WI: No NHL Lockout In 94 (an alternate NHL history)

CTHuskyMan

Banned
For your reading pleasure, and general amusement....I present another alternate sports timeline.

IRL, the National Hockey League went through a three month work stoppage in 1994 and 1995. This strike resulted in many games being lost, and the relocations of three teams (Quebec, Winnipeg, and eventually Hartford as well).

This timeline assumes that the lockout never happened. As such, the Quebec Nordiques remain in Quebec City (IRL moved to Colorado, becoming the Avalanche) and the original Winnipeg Jets never move to Phoenix. Also, the Hartford Whalers are able to come to an agreement with the State of Connecticut on a new arena, and therefore remain in Connecticut (IRL moved to Charlotte, becoming the Carolina Hurricanes).

Other Differences:

  • Playoff qualification rules are as follows: the top two teams in each division qualify, as well as two conference wild cards (each conference has only thirteen teams at this time).
  • The top two seeds get byes through the best-of-three wild card round. They then play the wild card series winners in two best-of-seven series. The conference finals and the Stanley Cup Finals are both best-of-seven.
Our POD is the 1997-98 NHL season. Note that for this scenario, I have decided that the actual conference finalists miss the playoffs.

1997-98

(season outline coming soon)
 
Good Start on the Timeline @CTHuskyMan although you butterflied your hometown Whalers from Moving to North Carolina, but Good Luck and maybe the NHL Expands to Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, Minneapolis or Phoenix by Y2K!
 
Good Start on the Timeline @CTHuskyMan although you butterflied your hometown Whalers from Moving to North Carolina, but Good Luck and maybe the NHL Expands to Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, Minneapolis or Phoenix by Y2K!

Or Hampton Roads (Hampton Roads Rhinos was a team that was considered for NHL expansion in 1997). Cleveland would also be a consideration, as should Houston.
 
Or Hampton Roads (Hampton Roads Rhinos was a team that was considered for NHL expansion in 1997). Cleveland would also be a consideration, as should Houston.
The NHL would be rather cautious on expansion to Cleveland, since that was the site of a franchise that essentially failed: the Cleveland Barons were the old Oakland Seals / California Golden Seals, who moved after being unable to make it work in the Bay Area. The franchise was merged with the original Minnesota North Stars franchise. Also, much earlier (circa 1950) Cleveland almost got the then-dormant Montreal Maroons franchise: that franchise was slated for revival with the roster being filled out by an en masse elevation of the entire AHL Cleveland Barons roster. Didn't work because there were some financial irregularities with the AHL team's ownership, and the same ownership would have held the proposed NHL Barons. So...one failed sojourn and one stillborn sojourn in Cleveland would lead the NHL to view that city with a jaundiced eye.

You'll note also that IOTL Kansas City hasn't even gotten past the first cut at another NHL team, and neither has Québec. Don't expect Atlanta to get a third chance, either.
 
Lockout or not, Peter Karmanos wanted the Whalers out of Hartford. The State of Connecticut could have bowed down and given him everything he wanted and he would have found something else to ask for. To save the Whalers, I think you have to find a different owner, which requires a pre-lockout POD.

Similarly, I'm not sure 1994 gives enough time to save the Jets or Nords. The lockout isn't going to change what local governments can offer, nor is the lack of lockout going to suddenly have those teams bringing in so much more money.

I wrote a timeline awhile ago where I tried to save Hartford and Quebec. In the first draft, I kept them, but when I revisited it I realized it was unrealistic. POD was a small bailout to the Nords in return for a pledge to stay in Quebec for three more years, just enough to prevent their move to Denver. That changes the Roy trade which means the Red Wings win the Cup in 1996 (and the Jets going to Denver that summer to become the Avalanche) which changes the Shanahan trade, which puts the Whalers on a deep playoff run in 1997. But Karmanos still wants out of Hartford and nothing is going to change that, so the Whalers move to Minnesota in 1998. The Nords, having lost Joe Sakic to an offer sheet from the Rangers (which they would have been able to match had they had the revenue from a move to Denver), end up going to Nashville.

All of that said... I look forward to seeing where you take this. I don't think your POD works but I'm willing to hand-wave it and see where you go from here.
 
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