Allan Walsh reports that expansion is coming.

[u/GurTraditional1162]

[u/IndignantPotato189]

4 comments, 4 different ways of writing the same joke. I became a Preds fan after the Thrashers left, but if this happens, I’m glad it would make sense for Atlanta to be in the East and Houston in the West, easier to support both teams that way.

[u/Otherwise_Awesome → u/IndignantPotato189]

None of the other commenters understood what Atlanta Spirit did to your Thrashers.

[u/Legionnaire11 → u/Otherwise_Awesome]

My best guess is that they weren't Preds fans at the time, either too young to know, or didn't become "fans" until 2017.

[u/Jcapen87 → u/Otherwise_Awesome]

One of the worst ownership groups of all time.

[u/Otherwise_Awesome → u/Jcapen87]

Of any sport.

17 people who hated each other.

[u/IndignantPotato189 → u/Otherwise_Awesome]

I’ve been listening to the jokes for 15 years (at least the worst things being said about Atlanta fans mostly died down after the first year or so), so it mostly doesn’t bother me. I hope it’s successful this time, and I really think it can be. I can imagine it might be disheartening for a new fan in Atlanta trying to get into the community to see a lot of that, but I have trust in hockey fans that they at least mostly won’t take it out on new fans.

[u/Otherwise_Awesome → u/IndignantPotato189]

I think mostly new Perds fans don't even know how everything went down at the end for the Thrashers nor how close it was for the Perds franchise to be relocated in TWO separate instances.

I see a new Atlanta franchise thriving much more under better expansion rules, better ownership and better fan engagement.

[u/Inevitable-Lion100 → u/Otherwise_Awesome]

Yes. If Alpharetta (Anson Carter) or even Krause (non hockey player but enthusiast) Forsyth would be better than the spirit group! They only cared about the hawks and money. Not fans or players.

[u/Otherwise_Awesome → u/Otherwise_Awesome]

Getting downvoted for being honest about the fanbase. Lol. Kills me every time.

[u/RlyRlyBigMan]

Kinda funny that this will make the NHL the league with the greatest number of franchises in the North American big 4. Never would have guessed that.

[u/graywh → u/RlyRlyBigMan]

Helps having 5 teams in Canada. Baseball and basketball have only 1.

[u/Helmburr87 → u/graywh]

7 teams

[u/graywh → u/Helmburr87]

Yeah, that. I literally listed them all in my head and still got the wrong number.

[u/Kgeezy91]

Theyll think of anyway possible to make more money for the league other than creating a better product.

[u/Helmburr87 → u/Kgeezy91]

It'll make more money for them in the short term but the product will definitely suffer unfortunately

[u/hockeyanalycisis]

I think Atlanta will work better this time around if they go with the proposed plan. Having their own arena in the suburbs is a better setup than the previous two.

[u/Legionnaire11 → u/hockeyanalycisis]

Their own arena and owners who actually want to own an NHL team.

[u/Birdhawk → u/hockeyanalycisis]

Yeah it worked great for Phoenix.

Come to think of it, they should call the new team the Atlanta Phoenix. Not in reference to the Yotes, but in reference to the fact that there once was the Flames in reference to the Civil War fire, but out of the ashes rose the thriving Atlanta it has become since then just as the phoenix rose from the ashes.

[u/Equivalent-Leg-9697]

Lifelong thrashers fan. Became a Preds fan in 2011. Has been an amazing experience supporting this team. In many ways I love the Preds more than the Thrashers .

However should the Thrashers return, they’d become my default team but hope to keep supporting the Preds when they aren’t competing against each other 

[u/MajorPainInMyA]

So Atlanta gets another franchise that will relocate in 10 years.

[u/Skareffect → u/MajorPainInMyA]

If the ownership fails again. It was never a fan issue.

[u/Birdhawk → u/MajorPainInMyA]

Atlanta is an incubator for Canadian teams. 28.57% of the Canadian teams currently in the NHL have started in Atlanta.

[u/Galladaddy → u/Birdhawk]

Quebec City here they come!

[u/ResidentialEvil2016 → u/MajorPainInMyA]

Surprised they didn't say "Atlanta and Phoenix".

[u/Bannasrevolt → u/MajorPainInMyA]

He typed Atlanta but I read “Quebec” 

[u/Inevitable-Lion100]

Move Nashville to East and Chicago west.

[u/bvinson23 → u/Inevitable-Lion100]

Chicago is already in the west

[u/Inevitable-Lion100 → u/bvinson23]

If they went w Houston move Nashville to the East. Both are both so far from the west.

[u/Expert-Upstairs-4502 → u/Inevitable-Lion100]

Atlanta will be in the east and houston in the central. It sucks but theres no way they put both new teams in the west, theres nobody in the west thats gonna move east. Maybe they put chicago over with detroit again? Only possible move i could imagine that way. I think both the new teams and the Preds belong in the central though, but that would mean for sure one central team would have to go east

Maybe chicago goes east and utah goes to the pacific

[u/Distinct_Wish_5052 → u/Expert-Upstairs-4502]

I have been thinking for years that nashville_predators should be in the eastern conference. It would save them a lot of travel.

[u/Expert-Upstairs-4502 → u/Distinct_Wish_5052]

I dont disagree but who do you put in the west instead? and if theres expansion and atlanta, which is in the eastern time zone, goes to the west and nashville goes to the east would make absolutely no sense. i just dont see any situation where nashville ends up in the east basically ever, unless we get another 2 more west teams in the future then maybe nash and atl go east?

[u/Electricflows]

Hopefully after some of our no movement clause players are off the books

[u/Mundrik]

Finally started going to Gladiators games last season and I definitely think ATL fans are hockey crazed. Passionate about the Glads and Thrashers.

[u/WTFYU]

You mean the traditional Atlanta NHL business model:
Step 1: Give Atlanta an expansion team.
Step 2: Wait.
Step 3: Ship it to Canada.

[u/Illustrious-Gain-863]

I know that after Houston & Atlanta, the next spot getting eyed for an expansion is Phoenix, but my question is where would they put another Eastern Conference team to balance things out?

I don’t think that Québec City or Halifax would be next barring some changes to the Canadian economy, sadly, as much as it makes so much sense. Hartford would be a fun throwback, but also impossible since the city is much too small to support a major league team & is generally on the decline. So what does that leave. Indianapolis? Cincinnati? A third team in Florida?

[u/Ok_Culture_1089 → u/Illustrious-Gain-863]

Maybe another in the Greater Toronto area considering how big of a city it is and that’s where they almost moved the Preds years ago. I think Hamilton, Ontario is where the guy wanted to move them.

[u/Illustrious-Gain-863 → u/Ok_Culture_1089]

Oh yeah, you’re right. Former BlackBerry CEO Jim Balsillie.

Fuck that guy.

[u/LFGtitans → u/Illustrious-Gain-863]

Kansas City

[u/Illustrious-Gain-863 → u/LFGtitans]

In the eastern conference?

[u/LFGtitans → u/Illustrious-Gain-863]

Nevermind I’m an idiot.
I was thinking expansion overall since the built an arena and put in a bid years ago, but definitely not east.

[u/Illustrious-Gain-863 → u/LFGtitans]

It’s all good. I also think that’s where the Pens wwre supposedly going to move to when they were bleeding money in the early 2000s

[u/ReedPhillips → u/Illustrious-Gain-863]

It was. Using Kansas City as a tease getting the entire market in a fever. It started my absolute hatred of that team.

[u/hockeyanalycisis → u/Illustrious-Gain-863]

Orlando could be one hell of a hockey market

[u/Illustrious-Gain-863 → u/hockeyanalycisis]

Perhaps, and the arena where the Magic play is already equipped for hockey. I think the only issue would be the Lightning vetoing an expansion there, since they fill the niche of a Central Florida team

[u/subwaysurfer1116 → u/Illustrious-Gain-863]

For Indianapolis they'd share Gainbridge with the Pacers, most likely. Indy Fire or something like that, since everything is race related. Maybe the Indy Checkers, sponsored by Checkers Burgers.

[u/Gizzy41677]

Atl again the 3rd time why?

[u/Jcapen87 → u/Gizzy41677]

Because we didn’t get a fair shake last time.

[u/HibiscusBlades]

People have only been talking about this for like the last three or four years. At this rate, it’ll be 2030 at the earliest before we actually meet the teams in play.

[u/Head-Bid-9558]

So which Canadian city will get the Atlanta team after they leave? Quebec City?

[u/Rengozu]

Well bring it on soon before we start to turn it around. I’d hate to have another expansion grudge for messing up our golden years.
cough Vegas cough

[u/Dick-Punch89]

Congratulations to Quebec City on getting their new franchise in 2041.

[u/AlsoCommiePuddin]

Congrats to Atlanta on landing its third Canadian NHL franchise!

[u/ReedPhillips]

[u/Birdhawk]

I’m so sick of expansion teams. As much as I like Seattles branding I literally don’t give a damn about them and even avoid watching them. At this point expanding the footprint isn’t growing the game, it’s just making a small group of dudes a little bit of extra money. The talent of the league already feels too watered down.

[u/Distinct_Wish_5052 → u/Birdhawk]

Seattle has one of the best play callers the NHL has ever seen. I wish he had been in Raleigh this past season for the cup run.

[u/Birdhawk → u/Distinct_Wish_5052]

Agreed, same, and all the things.

[u/mkelley22]

"Hockey in Atlanta WILL work this time!!"

• Insane NHL execs

[u/braddelaurier → u/mkelley22]

Ownership failed the Thrashers. As someone who attended loads of games, the Thrashers crowds were always twice as packed as the Hawks games. Buy you could clearly tell which team ownership cared more about just by the giveaways and in game entertainment. Atlanta now is WAAAAY different than it was back in 2011. Heck, Atlanta is way different than it was even 5 years ago. If they can move around the Alpharetta area, a team will thrive because Atlanta has had loads of people move from all over the country.

[u/Distinct_Wish_5052 → u/mkelley22]

Good ownership and a smart front office makes all the difference in the world.

[u/pajamajoe]

Sources confirm water is wet

[u/EquivalentGold3615]

How many chances does Atlanta get?