Anything but the northeast

 The NHL expands or changes markets in clusters, it seems. There were a couple of expansions in the Great Lakes at the turn of the century, with Minnesota and Columbus being a returned teams. Otherwsie, at least in the last 30 years or so, growth has been broadly in two primary regions.

There was the Sunbelt Explosion, that saw two teams brought to Florida, the Nashville Predators, the Atlanta Thrashers and the relocated Carolina Hurricanes through the 90s and early 2000s. Never mind that the Thrashers didn't work out. this spat of expansion brought 4 teams to the American Southeast. Heck, I would also lump the Stars in this group.

Winnipeg gained the Thrashers and they became thee Jets, because the old Jets moved to Phoenix. There had been some expansion in California, and the Nordiques moved to Colorado, but of late it seems like the western US is where the NHL has focused on, with the three most recent franchises moving into Las Vegas, Seattle and now, Salt Lake City (from Phoenix).

The NHL is at 32 teams right now, which seems like a comfortable level, but if the league ever wants to go bigger, maybe finally they will consider some spots in the Northeast, or back in Canada, like Quebec or Hamilton. Knowing what the NHL has done in the past, however, it seems like if they bring one team to the region, more will follow. If we are looking at a one off move, it will probably be out west.

Are you ready for Boise's entry in the NHL?

It's going to be hard to beat last season

Sure, the 24-25 season is about to get going, but it's going to be really tough to beat the 23-24 season, right? It was, top to bottom, one of the better seasons of hockey we've been able to appreciate in a while, ending with the best player in hockey, Connor McDavid, playing in a classic Stanley Cup Final that was nearly squandered by the Panthers in a potentially cataclysmic loss. But it wasn't, and the whole thing was tremendous. How do you get any better than that?

I'll tell you how: Be a fan of nearly every team aside from the Panthers. There is hope to start the season, and it will carry us through the winter. For a couple of teams, about half of the league, the record, their voyage into the postseason, and overall performance will match or best their season last year. That is how it gets better. It will be better for many fans. 

After the Sabres and Devils played in Prague earlier today, we can now also pin another thing in the 24-25 season's favor. This season is here now, and the best possible season is whatever season we get to enjoy right now. So yeah, this is going to be the best season ever.