NHL: Nearly $3 billion for a potential expansion team

American sports—both professional and college, it must be said—have taken a turn that Canada will struggle to keep up with. The NFL is raking in money hand over fist, and the contracts for its top players are astronomical.
The NBA, with its smaller roster, allows its players to rake in huge salaries.

MLB is spending so much that it seems to be heading straight for a wall, and a lockout could be declared sooner rather than later.
The MLS has reached a whole new level since the pandemic… a level that seems like a titanic challenge for a team like CF Montréal.

And what about the NHL in all this? Its revenues are skyrocketing, and its expenses will have to keep pace. The salary cap (just like the floor) will explode in the coming years.
Jeremy Filosa reported yesterday that the salary cap is expected to rise by $18 million over the next two seasons.
Nothing new, you might say, since the NHL had already announced its 2026-27 ($104 million) and 2027-28 ($113.5 million) caps a year ago. But it's always interesting to have yet another confirmation.
Yes, these increases mean Kent Hughes will have more money to spend, but they will also pose real challenges for teams like the Jets and the Senators. Don't forget that these teams—located in small markets—pay in USD but earn in CAD.

Add to all this the rumor launched this morning by Renaud Lavoie on BPM Sports, according to which the next expansions could cost close to $3 billion (although the NHL does not seem to want a 33rd and 34th team in Atlanta, Kansas City, or Houston, based on what he's heard).
Tom Dundon recently sold his shares in the Carolina Hurricanes at a “valuation” of $2.6 or $2.7 billion.
I don't want to be a downer this morning, but I have to admit that these figures alone unfortunately confirm that the Nordiques will never be reborn in Quebec City. Except maybe for one night, with the Avalanche on the ice at the Videotron Centre…
CF Montréal, the Expos revival projects, the idea of bringing an NBA franchise to the Bell Centre… let's not kid ourselves: the Quebec economy is not an easy or obvious place to have a North American professional sports franchise (that isn't called the Montreal Canadiens).