After Tony Gallagher
stirred the post with his story about NHL expansion to Las Vegas being "a done deal," there has been a good deal of speculation about what—and when—everything will shake down.
Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy offers up a good analysis
here, including a pretty entertaining breakdown of Gallagher's unique prose style.
Expansion makes sense to me. When an NBA team like the Los Angeles Clippers can sell for a price tag in the bilions, that dwarfs the
$80 million expansion fees paid for the last four teams that joined the NHL: Nashville, Atlanta, Columbus and Minnesota.
Here's what Howard Bloom of Sports Business News foresees:
That would work out to expansion fees of $350 million per team—and a windfall of more than $46 million for each of the league's existing 30 clubs. Hard to think the owners wouldn't be keen on that idea!
Of course, expansion is also good for the players. It adds another 100 or so jobs to the market each year.
While the NHL continues to deny that any expansion news is imminent, I wouldn't be surprised to see this scenario unfold in three years' time.
More Local Broadcast News - Kelcey Brade leaves CTV for TSN
I didn't catch Greg Douglas' weekend "Dr. Sport" column in the
Vancouver Sun until yesterday, but he has a few more interesting broadcast tidbits that we can add to the departure of Rick Ball from TEAM1040.
Late night sports host Kelcey Brade on CTV also signed off last week and is headed to Toronto, where he'll join the TSN crew. Douglas reports that Brade will be making his debut as host of SportsCentre tonight.
Douglas also reports new branding coming down the pipe for the TEAM1040 and TEAM1410 stations, and a return to TV for Don Taylor:
Team Radio clients have been advised that as of Monday the identity of its two stations will officially become TSN 1040 and TSN 1410, falling into line with the networks’ other national radio outlets in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The Vancouver move is also expected to result in Don Taylor, terminated by rival Rogers Sportsnet, to resurface on the local arm of TSN television.
As of today, the TEAM website and the rest of its branding remains intact, but it would make sense to re-brand as TSN since it's all now part of the Bell media consortium.
Who Wore it Best?
As expected, a landslide victory yesterday for Haaaaa-rold Snepsts, who captured 81 percent of the vote and the hearts of the good folks at
Canucks.com. Here's Jim Robson, reminiscing about Snepsts:
Your nominees at No. 28—a pretty transient number overall in Canucks history:
Luc Bourdon: How different might the Canucks' defense look today had Bourdon not been killed in that motorcycle accident? Drafted 10th overall in 2005, Bourdon would have been coming into his prime right now as a 27-year-old, part of a draft class that included Sidney Crosby, Jack Johnson, Carey Price and, taken one spot after Bourdon, Anze Kopitar.
A big body at 6'3" and 211 pounds, Bourdon showed promise during the 20 games he played with the Canucks in 2007-08. The Canucks missed the playoffs that year, but he had two goals and was a plus-seven while averaging just under 13 minutes of ice time per game.
Bourdon was ready to take that next step before his tragic accident in the summer of 2008. He was just 21 years old.
Marc Crawford: He's best remembered as the Canucks' former coach, but Marc Crawford's entire NHL playing career was spent in a golden Vancouver uniform. Drafted in the fourth round in 1980, Crawford was a left-winger who spent parts of six seasons with the Canucks, shuttled back and forth between the big club and the minors.
In his rookie season, 1981-82, Crawford appeared in 40 games for Vancouver as well as 14 playoff games during the run to the Stanley Cup Final. His best year came in 1985-86, when he recorded 11 goals, 25 points and 92 penalty minutes in 54 NHL games.
All told, Crawford was a true journeyman. He scored 19 goals and 50 points in 176 games with the Canucks.
Rick Vaive: Vaive played less than one full season in Vancouver, but went on to be one of the top-performing Canucks draft choices in NHL history. Chosen 5th overall in 1979, Vaive was a goal-scoring right winger who already had a year of pro hockey under his belt, with the WHA's Birmingham Bulls. He scored 25 goals for Birmingham as a 19-year-old and also tied for the league lead with 248 penalty minutes.
When he joined Vancouver, Vaive put up 13 goals and 21 points in 47 games, as well as 111 penalty minutes. He was traded to Toronton in February of 1980, along with Bill Derlago, for Tiger Williams and Jerry Butler. Williams became a fan favourite in Vancouver but Vaive became a superstar for Leafs. He became Toronto's first-ever 50-goal scorer in 1981-82—the first of three consecutive seasons that he'd score 50 or more.
With only half a season in Vancouver, Vaive's legacy with the Canucks is limited, but in the NHL as a whole, it's strong.
Other players to have worn No. 28 for Vancouver included Mel Bridgman, Wade Brookbank, Jerry Butler, Larry Goodenough, Joe Kocur and Brian Noonan.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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