National Hockey League and Gary Bettman interested in putting an expansion team in Arizona
With the success of the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken, additional NHL expansion is a matter of if and not when. With cities like Houston, Kansas City, Salt Lake City and Atlanta already connected to expansion, there is one more market the NHL is heavily considering expanding to.
Today on the Jeff Marek Show, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman shared that the NHL is so dedicated to the Arizona market that it is currently on their expansion radar. While that might sound strange, the entire situation hinges on the league having to leave the market. According to Friedman, if the Coyotes are forced to relocate, the market likely won't be without a team for long as he expects the league to immediately place an expansion team back in the market.
With expansion fees expected to balloon up to nearly a billion dollars, it's hard to believe any ownership group will be signing up to hemorrhage money just to appease the NHL. The Arizona market has been nothing but a money pit for the league, but for one reason or another the league refuses to give up on the location.
| POLL | ||
Is Arizona a hockey market? | ||
| Yes, they just need an arena and good owner | 33 | 15.1 % |
| No, they've proven it won't work | 162 | 74 % |
| It's still too early to tell | 8 | 3.7 % |
| See results | 16 | 7.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
