Expansion: only one city ahead of Quebec City in the eyes of players

NHL players chatted (anonymously) to The Athletic about expansion and other topics.

175 of them had their say, and while many of them voted for more than one city, the fact remains that the popular vote made Quebec City look good.

In fact, the city of the former Nordiques received 47 endorsements.

Athletic subscribers: Here’s the first installment of our annual NHL player poll.

What do they think about …

– Injury transparency?
– Wanting Ovechkin to break Gretzky’s record?
– Expanding to 34 teams?https://t.co/io6ubEUfIG #stlblues

– Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) November 19, 2024

The only city to get more votes from the players? Houston. At 54 votes, the players seem to want to play in one of the biggest cities in the United States.

They should.

What we find is that while everyone likes to play in Arizona, which has everything on paper to appeal to players (in a world where the owner looks good), Quebec City is twice as popular with the players surveyed.

We’re talking about 24 votes for Arizona.

The problem? It’s not the players who decide this… and that’s what allows them to make up their minds more freely, without taking into account the monetary factors of the situation.

But even so, they know it’s unlikely.

I’d like to see Quebec City because, as a Francophone, the battle between Quebec City and Montreal is too good. But from a business point of view, I don’t know if it’s the right decision. – Anonymous Player 1

You can’t go to Quebec City: the exchange rate is crap. – Anonymous Player 2

The majority of players agree with an expansion process to bring it to 34 clubs. However, even if some players want to see Quebec City, Toronto, Saskatoon or Halifax get a club, it certainly won’t be in Canada.

Houston and Atlanta are my bets right now.

Overtime

– Read more.

Connor Hughes has never been closer to the NHL. Text by @NicLandryRDS:https://t.co/CtBaX5uWZI

– Mikaël Filion (@MikaelFilionRDS) November 19, 2024

– Of note.

Combinations at @RocketLaval this morning:

Harvey-Pinard | Gignac | Roy
Farrell | Beck | Davidson
Kidney | Dauphin | Simoneau
Arseneau | Xhekaj | Perreault

Engstrom | Mailloux
Wotherspoon | Lindstrom
Trudeau | Jacobs
Hayes

– Vincent Demuy (@VDemuy) November 19, 2024

– He’s still in town.

Tomas Plekanec was at the Habs game again last night pic.twitter.com/Q6ff35bF3s

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) November 19, 2024

– To be continued.

Firing coach Jim Montgomery is the Bruins’ only logical move https://t.co/kdsro4rgt8

– The Athletic Boston (@TheAthleticBOS) November 19, 2024

– What do you think?

I’m looking forward to the 4 Nations showdown. But international politics mean that one team won’t be there. https://t.co/kWKrHe5Khp

– Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) November 19, 2024