Scheduling issues and extending the season
The NHL schedule is unbalanced as it is. Currently, the Leafs play four games per year against all division rivals, three games against conference rivals, and two games against Western Conference teams.
So, if two more teams are added to the Eastern Conference, for instance, what does that do to the schedule? How does the league balance that out?
Moreover, if two other teams are added to the Western Conference, how would that affect road trips and scheduling? One rumour suggests that the league has thought about expanding the regular season to 84 or 88 games to accommodate expansion.
Doing so would be ludicrous. Furthermore, the league has thought about shortening the time between games. So, teams would play more back-to-backs or three-in-fours, making it more taxing on the players themselves.
Again, these are rumours and don’t seem to have much traction. But the ideas have been floated. If the league is serious about boosting revenue, why not extend the season by two weeks and add four more games?
That idea would not sit well with players and coaches. Playoff teams could easily play over 100 games in a season, with some players taking a tremendous toll on their bodies.
Ultimately, expansion will happen sooner rather than later. One proposed timeline is that the league will try to look into expansion at some point in the 2030s. But there’s one thing to keep in mind. The Arizona Coyotes have a five-year window to re-enter the NHL. That window would be up in 2029.
So, if the Coyotes do come back, the league would be stuck with 33 teams, meaning the NHL would need to add one more to balance the load somewhat. If that’s indeed the case, there’s a very high probability that one team, the Coyotes, goes to the West and the other club goes to the East.
That situation alone could make life extremely complicated for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The good news is that this scenario is most likely years away from happening. For now, everyone in Leafs Nation can breathe easy.