WHA Still Coming

The Hockey News has an article running on espn.com about how the WHA may drop the puck in January.

As there’s just a week left in November it’s hard to believe anything can happen by January, or this season at all.

The plan from the article:

  • A significant role for Bobby Hull, commissioner for the previous group that failed to get the league off the ground
  • A 42- to 46-game season in Year 1
  • Eight to 12 teams in Year 1, most likely concentrated in Central and Eastern Canada and the Northeast United States
  • One marquee player per team and two “sub-marquee” players, with the rest of the roster composed of journeyman NHLers and AHLers
  • Rule changes that would open up the game and make it more entertaining
  • Less expensive ticket prices than the NHL
  • A European Conference to begin play in Year 2

There’s also some more Sidney Crosby talk.

Some of those are pretty hefty goals.  The number of teams seems high compared to what they’ve been able to put together already, and any European play just sounds like high costs that a league like this may not be able to support.

I’ll take them seriously when the teams and ownership groups are set and they have some television contract talk (I don’t even need it signed, just a cable network admitting they’re considering it).

Posted by David M Singer on Nov 22, 2004 at 02:11 PM

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