NHL Not Coming to Seattle Just Yet
By Todd Pheifer
It is amazing how fast people can get excited after someone posts a comment on Twitter. The NHL is coming to Seattle! And Vegas! And Quebec City! Plus, Toronto is getting another franchise!
Whoa…hold on there.
According to nhltoseattle.com, this is fun to think about but we have to consider the source. The source was a guy named Howard Bloom, who tweeted the names of these cities and then SI.com reported Bloom’s tweet. Nothing wrong with that, but there is one small problem.
It may not be true.
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Certainly the NHL likes Seattle, but it probably likes a lot of cities. Expansion is not something that professional sports leagues can take lightly. There is always the desire to grow the brand and make more money, but sometimes less is more when it comes to the number of franchises.
If a league has too many teams, the quality of the product can become diminished as the pool of player talent starts to dilute. Therefore, a league like the NHL is going to be very careful before they add teams.
Is there definitive interest in bringing the NHL to Seattle? Absolutely. Is a deal in place? Unfortunately, no.
NBA fans are going to watch these proceedings very carefully because the pending arrival of an NHL franchise may pave the way for the triumphant return of the Seattle SuperSonics. For hoop fans, that can’t happen soon enough.
The bottom line is that there may be some truth to this tweet, but it is a good reminder to do your homework and check sources. For now, this continues to be a rumor.
Sadly, the NHL is not coming to Seattle just yet. Perhaps it will in the future, but right now there is no plan in place.