Nashville Predators Would Benefit Relocation Over Expansion

The Nashville Predators were once a part of those dirty rumors. We don’t wish them on anyone.

The Nashville Predators are one of those that became stronger through adversity.  When Jim Balsillie wanted to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario and there were other rumors of Kansas City and such, look what happened.  That Southern Hockey experiment flourished in Nashville.

Now there are rumors of another Southern team moving.  Rumors have been flying all over Twitter that the Carolina Hurricanes are going to blow west into Las Vegas.

Here is a tweet that was one of the first:

Puck Daddy of Yahoo Sports even mentioned that the Hurricanes could be on the move to Quebec in this article. :

It sure seems more viable that the team would relocate to Las Vegas over Canada right now the way the Canadian dollar is behaving.  Think about it, though…Las Vegas could buy a team that is further along than an expansion team.  It would be cheaper than the $500 million expansion fee too.

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It might be better for the league too. Have the Las Vegas team join the Western Conference and there are 15 in each conference.  Maybe go back to five team divisions.  And Las Vegas would be a nice stop on those long Western road trips as it’s kind of in the middle.

Nashville Predators Could Benefit

And it would be better for the Nashville Predators too.  One of the things we are really worried about is this expansion draft.  We don’t see how the Nashville Predators could get through it without losing a good young player and maybe a top four defenseman. It could be a problem

If there is a relocation instead of an expansion, the Nashville Predators and the rest of the teams would miss out on their piece of the pie on that $500 million expansion fee.  Especially if there were two of them. They also wouldn’t have a new “weak sister” expansion team to beat up on while they get started.

We would hate to see one of our Southern Brothers in Hockey lose their team but in the long run it might just help the Preds more if this expansion turns into a relocation.

Next: Preds Seem to be Losing Players

It will be interesting to hear what Commissioner Gary Bettman has to say about expansion later this month.  Most are expecting a team in Las Vegas by 2017-18.  If he says no expansion it might be pointing to relocation.