Milwaukee most ideal for a 32nd NHL team, but not too soon

It is funny to think that after the last year of speculation and discussion of the NHL expansion draft, it may already be time to start discussing the next one.

A 32nd NHL team may not happen in the near future. In fact, it would be better if it didn’t happen too quickly. But it seems clear that when the NHL made the Vegas move, it was the first half of a two-step plan.

Right now, there is a clear lack of balance in the NHL divisions, with the Central only having seven teams versus eight in each of the other three. This is not something the NHL necessarily has to address. There is nothing forcing the NHL to keep division membership balanced, but it is nonetheless going to stand out as a talking point for years to come. Fans like knowing everyone is on an equal playing field, so a division having one less team will always feel like an advantage, even if it really isn’t one.

With all of that in mind, while Quebec City and Seattle are the two cities that always come up when the words “NHL expansion” are uttered, the Midwestern dark horse of Milwaukee would suit the league’s current need the easiest.

Milwaukee is home to a 40-year-old minor-league franchise, the Admirals. While that has not made it the most talked-about target for a 32nd NHL team, the sport’s popularity in Wisconsin is trustworthy enough.

Just like Las Vegas had with T-Mobile Arena, Milwaukee has a new major sports facility in the works. Like Vegas has done with the Pacific Division, Milwaukee would provide an eighth team for the Central Division with no other changes to the NHL’s alignment required.

It may seem like an obvious choice for the NHL to put a franchise in one of the cities that have drawn interest for years. Quebec, in particular, is an egregious absence. Despite the small size of the province, there is more than enough interest to warrant another team in Canada.

It almost feels like the NHL is holding back expanding into these markets on purpose, though, in order to have a fallback plan if certain struggling NHL teams are unable to find a future. It is always better to have a franchise move rather than fold entirely, so it may be a tactical choice to keep the options of Quebec City and Seattle open instead of moving into an unknown market.

The current divisions look to be almost designed with this idea in mind. Seattle and Quebec City would easily slot into the Pacific and Atlantic Divisions, respectively. Compare this to when the Atlanta Thrashers were moved to Winnipeg in 2011, but remained in the Southeast Division for two years, causing scheduling havoc.

Speaking of divisions and scheduling, if the NHL did decide to expand into Quebec City or Seattle, it would have to rework the divisions again less then five years after the most recent changes. Which division a team plays in really does matter, and changing them constantly will only serve to hurt the sport.

Even if the current playoff and division structure has its detractors, it has started to create some interesting rivalries and competition since its inception. The league needs to let the current divisions stand pat for a few more years before looking to make changes if it decides they aren’t working.

Accordingly, if the NHL were to expand one more time by 2020, there is one new market that fits the bill perfectly: Milwaukee. Despite concerns over a crowded sports market for a relatively small city population, hockey is a mainstay in Wisconsin. The Badgers men’s and women’s teams are two of the NCAA’s best draws in Madison, and there is plenty of grassroots interest as well.

If the NHL believes that a franchise can work in Las Vegas, there should be little concern over sustainability in Milwaukee. With the Wisconsin Entertainment and Sports Center planned to finish construction by 2018, the city would have a new state of the art arena that can play host to the new franchise.

In reality, though, the NHL should not be looking to expand right away. There is a lot of work still to be done in struggling markets, and the NHL needs to figure out the future plans for those cities and teams before introducing another franchise into the fray.

Besides, an expansion draft may be a fascinating event that brings the sport into the conversation during the off-season, but it was more of a novelty than anything else this year. Having another expansion draft only a few years after Vegas was confirmed may create an oversaturation of expansion talk. The last thing the NHL wants is for people to be bored of the newest team before they even get on the ice.