and it would complicate scheduling.

[Obama-Biden Democrat]

People don't even watch hockey there, lol. (and there's no obvious business reasons like Las Vegas)

Sunbelt hockey teams like Vegas and Arizona are a bit of a joke. They have to rely on half of their fans at games being from tourists from Canada or northern transplants. I remember one Arizona-Detroit playoff game in Phoenix, and the crowd had more Detroit fans than Arizona fans in their own backyard. I bet lots of Florida sports teams have the same issue, with half the crowd being from NY. People tend to keep their sports fandom even when they move.

Seattle is not a bad choice though for a new hockey team. Seattle is a decently large city, with a growing dynamic population. The NHL had to bring in new Western teams, as there was a imbalance between East v West. I would love to have the Hartford Whalers back, but they are right in the middle of Boston and NYC.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Actually, from a regional balance standpoint, rather than add another West Coast team, thereby forcing the Coyotes into the Central Division, it would have made more sense to add a team in Houston.  As it is, breaking the budding rivalry with the Golden Knights probably means Houston will get an NHL team when the Coyotes move.  If I were the Coyotes' owner, I'd go for a bare bones operation, skimming my share of the national TV rights until the NHL admits reality and lets the team move to a city where it can make money.

(The problem Canada has is that the NHL is in no position to add a 17th team in the Eastern Time Zone until the NHL expands past 32 teams.)

[NewYorkExpress]

Actually, from a regional balance standpoint, rather than add another West Coast team, thereby forcing the Coyotes into the Central Division, it would have made more sense to add a team in Houston.  As it is, breaking the budding rivalry with the Golden Knights probably means Houston will get an NHL team when the Coyotes move.  If I were the Coyotes' owner, I'd go for a bare bones operation, skimming my share of the national TV rights until the NHL admits reality and lets the team move to a city where it can make money.

(The problem Canada has is that the NHL is in no position to add a 17th team in the Eastern Time Zone until the NHL expands past 32 teams.)

Add a team in Halifax, and move one of Detroit/Columbus/Pittsburgh to the Western Conference.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

(The problem Canada has is that the NHL is in no position to add a 17th team in the Eastern Time Zone until the NHL expands past 32 teams.)

Add a team in Halifax, and move one of Detroit/Columbus/Pittsburgh to the Western Conference.

That doesn't solve the time zone problem.  You'd still have teams three time zones apart in the same conference which is bad as it makes it impossible to schedule weeknight games for those teams that are watchable live by both sets of fans. If anything, adding an Atlantic Time Zone team makes things worse, but not by much.

[Badger]

Actually, from a regional balance standpoint, rather than add another West Coast team, thereby forcing the Coyotes into the Central Division, it would have made more sense to add a team in Houston.  As it is, breaking the budding rivalry with the Golden Knights probably means Houston will get an NHL team when the Coyotes move.  If I were the Coyotes' owner, I'd go for a bare bones operation, skimming my share of the national TV rights until the NHL admits reality and lets the team move to a city where it can make money.

(The problem Canada has is that the NHL is in no position to add a 17th team in the Eastern Time Zone until the NHL expands past 32 teams.)

Add a team in Halifax, and move one of Detroit/Columbus/Pittsburgh to the Western Conference.

Die heretic!!!

[Badger]

They should revive the Seattle Metropolitans name so as to already have one Stanley Cup to their credit.

[BackWoodsSouthernLawyer]

I didn't even know that Seattle didn't have an NHL team lol

Exactly, I would have assumed they had one since they have every other professional sports team.

[Mr. Illini]

They should revive the Seattle Metropolitans name so as to already have one Stanley Cup to their credit.

We can call them the Mets.

Anyway, I think that this will work out well. Seattle seems like a decent hockey city (as opposed to Vegas, Phoenix, Tampa, or Miami) and the rivalry with Vancouver will be awesome.

Now when is Wisconsin getting a team?

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

They should revive the Seattle Metropolitans name so as to already have one Stanley Cup to their credit.

We can call them the Mets.

Anyway, I think that this will work out well. Seattle seems like a decent hockey city (as opposed to Vegas, Phoenix, Tampa, or Miami) and the rivalry with Vancouver will be awesome.

Now when is Wisconsin getting a team?

As soon as Chicago (the city, not the team) moves south.

[Mr. Illini]

They should revive the Seattle Metropolitans name so as to already have one Stanley Cup to their credit.

We can call them the Mets.

Anyway, I think that this will work out well. Seattle seems like a decent hockey city (as opposed to Vegas, Phoenix, Tampa, or Miami) and the rivalry with Vancouver will be awesome.

Now when is Wisconsin getting a team?

As soon as Chicago (the city, not the team) moves south.

I mean MKE has a basketball team while Chicago does, too, and its a much better hockey state than basketball.

In fact, MKE has a baseball team and Chicago has TWO.