The NHL's Bill Daly says the greater Toronto area could support a second NHL team, but he doesn't see it happen any time soon.
The NHL's Bill Daly says the greater Toronto area could support a second NHL team, but he doesn't see it happen any time soon.
Speaking at a sports-management conference, the NHL's second-in-command says the league is firmly committed to its existing markets and won't expand any time soon.
But he did lay open the path for an existing team to move to Hamilton or elsewhere in the greater Toronto area. First, the Maple Leafs do not have a say in whether a team moves in; in the NHL, the majority rules, so if a majority of the Board of Governors approves such a move, the Maple Leafs can't reject it — but we're guessing they'd be vociferous in their opposition.
Many in the league aren't optimistic about the prospects of hockey thriving in Phoenix and Nashville, and after the NHL landed the Coyotes they certainly left a big out to move the franchise by saying the team would stay only after reaching an acceptable lease with Glendale for Jobing.com Arena. Plus, it's a foregone conclusion the Atlanta Thrashers will be put up for sale in coming months.
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