Braehead to hit the ground running

When the NHL first expanded beyond the ‘original six’, it was a huge overhaul. Owners of those teams (Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and the Toronto Maple Leafs) were reluctant to expand the league at the risk of losing profits. 

As a forerunner in television coverage, the NHL teams relied heavily on revenue from the television networks and so when given an ultimatum to expand the league had little choice. The NHL was also facing competition from the growing popularity of the Western Hockey League (WHL). 

The expansion was unpopular with many: Canadians were upset that they weren’t afforded a second team; fans thought the quality of the league would be diluted; the division of teams into east and west conferences was seen as unfair and likely to lead to anti-climactic cup finals; and it was feared that existing rivalries may lose some of their impact. 

Even after overcoming all of this opposition there were logistical problems to deal with; the most pressing being how to fill the rosters of the new teams. The league decided to have an expansion draft where the new teams could pick up some of the country’s leading professional players (all of whom were under contract to one of the original six).  

Existing clubs were allowed to protect one goaltender and eleven out skaters from the draft, leading to commentators to refer to the draft as a ‘rummage sale’, with existing teams only losing players they deemed expendable.  

The NHL has continued to expand and now contains thirty teams. There has been an expansion draft for each new team, but again they have only been able to pick non-protected players. 

Bedding into the NHL can be tricky for new franchises. Teams new to the NHL have struggled in their first ten years. The Columbus Bluejackets have a good fan base, top players such as Rick Nash and David Vyborny yet it still took them nine years to break into the playoffs. It will take a few years of failure and resultant high draft picks for new franchises to put together a roster that can compete with the league’s established teams. The Tampa Bay Lightning are a good example – playing only one playoff series in ten years before building a side that could realistically compete for, and subsequently win, the cup. 

This year sees the British Elite league expand to ten teams, and the expansion is a very different prospect. As a brand new team, the Braehead Clan will be able to make an impact on the league immediately. 

For a start, you would be hard pressed to find opposition to their (or Dundee’s) place in the league. More variety can only be good for the sport, especially as it means playoff places will be competed for this year - making the end of the season run-in of interest for teams towards the bottom of the table. 

The nature of the British recruitment process means that all teams can start on an even footing. There will, of course, be no need for an expansion draft and the ability for teams to draft from a wider range of leagues this year means there is a huge pool of players to choose from. Braehead will be able to be as strong as they would be if they had already been in the league for years, instead of having to make do with a selection of unwanted players from other teams. 

The same is true of Dundee. Although their budget means that that they will have more humble aspirations than the Clan, being new to the league will not hamper their recruitment, and perhaps their young side could provide some surprises. 

In Bruce Richardson, the Clan have a player-coach who is familiar with the elite league. He is famously well-connected and in a position to sign the team that Braehead need to be competitive and attract new fans. This could arguably put them in a better position than a team like Edinburgh who have a coach new to the league. 

Although their roster may be behind the likes of Belfast or Nottingham, Braehead currently look stronger than some of the established teams in the league; they will certainly be competitive and could well be in the hunt for trophies - something you couldn’t say about new NHL teams in their inaugural years.

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