SEATTLE Our city will finally be awarded a National Hockey League expansion franchise next week, after which the owners can simply sit back and ring in the profits, right?
Well, not exactly. Not every NHL expansion story ends up like the Vegas Golden Knights. They dont all win consecutive Stanley Cup titles like the Philadelphia Flyers in their first decade and become marquee franchises.
In fact, NHL expansion since the Original Six era ended in 1967 has been all over the map. For every long-term success such as the Flyers, San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators, there is enduring Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators mediocrity.
Not to mention, tales of outright disaster.
Thats a big reason the expansion-draft rules were recently changed to favor the Golden Knights, as they will Seattles franchise. Its why the league wants arena deals finalized before awarding new teams. And generally gives those teams a run-up of two years to implement marketing plans.
Its also why NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly keeps hesitating about whether Seattle will launch in 2020 or 2021. Certainly, the goal would be getting the team playing in the National Hockey League as soon as possible and that should be the 20-21 season, Daly last week told Sportsnet 650 radio in Vancouver, B.C.
But Daly also mentioned that having KeyArena completed for the 2020-21 season remains open-ended and could delay things to 2021-22. Daly also agreed the potential for a September 2020 lockout of NHL players could impact Seattles launch as well.
Thats obviously a discussion well have to have with the (Seattle) ownership group, Daly said. Ultimately, once theyre approved, its as much their decision as it is our decision as to what the right timetable is for coming into the league. So, thats a relevant consideration for sure.
Daly is correct, regardless of whether the arena or the leagues labor situation is to blame for any future delay. After all, the NHL has a painful history of poor expansion planning we wont even get into the shoddy mid-1990s relocation efforts in Carolina and Arizona nobody wants repeated.
The last thing needed is for Seattle to launch in October 2020 if KeyArena remains under construction. Or, to have a planned 2020 opening scuttled by a lockout weeks prior.
Want to know what happens when expansion safeguards arent implemented?
You wont find much worse than the California Seals expansion team from 1967-68, which featured onetime Seattle Americans goalie Charlie Hodge as their netminder. They won their opener, then lost 13 straight and eventually went a laughable 182-401-115 over nine seasons. They made things even worse by relocating and becoming the Cleveland Barons the last team from North Americas four major pro sports leagues to fold.
The Seals tell me where youve heard this before originally wanted to play in San Francisco, but couldnt get an arena deal and got stuck in Oakland. Their entire existence was spent trying in vain to head across the bay.
Meanwhile, they quickly dropped California from their name and became the Oakland Seals. Athletics baseball owner Charles O. Finley soon bought them and changed their name to Bay Area Seals to start the 1970-71 season only to change it again two games later to California Golden Seals.
No matter what they were called, nobody went to see the team play.
