The Columbus Blue Jackets And NHL Expansion

Oct 8, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; The Canadian flag waves on the backdrop of the CN Tower before the start of the Toronto FC match against the Houston Dynamo at BMO Field. The Dynamo beat FC 1-0. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Greater Toronto Area

All the way back to the days of Jim Balsille attempting to buy the Arizona Coyotes for the purpose of moving them to the greater Toronto area (GTA) there has been talk of how successful a second franchise in the GTA would be.  The day after it was announced that NHL expansion past thirty teams could be a reality someone threw their hat into the ring for a GTA team (here).

The real question is how this particular NHL expansion location affect the Columbus Blue Jackets.  The first is that it would increase league wide revenue which would taper down to teams that receive revenue sharing like the Columbus Blue Jackets.  The second, and more concerning question for many, is how would it affect the alignment of the NHL.  Bettman has acknowledged that the uneven alignment of the league (16 teams in the Eastern Conference and 14 in the West) is a problem.  Although he has said that you don’t expand in order to fix this problem.  One rumor has been that if the league expands with a second Toronto team that this new team would play in the Western Conference and that it could afford to do so because of the wealth of hockey fans in the GTA.  So if the situation is right with an ownership group this is a real possibility that poses little inconvenience for the Blue Jackets.