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THE TRUTH About NHL Realignment

December 6, 2011, 12:16 AM ET [ Comments]
Richard Cloutier
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
I know the truth...

Don't ask me how I know or why I know. I suspect Brendan Shanahan will be jumping through my front window any minute now holding a Mark XIX Desert Eagle and a warrant for my capture. Anything to silence THE TRUTH. It's fairly obvious when you think about it.

The NHL is about to expand to 32 teams.

Everyone loves expansion. Well, it will water down the product further, and the expansion will take place in Canada and nobody wants that. But potential owners will shell out big bucks for a new team, and that money goes directly into the league itself, and ultimately, the owners. You won't hear the NHLPA complaining about it either. More Teams = More Jobs.

Forget about the NHL pulling up stakes in Phoenix. If anything, expansion will mean the NHL finds the dough to keep teams' favorite vacation spot open for business. The NHL is currently a disaster in a few cities, but there are too many wannabe owners and not enough teams to go around. Didn't someone just buy the Dallas Stars with the intention of keeping them there? St. Louis Blues too? The NHL isn't pulling out of anywhere. Not even Long Island. Hockey worked there once; it can work there again.

This is all about expansion. Two new teams. But where? One is obvious: Quebec City. The other? Could be a second Toronto-area team, or Hartford could get another look. Remember the Whalers? I love those jerseys. It's time to bring it back.

Before you all bash me and laugh off what I am saying just because I have no sources and make things up, think about this situation and apply logic. Why put 16 teams in the West (where there aren't many opportunities for new teams) and 14 in the East (where there are opportunities a plenty)? Even if a few Eastern teams needed to move for financial reasons, there are plenty of other cities the NHL can try. Consider the Toronto area alone. Isn't there a new rink going up in Markham? Or the league could think Hamilton instead. See? Options. Could a team go to Baltimore? Hartford? A third Florida team? Options, options, options.

So my question now is, how long will it take before we hear the league has new owners lined-up? Hell, I'll go you one further: The teams going into the meeting today already knew the league has owners lined-up. Otherwise, why would there be a rush to get realignment in for next season? There was urgency in this discussion. There was no reason for urgency, unless there is more to this story than we already know. Two new owners are holding a briefcase full of cash, and the league wanted to hurry up before they changed their minds. It's so obvious.

The most fun about all of this: People who own Whalers and Nordiques jerseys will get to wear them again proudly. I can't wait. Now where did I put my Real "Buddy" Cloutier jersey that use to fit me 100lbs ago?

One of these days you people will listen to me and not be embarrassed about it. Trust me.
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