37 Road Losses and a Pair of Green Skates: A Look at NHL Expansion Draft History
By Scott Cowan
Early & Humble Beginnings
The NHL’s history with different markets actually runs all the way back to the mid-1920s, when teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates (later Philadelphia Quakers) tried to expand the league to different, untested markets, with mixed to poor results. In the long-standing ‘Original Six’ era, the NHL cemented itself in a few proven markets which went through their own ups and downs as they tried to find their identity.
Come 1967-68 however, the league decided some changes were needed, and thus began the first NHL expansion, from six teams to twelve teams.
Of course, with the 32 NHL franchises around today, quite a lot has happened since then, with mixed results, some successful, some short-lived, and some disastrous in every sense of the word. In the 1970s, as the league continued expanding after a successful initial run, with teams like the St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers finding success with a few Playoff appearances and, in Philadelphia’s case, Stanley Cup Titles, the NHL tried their hand in even more untested waters.
Did anyone call for some NHL hockey in Kansas City? How about Cleveland, maybe Atlanta? You know, twice? Well, apparently not. While most NHL Expansion teams managed to have some staying power over their initial seasons and beyond, teams like the Kansas City Scouts, Cleveland Barons, and well, the city of Atlanta (in this case the Atlanta Flames) were less fortunate, though, this was to be expected. These were markets that had their fanbases cemented in other sports, like baseball and football, and most didn’t really get the rules and style of play of ice hockey, and thus few showed their support (Gilles Meloche’s wicked mask aside).
Following this, aside from the NHL’s merger with the failed WHA start-up league in 1979, NHL Expansion was mostly limited as the league ran with what worked once more, with WHA stars like Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier giving the NHL a newfound legitimacy and star power in the world of pro sports. Then, ‘the trade’ happened.