The Ideal NHL – Expansion AND Relocation of Franchises

Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

Relocation: Florida Panthers to Quebec City, Quebec

The Panthers franchise has had a tumultuous existence. In the third season since its inaugural 1993-1994 campaign, the Panthers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final where they were swept by the storied Colorado Avalanche. They never made it beyond the first round again in their entire existence, and even went 10 full seasons without making the playoffs before taking the Devils to 7 games in 2011-2012. The last two seasons have been a wash though, as they finished 30th and 29th overall in consecutive seasons. For a team that has had relatively no success in the last decade and basically all century so far, it is no surprise that they ranked dead last in attendance percentage last season (75.5%) and only averaged about 14,525 fans a game. It was even reported that the Panthers were losing $20-30 million a year, and the owner publicly stated that he was losing $100,000 a day. Ironically the founder of now-defunct Blockbuster was the man who decided to put his team in Sunrise, Florida back in the 90’s, so it’s also no surprise that one of his business ventures already failed and another is on a straight path to failure.

Moving the franchise to NHL-hungry Quebec City – which already has a building under construction – would have the franchise see tremendous success in a Canadian market. Canada deserves more than just 7 teams in the NHL and can definitely support more franchises. Canadians are clamoring for more after they got their Winnipeg Jets back, and now they want to make it two homecomings for their nation. And think about how awesome it would be to see the return of the Nordiques and their restored rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens.