2017-18 NHL Expansion Odds
LAS VEGAS, NV (The Spread) – News broke earlier this week that the NHL is close to finalizing plans to add new franchises by the 2017-2018 season.
The cities included in the expansion are Las Vegas, Seattle, Quebec City and Toronto. Las Vegas, specifically, is one of the best untapped professional sports markets in America but concerns obviously remain. While it’s an intriguing destination for the NHL, it’s also the gambling Mecca of the world and professional sports leagues have avoided the adult playground like the plague.
Another intriguing option is Quebec City, which could host the return of the Nordiques. Quebec City is reportedly building an area and it’s farther along in construction than the Vegas area, so the city could have a leg up in the competition. Keep in mind that one of the main reasons why the Jets returned to Winnipeg three years ago was because the city had an area ready to move into.
So how many teams will there be in the NHL for the 2017-2018 season? According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the chances that there will be 30 teams have odds of 11/4, while the odds that there will be 31 teams are 20/1. The odds of a 32-team league by 2017-2018 season are 1/1, while the odds of a 33-team league are 25/1.
Also, the odds that the league expands to a whopping 34 teams for the 2017-2018 NHL Season are only 6/5. There are many that believe expansion will dilute the overall talent around the league and water down the action, so these odds won’t sit well with some fans/media.
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