NHL’s expansion struggles changed with Vegas and now Seattle

SEATTLE (AP) – As the NHL expanded about 30 years ago, it brought hockey to untapped markets, warm weather travel destinations, and established itself in every corner of North America.

It also formed some pretty terrible teams, and wins in places like Tampa Bay, Anaheim, Ottawa, Atlanta, and Nashville were difficult to achieve for several seasons.

“In the past, we were in the expansion team era, so you didn’t have to be your best at Atlanta and still be able to win the game because the team you’re playing wasn’t like the Vegas- Expansion team. They were a real expansion team and they were struggling, ”recalled former Washington Capitals goalkeeper Olie Kolzig. “You had Columbus when you came in, you had Minnesota when you came in, so there were a handful of those nights that (you couldn’t) take off, but you knew you didn’t have to do your best.”

Things have changed.

The NHL revised its expansion drafting rules in 2017, and Vegas turned the league on its head by becoming the most successful franchise in the first year in NHL history and reaching the Stanley Cup final in the Golden Knights’ inaugural season.

The same rules apply, which means the Seattle Kraken franchise will be in the same position when they line up their first team next Wednesday. In theory, Seattle’s general manager Ron Francis can put a competitive team on the ice right from the start, just like Vegas can.

If only that was the case years ago.

“In hindsight it’s always 20/20, but I really think the NHL was wrong about how they treated the expansion teams all the way to Vegas,” said David Poile, Nashville general manager, who created the 1998 Predators roster. “Often times, in my opinion, we didn’t get the expansion teams right and made their hike a lot more difficult than necessary.”

Poile is right. The story of expansion in the NHL has been a roller coaster ride of downsizing and relocations, strange partnerships, and ultimately very little success in the infancy of most franchises.

Teams often went through multiple roster iterations before success was achieved. For example, when the New York Islanders began their streak of four Stanley Cup titles in a row in the 1979/80 season, there was only one player left – Hall of Fame goalkeeper Billy Smith – from their 1972 expansion draft.

“We were dealing with a lot of older guys who were probably at the end of the line,” said Carolina’s general manager Don Waddell, who was GM in Atlanta when the Thrashers arrived in 1999. “I think we only had one guy with our Draft Expansion franchise in the last two years, which is not the way you would likely start with a Draft Expansion.”

After the expansion frenzy that began in 1991, no team has been more successful than the Florida Panthers, who opened the game in 1993 and reached the Stanley Cup final in 1996. The Panthers had 10 players in their squad from their expansion plan for the 1996 season. including top scorer Scott Mellanby, but the line-up had been supplemented by the draft (Rob Niedermayer) and Trades (Robert Svehla and Stu Barnes).

Ottawa is another example of an expansion franchise that was beaten early on but built a foundation that resulted in eleven consecutive playoff spots from the Senators’ fifth season.

At the other end was Tampa Bay, which spent 10 seasons with only one playoff spot mostly at the bottom of the table. The Lightning are now the defending champions with three titles overall, but it took time and investment to finally get there.

Waddell hadn’t been to Atlanta in a long time when the Thrashers reached the playoffs in 2007, their only playoff spot before moving to Winnipeg. It took Poile and the Predators six seasons to make the postseason.

“Almost philosophically, we drafted a lot of players who we knew wouldn’t be on our team for more than a few years,” said Poile.

The NHL took a long hiatus from expansion, but when the Golden Knights arrived, friendlier rules and the ruse of the Vegas front office changed expectations for any future team. Vegas found ways to resolve wage cap issues, stole teams with bloated rosters, and stood ready to take in veterans to be solid from the start.

“After that, the word I used the most to describe the whole process was fascinating,” said Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon, who was George McPhee’s assistant GM during the expansion draft. “It was a fascinating process to be part of it.”

It worked too: Vegas earned 109 points in its first season and 93 points in its second – 61.6% of all possible points the Golden Knights could have earned in their first 164 regular season games. Of the previous nine expansion teams, none scored more than 83 points in the first two seasons (Florida, 1993-94). Both San Jose and Ottawa failed to beat 40 points in their first two campaigns.

Francis knows he needs to find some long-term foundation for Seattle, but everything the franchise does in its freshman year is compared to Vegas.

Seattle is getting young and building? Are they recording salaries, closing deals, and trying to develop a roster that can win from the start? It’s a delicate balance, but whatever the Kraken, the NHL believes that – thanks to the rules in place – Seattle is competitive – it’s best for the league.

“We came in when the league paid $ 75 million for a franchise,” said Waddell. “These people pay $ 650 million. So you deserve a slightly better opportunity to build a team. “

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno and AP Sports Writer Aaron Beard contributed to this report.

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