Carolina Hurricanes Morning News: NHL Expansion, Noah Hanifin, and Toronto Maple Leafs
By Brett Finger
The Carolina Hurricanes have been relatively quiet this offseason, but there is a bunch of news to go around throughout the entire National Hockey League. Let’s take a look at the morning news.
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NHL Expansion
Expansion talk has been a heavy topic all summer, and this week was the deadline for cities to send in there formal application for an NHL team, and only two cities sent in their bids – Las Vegas, Nevada, and Quebec City, Quebec.
These two cities have been very highly mentioned over the past couple years, and they have finally made it official. Other cities like Seattle, Washington, Toronto, Ontario, and Kansas City, Missouri, amongst others, who have also been rumored to have interest did not submit a bid this year.
As discussed on CNBC yesterday, NHL expansion will not be an easy task by any stretch of the imagination.
On top of all the stress of moving a franchise or creating a new one all together, it also requires a lot of money, time, a new stadium, a fan base, and much more.
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Vrooman Sports Economics says that any given expansion team would have to pay at least $240 million. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in June that a $500 million expansion team is possible.
According to Vrooman, Toronto getting a second team would make the most economical sense when it comes to potential expansion, followed by Seattle, Washington. Neither of those teams submitted an application, however.
Forbes estimates that the Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers, and Carolina Hurricanes all have accumulated debt of over 50% of their original value.
Does that mean that these teams will relocate? Of course not, but it is hard to deny that all of those clubs have struggled in some areas and need improvement. For the Carolina Hurricanes, it is certainly way too early to start talking about expansion. The team has a long term deal with PNC Arena and they continue to pour money into the stadium in improvements. Canes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. and president Don Waddell have made it clear that the team isn’t going anywhere.
Only time will tell when and if new teams are added to the NHL, but it certainly looks like changes are being made in the relatively near future.
You can read more about the topic HERE.
Noah Hanifin
Noah Hanifin not only made a great impact on the Carolina Hurricanes on draft day, but he also played a big role in draft day moves by other teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets especially.
In a very interesting video released by the Columbus Blue Jackets’ official site, we see that the Toronto Maple Leafs set up a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets that would’ve sent their 4th overall pick to the Jackets for their 8th, 34th, 38th, and 58th overall picks if Hanifin was not taken by the Arizona Coyotes with the 3rd overall pick.
Ultimately, Columbus didn’t make the deal and took “their guy” Zach Werenski with the 8th overall pick.
Another interesting thing to note from the video was that Columbus talked to the Carolina Hurricanes before the draft about trading for the 5th pick. Jackets GM Jarmo Kekäläinen said that the Canes said no, they wouldn’t move back in the draft.
You can view the entire video HERE. It is a good look into the draft table of an NHL squad on draft day.
Toronto Maple Leafs Hire Lou Lamoriello
In a very surprising move on Thursday, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they had hired former New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello as their new general manager.
Lamoriello stepped down from GM of the Devils back in May after holding the position for nearly 30 years, but he stayed in the organization as the team president up until Thursday. He resigned from the post and jetted off to Ontario for his new gig.
The veteran general manager turns 73 in October, so this is expected to be something of a stop gap for the Leafs. This is confirmed by the three-year deal he signed to be GM for the Leafs. He originally said that his age was a factor when he stepped down from the same position in New Jersey.
In his introductory press conference on Thursday, Lamoriello stated that he saw a chance to win in Toronto, and he was persuaded by Leafs president Brendan Shanahan, even though he wasn’t very interested in taking the job when first approached.
Per Sportsnet, the Toronto Maple Leafs will have to give the New Jersey Devils 3rd round pick compensation for the move. The pick will come in either 2016, 2017, or 2018.
For the whole story with quotes from Toronto’s new GM, click HERE.