NHL EXPANDED UNIVERSE
The NHLX database adds some unique twists to real leagues and the focal point for this entire database has always been an expanded 36-team NHL which allows for some great new scenarios and challenges and also tests the capabilities of the EHM engine.
Browse below to meet the new teams and the new alignment and playoff breakdowns as well as to view some of the changes made at the AHL and IHL (International Hockey League) level. The IHL is the NHL replacement league for the existing ECHL.
NHL EXPANSION TEAMS
With the sport's popularity booming across North America, the NHL has moved forward with an ambitious expansion plan. Not only will Seattle be added as the league's 32nd team but four additional clubs will be joining them in the largest expansion of the league since the NHL went from the Original 6 to 12 in 1967.
HOUSTON AEROS
Location: Houston, Texas
Population (Metro): 6,997,384 (5th in the U.S.)
Arena: Toyota Center (Capacity: 17,800)
Houston is by far the biggest city in the country with no NHL team but with the backing of billionaire owner Tilman Fertitta, that is about to change. The Aeros moniker draws upon the colorful history of minor-pro hockey in the city (last with the AHL's Aeros) and draws upon the city's important aerodynamics and aerospace industries. Sharing the Toyota Center with the NBA's Rockets - the Aeros will look to upstage the Stars as the best team in the Lone Star state.
KANSAS CITY MONARCHS
Location: Kansas City, Missouri
Population (Metro): 2,192,035 (31st in U.S.)
Arena: T-Mobile Center (Capacity: 17,544)
Kansas City has long been linked with NHL expansion since the construction of their downtown arena, the T-Mobile Center. A growing metro area with a vibrant professional sports scene, the Monarchs will a throne next to the Royals and Chiefs among the "regally" inspired clubs in town. They expect to draw from all over the Midwest as they fill a geographical hole in the center of the country and should develop strong naturally rivalries with the cross-state Blues and likely the Avs to the west, as that Chiefs versus Broncos bad blood spills to the ice.
PORTLAND ROSEBUDS
Location: Portland, Oregon
Population (Metro): 2,478,810 (25th in U.S.)
Arena: Moda Center (Capacity: 18,280)
Like Seattle, Portland is a fast growing market in the Pacific Northwest and with no NFL or MLB team, it's a market that can support another top tier professional sports franchise. The club will share the Moda Center with the NBA's Trail Blazers, although Portlanders and NHL fans still lovingly refer to it as the "Garden" now that the Rosebuds call it home. Expect a fierce natural rivalry to develop with their neighbors to the north - if Timbers versus Sounders MLS games are any indication, the gloves will be off when the Kraken come to town.
Québec Nordiques
Location: Québec City, Québec
Population (Metro): 800,296 (7th in the Canada)
Arena: Centre Vidéotron (Capacity: 18,259)
Consider this "righting a wrong" that has plagued the NHL for decades - ever since the original Nordqiues left QC for Colorado in the mid-90's, along with a Stanley Cup-winning roster. Now the die-hard fans in "La Vieille Capitale" will get a second shot at NHL glory with a re-born Nordiques franchise, complete with classic logos and jerseys. The setting will be new though as the city has just recently built the thoroughly modern Centre Vidéotron to house the club.
NHL ALIGNMENT
Going from 32 teams to 36 teams means a new league structure. While a return to the old 3-division format in each conference was bandied about, ultimately, it was decided that the cleanest way to accommodate the new 36-team league was to simply expanded each current division by a single team. Thus, NHLX has kept the current familiar conference and division setup and simply increased each division from 8 clubs to 9.
Regular season length has grown to 84 games from 82 to keep a balanced schedule.
EASTERN CONFERENCE DIVISIONAL CHANGES
Atlantic Division: Adds Québec Nordiques (expansion)
Metropolitan Division: Adds Nashville Predators (moved from Western Conference, Central Division)
EASTERN CONFERENCE DIVISIONAL CHANGES
Central Division: Adds Houston Aeros (expansion) & Kansas City Monarchs (expansion); Nashville Predators moved to Metropolitan
Metropolitan Division: Adds Portland Rosebuds (expansion)
With expansion there was an agreement among the owners to also expand the playoffs. Now, instead of 8 teams per conference making the post-season, 12 teams per conference will make it.
This comes with a catch however. Much like the NBA with its "play-in" tournament, the NHL Playoffs will now add an initial first round for seeds 5 thru 12, will the top 4 seeds in each conference having byes and automatic placement in the second round. This new first round will feature shorter, best-of-3 game series to ratchet up the tension and importance of every play. It also puts emphasis on every team to play hard until the very end of the regular season as grabbing a top 4 seed is now a vital way to ensure an easier playoff road.
In addition, the Conference Quarter-Finals (ie, the second round) has been shortened to a best-of-5 game series, thus keeping the overall length of the playoff season approximately the same even with the expanded field. The Conference Semi-Finals and Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals remain best-of-7 series. The "top 3 in the division" rule has also been eliminated. The division winners get seeds #1 and #2 but the remaining 10 teams are simply sorted by points within each conference.
First Round (Best of 3)
#5 vs #12, #6 vs #11, #7 vs #10, #8 vs #9
Seeds #1, 2, 3 & 4 have byes
Conference Quarter-Finals (Best of 5)
#1 vs WC, #2 vs WC, #3 vs WC, #4 vs WC
Wild Card winners from worst to best by points
Conference Semi-Finals (Best of 7)
Conference Finals (Best of 7)
Stanley Cup Finals (Best of 7)
NHL PLAYOFF FORMAT
With the NHLX database and the accompanying NHLX Logo Pack, I've decided to do a visual make-over for several NHL club identities with revised color schemes built-into the database to match the revised logos. I'll constantly be tinkering with the "look" of the series - both updating to match reality and expanding to alternate looks. I prefer my matchups colorful and vibrant so a lot of these looks are part of that ethos.
ANAHEIM DUCKS
I've brought back the classic "Mighty Ducks" eggplant and teal look with a "retro reverse" logo. The name remains simply the Anaheim Ducks however.
NHL "MAKE-OVERS"
ARIZONA COYOTES
This mirrors real-life, the return of the black-based "kachina" jerseys and logo set.
LOS ANGELES KINGS
A return to the gorgeous set used from '67-80 that features the very Lakers-esque "Forum Blue" shade of purple and gold to match their stablemates.
MINNESOTA WILD
Based on their "retro reverse" set, the bright green and yellow of the North Stars era returns. Note that this shade and color combo is still distinctly different from what the current Dallas Stars use.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Navy returns as the primary colors with the yellow now the accent.
SEATTLE KRAKEN
This of course is reality-based, just showing their look in NHLX.
ST. LOUIS BLUES
Very subtle but based on their classic look and retro-reverse jerseys, the dated "double-blue" look is replaced by a streamlined and sexy single shade of blue for both home and away.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Again subtle here but silver trim is added from their Stadium Series jersey which helps the set look less like a Maple Leafs knock-off.
The AHL in NHLX has been expanded to 36 teams, for a 1:1 NHL-AHL farm club ratio and has an alignment and playoff format that now matches the NHL. New AHL clubs include:
ATLANTA GLADIATORS
Promoted from the ECHL to serve as Houston's AHL affiliate.
AHL EXPANSION & FORMAT
COACHELLA VLLEY FIREBIRDS
NHLX includes the real team and logos for CV, who will be the actual Seattle farm club in the AHL starting in '22-23.
HALIFAX HIGHLANDERS
An expansion franchise in the Maritimes to serve as the Nordiques' AHL farm team.
OKLAHOMA CITY BLAZERS
This formerly very well supported minor league club returns as an AHL franchise for Kansas City.
UTAH GRIZZLIES
Promoted from the ECHL to be Portland's AHL affiliate and with a completely modernized look.
In addition, the following clubs get a visual make-over:
CHARLOTTE CHECKERS
The Checkers bring back a classic "Charlotte" color scheme as they attempt to distance their brand from the Hurricanes, no longer their parent club.
SAN DIEGO GULLS
A sleek new look for this well-supported AHL member.
INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
In NHLX, the third-tier professional league has been rebranded from the ECHL to the International Hockey League - taking a cue from the former professional league that existed up until the early 00's. With the league expanding significantly to 36 teams - to provide for a clean 1:1 ratio with NHL clubs - I felt it was time to ditch the "East Coast" moniker of the ECHL acronym and just rebrand.
The IHL features the same alignment and playoff formats of the NHL and AHL. The expansion includes the following new teams:
ALASKA ACES
The former minor league team returns to give Alaska professional hockey and will serve as the Kraken's IHL affiliate.
DETROIT VIPERS
The classic IHL team is revived and serves as the IHL affiliate for the St. Louis Blues.
EUGENE GENERALS
Expansion team that will serve as the IHL farm club for nearby Portland.
HAMILTON TIGERS
Professional hockey returns to Hamilton as they bring back the classic Tigers look; will serve as the IHL affiliate for Ottawa with Atlanta moving to the AHL.
MANCHESTER MONARCHS
The former AHL and ECHL franchise returns to be the Nordiques' new IHL affiliate.
OAKLAND GOLDEN SEALS
The former NHL identity returns as a new IHL club; affiliated with San Jose, this will keep all of the Sharks' prospects in the Bay Area.
RENO WOLFPACK
Expansion team that will serve as the IHL affiliate for the Avalanche as Utah has moved on to the AHL.
SACRMENTO PUMAS
Expansion team that will serve as the IHL affiliate for Calgary as the Kansas City Mavericks have switched to their local market NHL team, the Monarchs.
SAN ANTONIO RAMPAGE
The former AHL club returns to the IHL and will serve as the IHL affiliate for the Kings.
SASKATCHEWAN WHITETAILS
Professional hockey comes to Saskatoon with the Whitetails, who will serve as the new IHL affiliate for the Winnipeg Jets.
SAVANNAH GHOST PIRATES
The Ghost Pirates are joining the actual ECHL in 2022-23; in NHLX they will serve as Houston's IHL affiliate. Includes the real logo and branding.
NHL - AHL - IHL AFFILIATIONS
NHL
Anaheim Ducks
Arizona Coyotes
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Calgary Flames
Carolina Hurricanes
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Houston Aeros
Kansas City Monarchs
Los Angeles Kings
Minnesota Wild
Montréal Canadiens
Nashville Predators
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Ottawa Senators
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Portland Rosebuds
Québec Nordiques
San Jose Sharks
Seattle Kraken
St. Louis Blues
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
Washington Capitals
Winnipeg Jets
AHL
San Diego Gulls
Tucson Roadrunners
Providence Bruins
Rochester Americans
Stockton Heat
Chicago Wolves
Rockford IceHogs
Colorado Eagles
Cleveland Monsters
Texas Stars
Grand Rapids Griffins
Bakersfield Condors
Charlotte Checkers
Atlanta Gladiators
Oklahoma City Blazers
Ontario Reign
Iowa Wild
Laval Rocket
Milwaukee Admirals
Utica Comets
Bridgeport Islanders
Hartford Wolf Pack
Belleville Senators
Lehigh Valley Phantoms
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Utah Grizzlies
Halifax Highlanders
San Jose Barracuda
Coachella Valley Firebirds
Springfield Thunderbirds
Syracuse Crunch
Toronto Marlies
Abbotsford Canucks
Henderson Silver Knights
Hershey Bears
Manitoba Moose
IHL
Tulsa Oilers
Rapid City Rush
Maine Mariners
Cincinnati Cyclones
Sacramento Pumas
Norfolk Admirals
Indianapolis Fuel
Reno Wolfpack
Kalamazoo Wings
Idaho Steelheads
Toledo Walleye
Wichita Thunder
Greenville Swamp Rabbits
Savannah Ghost Pirates
Kansas City Mavericks
San Antonio Rampage
Iowa Heartlanders
Trois-Rivières Lions
Florida Everblades
Adirondack Thunder
Worcester Railers
Jacksonville IceMen
Hamilton Tigers
Reading Royals
Wheeling Nailers
Eugene Generals
Manchester Monarchs
Oakland Golden Seals
Alaska Aces
Detroit Vipers
Orlando Solar Bears
Newfoundland Growlers
Allen Americans
Fort Wayne Komets
South Carolina Stingrays
Saskatchewan Whitetails
