Why the NHL’s Sun Belt Struggle Might Be Its Greatest Untapped Opportunity
It started with expansion into California in the late 1960s, but the Los Angeles Kings and Oakland Seals held winning records in just five of their first 30 seasons combined until Wayne Gretzky’s arrival in L.A. in 1988. (The Seals relocated to Cleveland after nine years.)
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The NHL tried again in the ’90s, pumping strangely named teams into what felt like weird places at a rapid pace: the Sharks in San Jose, Lightning in Tampa, Panthers in South Florida, Mighty Ducks in Anaheim, Stars in Dallas, Coyotes in Phoenix, Hurricanes in Raleigh, Predators in Nashville and Thrashers in Atlanta.
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