Choose your own adventure: NHL

[kinnikuniverse]

Originally Posted by Rayzor

I would hold off expanding until 1974-75 or 1975-76 season, & do an expansion every 5 yrs afterward, the 1970's drafts were pretty sim at times for good players.
Baltimore & Buffalo

hmm, not a bad idea! like that, we'll avoid expanding too quickly like the real NHL did.

[WingaDinga]

Expand to Buffalo and Kansas City

[ThatSeventiesGuy]

Will you be adding the WHA? If so, that also might affect the expansion plans.

[kinnikuniverse]

Originally Posted by ThatSeventiesGuy

Will you be adding the WHA? If so, that also might affect the expansion plans.

I thought about the WHA, and I thought of something.

to make this story more interesting, how about having the WHA strong from the start by taking advantage of a budding hockey market. for example, have the islanders and the sharks start in the WHA instead. this would allow them to have a national TV deal right from the get-go, plus a cheaper expansion fee than the NHL.

like that, you would have the WHA start like thiz:

WHA EAST
new York islanders
Ottawa senators
Quebec nordiques
Hartford whalers
Washington capitals

WHA WEST
Seattle totems
Los Angeles sharks
Calgary stampede
edmonton oilers
Winnipeg jets

that is already a small, yet strong league. the following expansion wars and battles for free agents and european players would give the NHL owners a good challenge, and us readers would have some really interesting votes that can change the future of the sport considerably!

[Dkitson16]

As for expansion I am generally trying to follow real world possible expansions.

Our league is different so far because:

St. Louis and Pittsburgh survived the implosion in the 30's and 40's.

Cleveland and Philly were added in the 40's and 50's at about the time they tried to enter the NHL.

LA and SF entered at a time when LA threatened to go rogue with the WHL (the WHL was positioning itself to go pro with the AHL) if they weren't given a team.

Our 67 expansion was smaller since we had already grown beyond the original 6.

70 was the next League expansion. Which brings us to the WHA. As far as I can tell the NHL wasn't going to expand until 73 at the earliest (if not later) until the WHA happened. To compete for arenas the NHL expanded in 72, 74 and almost again in 76.So after the 70 expansion I'll do a "WHA" vote (please don't vote yet). If we do the WHA then the NHL will follow the above expansion plan and then at some point merge with the WHA (there were a few points this was attempted).

If there is a "no" WHA vote (again don't vote now) then there will be a slower expansion. And who gets teams (Winnipeg, Quebec, Edmonton, Hartford) will be affected.

[Dkitson16]

1968-1969 Season Review

Cleveland and Chicago won their divisions.

Toronto defeats LA in the Stanley Cup!

Cabana (from Cleveland) leads in points, with Grounds of Toronto 1 behind.

[Dkitson16]

1970 Expansion VOTE so far:

Buffalo - 2
Washington - 1
Kansas City - 1

See the previous page for details.

[Rayzor]

Buffalo & Kansas City

[fredbeene]

Originally Posted by Dkitson16

I'm starting an NHL replay beginning in 1917 with a Custom game. There aren't real NHL players but it will allow me to play a "What if" or "Choose your own adventure" style of NHL history.

So NHL history will look different.

Depending on interest your input may help choose the fate of the NHL.

There are three possible turning points in the first season:

1. Will Quebec be able to afford to play?
2. Will the NHL field a Toronto team while fighting in Court with Toronto Blue Shirts owner Eddie Livingstone?
3. Will the Wanderers arena burn down?

Attachment 602119

I'll wait a day or two before proceeding to see if anyone has any input.

Hopefully the attachment worked.

I am an outraged fan and the stupid ARENA name for toronto....i am boycotting the team until the person responsible is fired.
until then i am practicing my slap shot on the half frozen pond in woods

[nemolee.exe]

NO Buffalo.

Try to do Washington and Kansas City.

[ThatSeventiesGuy]

Buffalo and Washington.

[Dkitson16]

1969-1970 Season Review

Boston and Detroit topped their divisions, but it was Toronto beating Minnesota in the final.

It's Toronto's 2nd straight cup and 4th overall. Minnesota is playing in only their 3rd season.

Homer Burrell of St. Louis set a new Rookie Scoring Record with 79 points.

[Dkitson16]

Expansion Vote Update

Current leaders for the 2 expansion spots are:

Buffalo - 4
Kansas City - 3
Washington - 3

If no new votes come in before expansion (likely tomorrow) I as commissioner will break any ties.

[kinnikuniverse]

is it a tiebreaker? does that mean we get a second vote?

if so, I choose washington

[Dkitson16]

Originally Posted by kinnikuniverse

is it a tiebreaker? does that mean we get a second vote?

if so, I choose washington

No tiebreaker but as it happens I was going to choose Washington anyway.

1970 Expansion is:

[Dkitson16]

I'll play the actual 1970-1971 Expansion season shortly.

On to the next Vote:

Rise of the WHA.

Inspired by the successes of the AFL and ABA a group of investors are seeking to create a rival league as a way to force their way into the NHL.

There are two options:

1. Ignore the WHA, hoping it will never last. We will expand early to key cities with NHL size arenas (as in 1972 ans 1974), to cut them off but that's it. (Closest to real NHL action. What we don't know now is that the WHA will survive and we will be forced to merge at some point)

2. Actively seek to shut it down. This may involve illegal activities. The WHA will never exist in this world, meaning certain smaller markets (Winnipeg, Quebec, Edmonton, Hartford etc) may never get an NHL team or at least not until the 1990's expansion. (Pure speculation - how would the NHL look without the WHA). We will expand at a slower pace than option #1.

So VOTE

[WingaDinga]

Number 1 so Quebec City won't riot in the streets

[kinnikuniverse]

before I put in my vote, how slow would expansion come in option 2? and why would Quebec, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hartford, Cincinnati, houston ETC wait for so long if, for some of these teams, they already have more than adequate facilities around the current time period?

also, I hope the WHA exist with the line-up I made in my other post!

[Dkitson16]

Originally Posted by kinnikuniverse

before I put in my vote, how slow would expansion come in option 2? and why would Quebec, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hartford, Cincinnati, houston ETC wait for so long if, for some of these teams, they already have more than adequate facilities around the current time period?

also, I hope the WHA exist with the line-up I made in my other post!

For Option 2 - expansion every 3 or 4 years instead of every 2 years is what I understand the NHL planned after the 70 expansion.

In the 67 expansion the NHL made it clear (and thereafter) they had no intention of going to small markets in Canada. Their rules of expansion included the requirement that the city be a major league city already involved in another professional sport. So Houston and Cincy were possible NHL cities (Cincy was actually promised an NHL expansion team after failing to get in for '74). Houston probably would have gotten in if Atlanta had done better.

I'm speculating that by the 90's the NHL would have loosened this stance.

[kinnikuniverse]

Originally Posted by Dkitson16

For Option 2 - expansion every 3 or 4 years instead of every 2 years is what I understand the NHL planned after the 70 expansion.

In the 67 expansion the NHL made it clear (and thereafter) they had no intention of going to small markets in Canada. Their rules of expansion included the requirement that the city be a major league city already involved in another professional sport. So Houston and Cincy were possible NHL cities (Cincy was actually promised an NHL expansion team after failing to get in for '74). Houston probably would have gotten in if Atlanta had done better.

I'm speculating that by the 90's the NHL would have loosened this stance.

well, we can change it obviously, cause as we know, Canada and the northern States (and utah) are where hockey is most popular. nothing prevents us from expanding into Quebec, western Canada, cinci, Milwaukee, Colorado ETC...

what did you plan for the WHA if option #1 is chosen? are we gonna do votes for the WHA too, or is it votes concerning the NHL only?