Zac Electrifly

This news comes late in the season. The ECHL playoffs are right around the corner. The fate of these two teams could effect the two new expansion teams. They announced today that the Newfoundland Growlers would cease operations. They tried to sell the team but failed to do so by the deadline given by the ECHL. The ECHL terminated the Newfoundland Growlers league membership. The Newfoundland Growlers are gone. The Toronto Maple Leafs are now without an ECHL affiliate. A new team in St. John’s Newfoundland would have to apply to be a member of the ECHL just like any other expansion team. The Trois-Rivières Lions were successfully sold. They are waiting on approval pf the sale from the ECHL. I doubt that the ECHL will block the sale of the Trois-Rivières Lions. The ECHL is pushing for a thirty two team league. The Trois-Rivières Lions will continue to play. The Trois-Rivières Lions are in a playoff position while the Newfoundland Growers are not.

What about the players? The Newfoundland Growlers players on ECHL contracts have now become free agents. ECHL teams are likely scrambling to pick up the best players from the Newfoundland Growlers. Newfoundland Growlers players who were on AHL or NHL contracts will not be able to participate in the remaining ECHL season. Those players will likely finish out the season with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL but likely not have a lot of playing time. The Toronto Marlies will continue as if nothing happened.

How does this effect the 2024-25 season? An expansion team could come in to bring the ECHL back to thirty teams for the 2024-25 season. I don’t think that is going to happen with how close we are to next season. Putting together an entire pro hockey team in less than six months is unviable. An SPHL team could join the ECHL but I do not see that happening. I also do not see another Canadian team joining the ECHL by the 2024-25 season. There is now just one Canadian ECHL team. The ECHL has only ever had four Canadian teams. In Canada teams would rather play in the CHL or AHL or not at all compared to playing in the ECHL. Likely the 2024-25 season will have twenty nine teams. With twenty nine teams there will be uneven conferences and divisions. It will be easier for some teams to get into the playoffs.

How will that effect the two expansion teams? It will likely not effect the Tahoe Knight Monsters. They would not have played the Newfoundland Growlers that much if at all. The Tahoe Monster Knights will likely still be in the western conference. It won’t effect the Bloomington Bison that much either. They might have played the Newfoundland Growlers more than Tahoe would have but since they would likely not be in the same division it would not have been a lot. The Bloomington Bison should still be in the western conference.

How does this effect Canadian professional hockey? Canada will still have seven professional hockey teams outside of the NHL. I think the ECHL will push for more teams in the western United States instead of in Canada. Canada has always pushed for their teams to join the NHL or CHL over joining any other leagues. Not every city can have an NHL team. The economics in Canada make it hard for the NHL to expand into Canada. The only reason the AHL has six teams in Canada is because their NHL affiliates want their teams closer or in Canada. I think losing the Newfoundland Growlers and forced sale of the only other Canadian ECHL team will be another reason why leagues like the NHL will be hesitant to expand in Canada. Canada has the most hockey fans in the world but they are not the biggest hockey market financially. Both the Canadian teams are in the bottom ten for average attendance this season. If Canada was a viable professional hockey market they would have a lot more professional hockey teams outside of the NHL.

What about the future of the ECHL? The ECHL needs to become more stable. The ECHL has lost eighteen teams since 2010. The Newfoundland Growlers are the third team since 2010 that have folded prior to the end of the season. The Brampton Beast (another Canadian team) and the San Francisco Bulls also folded prior to the end of their final seasons. The cost of operating a team has to come down. The earnings per team have to go up. There are plenty of large markets (like Houston) that do not have a pro hockey team. Expanding into those markets would give the ECHL a larger footprint. Having teams only play within their conference would cut down on operation costs. Having tournaments and more outdoor games during the regular season could bring in more money. There should be a focus on cheaper ticket prices, merchandise, and concessions to bring in more fans. It should not cost the same to go to an ECHL game as an AHL/NHL game. Jerseys and merchandise should be easily accessible with affordable options. Not every ECHL online store sells fan jerseys or jerseys at all. The ECHL is losing out on a lot of money by not having an ECHL online store like the NHL online store.

Overall professional hockey in North America outside of the NHL has been crippled by junior hockey. The threshold to get a junior hockey team and the operation cost is extremely lower than professional leagues. The overall earnings may be lower but the profit margin is often higher. With the support of the NHL, USA Hockey, and Hockey Canada, junior hockey has become a system that professional hockey can not compete with. As long as junior hockey exists pro hockey outside of the NHL will be in it’s shadow. The response from leagues like the ECHL should be to aggressively expand and to reorganize minor league hockey. Similarly to how the United Soccer League has found success. Hockey is the only sport that has a large junior level. Hockey is also the only sport that is allowing the junior level to cripple their professional levels.