All Things Hockey:

[Sixtolezcano]

14 hours ago, nate82 said:

The NHL is looking to expand again and drum roll please....... Milwaukee is not on the list.  The four cities that the NHL is looking at are Indianapolis, Houston, Atlanta and New Orleans with Austin on the outside looking in.  Reported franchise fee is $2bn.  

Yeah I don't see Milwaukee getting a franchise when the fee is $2bn.  Not enough possible revenue for a team in Milwaukee to pay for that fee.  

Milwaukee has too small of a population and is too close to Chicago to support a NHL franchise 

[NeedMoreFans]

Hasn't the NHL learned from the past two Atlanta experiments?

Also, Indy is within 250 miles of five NHL teams: Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, and St. Louis.  I'm not saying that Indy should get one over Milwaukee, but if Milwaukee is too close to Chicago, Indy isn't that much further from Chicago than Milwaukee is.  

[nate82]

7 minutes ago, NeedMoreFans said:

 

Hasn't the NHL learned from the past two Atlanta experiments?

 

Apparently not and I believe Phoenix has to be offered one also as I believe that was part of the deal that moved them from Phoenix to Salt Lake City.  But I think there is a set year that it has to happen by.  This maybe outside that.

[NeedMoreFans]

53 minutes ago, nate82 said:

Apparently not and I believe Phoenix has to be offered one also as I believe that was part of the deal that moved them from Phoenix to Salt Lake City.  But I think there is a set year that it has to happen by.  This maybe outside that.

Looks like an arena has to be built within 5 years (so 4 now) and it's guaranteed they'll be considered, but it's not a slam dunk they'd get a team.  

The NHL seems hell bent on expanding to non-traditional hockey markets; ie the American South/SW.  Milwaukee, Hamilton, Quebec City, Halifax, maybe even St. John's could all probably support a team- at least have great attendance at games- but they probably won't draw many new viewers to the sport.  Another Texas team would tap into a much bigger market that doesn't already watch hockey.  

[nate82]

3 minutes ago, NeedMoreFans said:

Looks like an arena has to be built within 5 years (so 4 now) and it's guaranteed they'll be considered, but it's not a slam dunk they'd get a team.  

The NHL seems hell bent on expanding to non-traditional hockey markets; ie the American South/SW.  Milwaukee, Hamilton, Quebec City, Halifax, maybe even St. John's could all probably support a team- at least have great attendance at games- but they probably won't draw many new viewers to the sport.  Another Texas team would tap into a much bigger market that doesn't already watch hockey.  

Yeah Austin makes sense and Houston to some extent also.  But New Orleans and Atlanta?  I am not sure those markets make sense for hockey.  If Milwaukee isn’t a viable option then New Orleans wouldn’t be one with Houston being in consideration and the same for Indianapolis.  Though I am fine with Indianapolis getting a team.  I think a better fit would replace New Orleans with Austin and replace Atlanta with Milwaukee.  If you are just looking at the cities that makes more sense to me.  

Also a $2bn franchise fee seems excessive.  Maybe the NHL means a total of $2bn in franchise fees for the four cities and not $2bn each.  If it is a total of $2bn then that makes more sense as it falls in line with the most recent expansion cities fees.  

[owbc]

1 hour ago, nate82 said:

Yeah Austin makes sense and Houston to some extent also.  But New Orleans and Atlanta?  I am not sure those markets make sense for hockey.  If Milwaukee isn’t a viable option then New Orleans wouldn’t be one with Houston being in consideration and the same for Indianapolis.  Though I am fine with Indianapolis getting a team.  I think a better fit would replace New Orleans with Austin and replace Atlanta with Milwaukee.  If you are just looking at the cities that makes more sense to me.  

Also a $2bn franchise fee seems excessive.  Maybe the NHL means a total of $2bn in franchise fees for the four cities and not $2bn each.  If it is a total of $2bn then that makes more sense as it falls in line with the most recent expansion cities fees.  

Expansion has little to do with fan support. It’s about which cities can put together ownership groups that can afford the $2B fee. Each of the 32 teams will net $125M in free money if they expand to 34. 
 

That makes Atlanta and Houston the most obvious targets. NOLA is a bit surprising. Phoenix likely is still on their radar as well but maybe in 5-10 years. 
 

I think if the Bucks’ ownership group was interested and could raise capital then Milwaukee could be a contender, but there doesn’t seem to be interest. Kansas City might be better because they have no NBA to compete with. 

[RedStickBrew]

As someone who lives near New Orleans and attends events there frequently I find it laughable that NOLA would be considered for a hockey expansion team

[HarryDoyle]

22 hours ago, nate82 said:

The NHL is looking to expand again and drum roll please....... Milwaukee is not on the list.  The four cities that the NHL is looking at are Indianapolis, Houston, Atlanta and New Orleans with Austin on the outside looking in.  Reported franchise fee is $2bn.  

Yeah I don't see Milwaukee getting a franchise when the fee is $2bn.  Not enough possible revenue for a team in Milwaukee to pay for that fee.  

I think an NHL team in Milwaukee would be a money pit for any prospective owner. Wasn't it years ago that the Pettit's passed on expansion? 

[nate82]

28 minutes ago, HarryDoyle said:

I think an NHL team in Milwaukee would be a money pit for any prospective owner. Wasn't it years ago that the Pettit's passed on expansion? 

They passed because of the franchise fee which has increased almost 1000 times since the Pettit's tried.  

[homer]

13 hours ago, nate82 said:

They passed because of the franchise fee which has increased almost 1000 times since the Pettit's tried.  

Yeah, at the time, the fee was $50 million, which I believe was more than any NHL franchise was worth.

https://www.milwaukeemag.com/milwaukee-not-nhl-city/

Article mentions they were willing to go as high as $30 million, which I didn't know.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

I generally think NHL expansion is a not great idea, given that 34 teams would be more than any other pro sport. Hard to believe hockey can sustain that level of commitment in that many places. The league is already pretty unstable.

OTOH, it always seems to be thriving in the South and Southwest. Players love those markets much more than they seem to want to play on Quebec or Halifax or even Winnipeg or a genuinely great city like Vancouver. I'd much prefer a team in Halifax (which would make the NHL the only four time zone pro league if I am not mistaken), but I get that the money is elsewhere.

I will be interested to see how this plays out. It is a unique, high-risk, high-reward business strategy. You expand to collect expansion fees and hope you own markets like Raleigh and SLC and Austin all winter. Maybe those teams go bust, or maybe you'll get a league with a massive map.

[Cool Hand Lucroy]

Minnesota sources reporting that Kirill Kaprizov turned down an 8-year, $128 million deal from the Wild. Would have been the richest contract in NHL history. Kaprizov has one year left on his current deal then becomes a free agent.

I can squint and see the logic here. The cap is rising, contracts have a lot of room to grow, and Kaprizov will probably be one of (if not the) most in-demand FA next offseason. Still. That's a ton of downside risk for a guy with a pretty lengthy injury history.

The other explanation I can think of is that maybe he just doesn't like MN or really wants to win a cup and doesn't see it happening there. 

Either way, the NHL is such a fascinating league. Contracts are so cheap compared to the other leagues, the players incentives don't often seem purely financial, and it seems like there's going to be a lot of cash flowing into the league in the coming years.

[stoutdude04]

On 9/10/2025 at 1:08 PM, Cool Hand Lucroy said:

Minnesota sources reporting that Kirill Kaprizov turned down an 8-year, $128 million deal from the Wild. Would have been the richest contract in NHL history. Kaprizov has one year left on his current deal then becomes a free agent.

I can squint and see the logic here. The cap is rising, contracts have a lot of room to grow, and Kaprizov will probably be one of (if not the) most in-demand FA next offseason. Still. That's a ton of downside risk for a guy with a pretty lengthy injury history.

The other explanation I can think of is that maybe he just doesn't like MN or really wants to win a cup and doesn't see it happening there. 

Either way, the NHL is such a fascinating league. Contracts are so cheap compared to the other leagues, the players incentives don't often seem purely financial, and it seems like there's going to be a lot of cash flowing into the league in the coming years.

He did end up signing a deal for more $$.

 

Badgers got started this past weekend and handled business.  That was nice to see after struggling against inferior opponents last year.

[Yaz19]

After a long MISERABLE sports week there was a bright spot, the Wisconsin Women's Hockey team.  They just won the Ice Breaker tournament hosted by Union this weekend.    They are now 8-0 and not skipping a beat from their dominant 2024-2025 championship season.   I really needed to find something positive to post about on the board.  The Brewers and the Football Badgers really got me down.

[stoutdude04]

On 10/18/2025 at 8:53 PM, Yaz19 said:

After a long MISERABLE sports week there was a bright spot, the Wisconsin Women's Hockey team.  They just won the Ice Breaker tournament hosted by Union this weekend.    They are now 8-0 and not skipping a beat from their dominant 2024-2025 championship season.   I really needed to find something positive to post about on the board.  The Brewers and the Football Badgers really got me down.

Hopefully Edwards is able to come back healthy. 

Mens team tied with a solid but unspectacular Mankato team this weekend. Their goalie is really solid though. Tough to get many past him.

[yourout]

On 10/20/2025 at 10:47 PM, stoutdude04 said:

Hopefully Edwards is able to come back healthy. 

Mens team tied with a solid but unspectacular Mankato team this weekend. Their goalie is really solid though. Tough to get many past him.

While they probably don't have enough talent to compete for a national title they are certainly better than they were last year.

I think this is a more Hastings like squad in that they're not necessarily overly talented but play hard and reasonably smart.

[stoutdude04]

On 10/24/2025 at 9:44 PM, yourout said:

While they probably don't have enough talent to compete for a national title they are certainly better than they were last year.

I think this is a more Hastings like squad in that they're not necessarily overly talented but play hard and reasonably smart.

Agreed - thats going to be their downfall again this year.  They just lack scoring.  Almost lost Friday even though they out shot them like 40-20.

[yourout]

1 hour ago, stoutdude04 said:

Agreed - thats going to be their downfall again this year.  They just lack scoring.  Almost lost Friday even though they out shot them like 40-20.

Like what I have seen from Montgomery. 

Huge potential

 

[stoutdude04]

On 10/27/2025 at 2:41 PM, yourout said:

Like what I have seen from Montgomery. 

Huge potential

 

He played with a lot of confidence the 2nd half of that game Saturday.

[yourout]

5 minutes ago, stoutdude04 said:

He played with a lot of confidence the 2nd half of that game Saturday.

Every week he shows up more.

[stoutdude04]

Just now, yourout said:

Every week he shows up more.

They are going to need it.

I've been surprised as Finley has seemed a little nonexistent compared to last year. Hopefully he gets going. 

[yourout]

Forgot this was a Thursday Saturday series

[RedStickBrew]

I am liking this Montgomery kid

[yourout]

Impressive win.

That said I don't think Minnesota is very good right now.

[yourout]

1 hour ago, RedStickBrew said:

I am liking this Montgomery kid

Osborn is a heck of a find as well.